Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1896-04-25
A BUSTED BUGABOO.
SENATOR STEWARDS "YELLoW TER
RoR OF THE EAST"
Our Little Trade With Japan and China
as 1t Appears Under the I6 to 1 Magni-
flying Glass.

Our Little Trade With Japan and China
as 1t Appears Under the I0 to Magni-
flying Glass.
Having failed toget a serious hearing
for their 16 to scheme ON its merits,
the silverites have for several months
been trying to frighten the people in
to voting for free coinage by holding
up the bogy of Chinese and japanese
competition. By representing that the
products of the cheap labor of China
and Japan were threatening our farmers
and workers with ruin they for a time
succeeded in soaring few timid persons
into the belief that this country should
adopt the monetary standard of those
cheap labor countries. Mr.. Wharton
Barker of Philadelphia was SO impressed
with the danger of allowing the Ameri-
can people TO buy cheap goods that he
drew up a set of resolutions, which were
signed by l6 senators as the basis for
their support of free coinage. The pre-
Emble to the resolutions declared that:
Whereas, The difference Of exchange between
silver standard and gold standard countries is
equivalent to a bounty CT 100 per cent on the
products Of the silver standard countries, and
Whereas, The cost of production in the old
worldi and particularly in China and Japan, is
less than products can be produced or manu-
featured in this country by American labor
without reducing our farmers, miners, me-
chanics, manufacturers 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
treasury department, pricks Mr.. Bark
er's bubble of theories with the follow
ing plain statement Of facts:
1.-THE absurdity of regarding our trade
relations with China and Japan as a
governing condition in the finance of
commerce is indicated by the following
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.
China and Japan. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. SOL, 5i3 l49
Great Britain, France and Germany 500, O42,8 l5
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 80, 1894, was 81, SAT, 1876, 1914. 1t
is impossible to state with any degree of
accuracy the value of the internal com
MERGE of the United States, but from all
we know it appears safe to say that it
amounts to fully $25, 900, 600, 900 annu-
ally. How absurd, then, to attempt to
delude the people Of this country with
the idea that our trade relations with
China and Japan constitute govern
ing condition of a total commerce 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
paratiyely 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, min
ers, manufacturers and industrial work
ers, is vagary too absurd for serious
consideration even in the conflicts Of
partisan warfare. :"
This should convince the American
workingmen and farmers that the "Yel-
low Terror of the East, " as it is called
by Senator Silver knight Stewart, is
only a stuffed scarcecrow and very badly
stuffed at that