The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-02-26
THE WORLD LHvELrNa up

The philadelphia Press says editorial
ly that "the news that Germany is
importing more wheat from Argentina
than the United States comes to this
country with the same shock as the
discovery came to ENGLAND three years
ago that the United States was malk-
ing more iron, raising more coal, and
turning out coke cheaper and in larger
quantities than England.
Fifteen to twenty years ago this
country was the granary and feed de-
pot Of Europe, and in cotton and oil
we had no appreciable competition,
while England was the unrivaled work
shop of the world. Neither any longer
has this advantage. India and Argen-
tina are dividing the wheat supply OF
Europe with us. Australia and New
Zealand match us in meat, and are
gcing to beat us In price and product.
The Caspian oil fields divide the worlds
supply with us. From nine-tenths OF
the worlds supply Of cotton thirty-hye
years ago, we have dropped TO two,
thirds. Our wool supply is shrinking
under competition, and needs duty to
preserve 1t.
England has gone through the same
loss in its shops and factories. From
making half the worlds iron 1t has
sunk to making less than third. from
giving over half the worlds coal sup,
ply It has fallen to one-third. Where
1t once spun three-quarters of the
worlds cotton goods output, 1t turns
out now less than half. 1t has lost silk
manufacture altogether. The jute trade
is going to India. The steel rail trade
of the world is going to Belgium and
here. All English exports of cotton
yarns are going to be cut off by India,
Japan, and our Southern states. Eng
land still does ship-building for the
world, but not for long. Its works In
copper lead and tin are slowly shrink,
ing, relative to the worlds manufacture
In these metals, because work In each
can be done cheaper nearer the center
of the mining product.
sour loss OF the food supply Of Europe
has cut down the price of our farm
products, and this has reduced the
price of farm land. Fortunately, the
development OF our manufactures under
protection has 30 increased the pro-
duct and decreased the price of articles
Of daily use that bushel Of wheat,
a pound of meat or a. quart of milk
buys more than each did twenty years
ago. AS for our national wealth, our
growth in manufactures has made up
for our loss In farm lands.
'Dngland has not such compensation
The rental OF farm lands in the United
Kingdom has dropped one-thlrd in the
last twenty years, and the profits Of
the manufacturing plant Of the king
dom has suffered fully as heavily un,
der competition. AS Lord Harrington
said In his last speech, the English land
question IL not one whit more acute
than the English manufacturing or
trade question. Having lost heavily in
land during the past twenty years, Eng.
land Is going TO lose as heavily in
manufactures in the next twenty years.
Her vast income from foreign invest.
ments. which the statist puts at f7OO,,
100000 annually. will last for while,
but 1t will diminish as her mortgage ON
the world is paid of, as We are paying
of ours partly by absorbing English
sales OF American securities, and partly
by receiverships.
For both England and the United
states the world is levelIng up to their
product in food and factory and nei-
Iher OF these English-spealxing coun-
tries is going to find competition as
easily met in the next twenty as in the
last twenty years."