The Green Forest tribune., 1896-05-14

Having failed to get a. serious hearing
for their sixteen-to-one scheme on its
tlerits, the silverites have for several
months been trying to frighten the peo-
pie into voting for free coinage by hold
ing up the bogy of Chinese and Japan
osa competition. By representing that
the products Of the cheap labor OF China
and Japan were threa teling our farmers
and workers with ruin they for time
succeeded In soaring a. few ti1nid 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 a set Of resolutions,
which were signed by IS senator's Us
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 a 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 III China and
japan, Is less than products can be pro-
dueed or manufactured in this country by
American labor without reducing orr
farmers, miners, mechanics, mRnufGctur-
crs and industrial workers to the level Of
Chinese coolies, therefore be 1t resolved
ETC.
Mr.. Joseph Nimmo, Jr., @ former chief
of the statistical bureau of the treas
ury department, pricks Mr.. Barker's
bubble Of theories with the following
plain statement of fects:
.SIhe absurdity of regarding our
trade relations with China and Japan
as q 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-standard countries for the
year ended June 30, 1894:
VALUE OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.
rt I'i hritain ta France ard Gery 305t5
I'm connection with this 1t is also Of
interest to advert to the total value OF
cur 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 s., SAT ,135, 1874.
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 1t appears safe to
say that it amounts to fully %25 ,000, ,0O0,-
600 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 4
governing condition of total COM
inerce fully 500 times as great.
'''o 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, silt
and other commodities not produced in
this country, and which. therefore, does
not compete with American farmers,
miners, manufacturers ind industrial
workers, is vaga1y too absurd for
serious consideration even in the con-
Hicts of partisan warfare"
This should convince the American
wo1'kingmen and farmers that the
''Yellow Terror of the East" as it is
called by Senator Silver-IIniglt Stew
art is only q stuffed scarecrow, and very
badly stuffed at that.