Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1896-04-25
A BUSTED BUGABOO.,
Senator Stewards "Yellow Terror
of the East"
Our Little Trade with Japan and Chlnn
as 1t Appears Under tho 10 to Mag
nifying Glass of the Cheap
Money Char1atans.

Having failed to get n serious hearing
for their siXteen-to-one scheme on it's
merits, the silverites have for several
months been trying to frighten the peo-
pie into voting Tor free coinage by hold
ing up the bogy of Chinese and Japan
csc competition. BY representing that
the products of the cheap labor of China
andJapan were threatening our farmers
and workers with ruin they for n time
succeeded in soaring n few timid per-
sons into the belief that this country
should adopt the monetary standard of
those cheap-labor countries. Mr.. Whar-
ton Barker, of Philadelphia, was so i'm
pressed with the danger of allowing
the American people to buy cheap goods
that he drew up n set of resolutions,
which were signed by 16 senator's as
the basis for their support of free coin
age. The preamble to the resolutions
declared that:
Whereas, The difference of exchange be-
tween silver standard and gold standard
countries is equivalent to bounty of 100
per cent. on the products of the silver stand
ard countries and
Whereas, The cost of production in the
old world, and particularly in China and
Japan, is less than products can be pro-
duced or manufactured in this country by
American labor without reducing our
farmers, miners mechanics, manufactur-
ers and industrial workers to the level of
Chinese coolies, therefore be it resolved,
ETC."
Mr.. Joseph Nimmo, Jr., a former chief
of the statistical bureau of the treas
ury department, priclls Mr.. Barker's
bubble of theories with the following
plain statement of facts:
'The absurdity of regarding our
trade relations with China and Japan
es governing condition in the finance
of commerce is indicated by the follow
ing comparison as to the value of our
trade with China and Japan and with
certain gold-Ntandard countries for the
year ended June 30, 1894:
VALUE OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.
emma ana Japan. an.................... Sol,0lSliy
Grit Britain, France and Germ'y. 500, ,O42 S15
''In connection with this it is also of
interest to advert to the total value OF
our foreign commerce and to the total
value of our internal commerce. The
total value of the foreign commerce of
the United States during the year
ended June, 30, 1894, was $1,547, 1875 ,194.
1t is impossible to state with any de-
| gree of accuracy the value of the in
| ternal commerce of the United States,
but from all we know it appears safe to
say that it amounts to fully $25,0o0,000,-
900 annually. How absurd, then, to at
tempt to delude the people of this coun-
| try with the idea that our trade rela-
tions with China and Japan constitute n
governing condition of total COM
merce fully 500 times as great.
"To assume that American farmers,
miners, manufacturers and industrial
workers can be reduced to the level OF
| Chinese coolies by trade of such COM
paratively insignificant proportions,
and consisting, in so far as relates to i'm
ports, almost exclusively of tea, silk
and other commodities not produced in
this country, and which, therefore, does
not compete with American farmers,
miners, manufacturers and industrial
workers, is a vagary too absurd for
serious consideration even in the con-
flicts of partisan warfare"
This should convince the American
workingmen and farmers that the
yellow Terror of the East" as it is
called by Senator SilverKnight Stew
art, is only a stuffed scarecrow, and very
| badly stuffed at that.