The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-10-11
A DECEPTIVE CIRCULAR.

New York Tribune.
Circular No. g." prepared under the
immediate supervision Of the secretary of
agriculture" by the section OF foreign
markets." mas just been published. It
opens with a statement, or admission
which VIII be likely to puzzle as well as
staruie the farmers of the United States,
who have learned TO pin their faith as
often a5 once a day ait 1elaist to the orac-
ular utteaances, official and unofficial, of
the secretary of agriculture on all sorts
Of subjects from Sound" Impney to
"Goosebone' meteoroIogy. This state
ment or admission is THAT 'the greatest
need OF the American farmer is more
markets. for crops, and not more crops
for markets" Now ut must be clear to
even the most stmpc agricultural
ist THAT hGs "greateSt need" WaIs a high
priced bur Wgflant and original secretary
Of agriculture Ito discover this great fact
and print 1t and sond 1t to HIM free of
postage. But when me reads and studies
Circular No. g." matters will not seem
so clear. and the more ne studies the
more at loss win he be to trace any
relation between Secretary Morton's
proposition quoted above and his con-
cluSlon that therefore all trade restric-
tons. falsely called protective tariffs
are unnecessary, because they must only
impede or prevent profitable trade; while
bad trade dies of dts own profitlessness. &"
Mr.. Morton does not offer in Circular
No. g. a single fact In support of the
assertion that a protective tariff restricts
the foreign trade OF a country or that
free trade widens and stimulates IT.; nor
does he show, or attempt to show, The
American farmer how to supply his
greatest need" which Is more markets
for crops. and not more crops for mar
kets." All that he does is to repub;lsh
from the reports of the bureau of sta
tistics OF the treasury department the
statistics OF imports and exports for the
years 1893 and 1894, and call attention TO
what he terms the "italicized fact" that
the UNITED Kingdom leads all of other
countries In exchanges with the United
States, and also to remlark that of the
total exports from the United States |
about three-fourUhs are directly evolved |
from the farfns of this republic" while |
of the remaining one-fourth, 'Tour-fifths |
consist Of domestic manufactures, the ma
terlal5 of which are largely furnished |
by the American 0armers." incidentally |
the secretary compares the statistics for |
1893 and 1894 respectively, and extracts |
comfort from the tact that the imports
decreased and the exports increased In
thC AepbIcL yOdA dS COIlJdTCu NWlu1l IHOSe OF
1888 The balance he strikes Is not cor
rect because ne fails to deduct from the
total exports of either year the value of
foreign merchandise exported from the
United States in order to give the true
value of the exports Of domestic mer-
but that is a comparatively
trivial matter.
What seems to us TO be puzzling ques-
tion is: Why did Mr.. Morton not include
the sbatisttcse of imports and exports
for 1896, which were accessible to him
three weeks before the date OF "Circular
No. 3T' Two months after the beginning
of that fiscal year, dt may be remembered
The party in power took"i its first step
loward free trade" and broke many of
he shaclS[es OF protection that fettered
American commerce." 1t is also proper
md pertinent to inquire why the year 1892
vas not Included I'm the comparison, mas
much as In that year the "shackles"
we're most tightly rdveted, and therefore
he greatest need of the American far Z.
ner' must have been greater and more
PRESSING than in 1895. Perhaps these Inn
,ortanIt and significant omissions were
lue to the fact that even the free trade
ludAnpty of the secretary OF agriculture
would have wSlted In 1.-THE face OF a COM
,ardson like this: