New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-07
MINISTERIAL GERMANY.
o,n RosEBERY's RECENT TESTIMONY
,p,xGs OF COMMERCIAL STATS
r,cs-MoRALS FOR AMERICANS
TX.

where SldtiSllcdi lHloTlndtlpn can DS Op-
' .sd respecting recent industrial and CONNER
" osress: and even here 1t is not easy to
comparisons which are misleading. Eng
.xrerts have sought to dscredit Mr.. Will
N remarkable book. Made in Germany"
",tending that ne was not aware Of the rad
N,.,ange effected in 1850 in the method Of re-
~.,g the destination of German exports. Be-
" ' that date Hamburg and Bremen were not
r.,.aed in the Zollverein. and merchandise was
lawn in the official returns as consigned to
uanse towns as the places OF shipment,
NJ, than TO tho foreign ports to which it was
,...,,,d Since 1889 the ultimate destination of
ITS Is clearly show~in the commercial sta
-. For my part, do not believe that
" ~ v,ulams was so ignorant as the statisticians
The London Economist" have asserted. al
~.,sh am convinced from my observations
49,. that many comparisons which have been
"a. nv English alarmist writers are fallacious.
o.. statistics available In Berlin for the period
-, 1871 and 1850 do not show with pre-
-, What exports were from England to Ger
= NJ what exports were sent OUT in return.
- .ohlss only reveal the amount of tonnage OF
a. ., ALI kinds crossing the frontier in either
ss'-.o,,o, on the coast and on the French Bel
..n Dutch. Russian and Austrian borders
~Aa,s Is no accurate means, therefore, OF ascer-
..o,ns the exports and imports for any year
...,,cus 10 1850 1t was not until 1873 that the
law made i, compulsory for the German manu-
,.c,nrer or merchant to give the Government
.r and detailed information about his TRACE OF
BUSINESS The statistics of exports. imports ana
rs,u,actures before that time was irae-
rsntarv and incomplete and the tgures conn
,usa do not correspond with the facts. More
over the chief ports, Hamburg ana Bremen
rsre considered until 1889 foreign countries ana
xare no, included in the German customs sys-
,sr,. and consequently exports and imports as
oAiciallv reported were underestlil'a'eu' All
those facts have rendered II impractcaoie loi i'e
IN this series of letters 10 make direct coihpdii-
sons based upon statistics Of the foreign uaoe
~ Germany before and after the protective s!s-
tenn was adopted. The stock saying that any
thing can be proved by official figures applss
with peculiar force to German statistics OF 'his
period Consequently have made little use OF
information which was likely TO be fallacious
and misleading Lord Rosebery. however, IS
responsible statesman. who ought TO be sure OF
his facts and the following summary. which he
made Of Mr.. Williamss book in his speech last
week in opening technical school at EPSON,
may be quoted with confidence as English testi-
mony 10 the Industrial progress of Germany un-
DER the protective system:
SOME ENSIIsH TESTIMONY.
The heads Of the indictment agains; ourselves are
three First that the proportion per head of ex-
ported British produce IS Is in 1872 while IL had
sunk 10 Is lis 30 in 1894 OF course you may say
that reduced prices account for part of that.
but do not think YOU will find that decreased
prices do account for il. when you observe the
broad features OF the balance Of trade and also of
the German increase OF trade.
Secondly the imports Of German ma al. 1 ss1
N lsg3-a increase of 30 cent In ten
years % manufactured goods in the country
which believed it had almost monopoly of sup
total imports into Great Britain declined in value
100000 between 1883 and 1893 In gross out the I'M
iisGnSo
think these are grave and striking facts, and IT
IS not. perhaps time inquire into the causes as
regards Great Britain herself. but as REGARDS Ger
many the causes rot far 10 seek: The fact Is
that for the asst sixty, seventy or eighty years she
has fitted herself by the most perfect system OF
technical education in the world except, perhaps
She has been slow. she has been patient, she has
been aborious she has sent clerks and agents over
here who have taken what secrets We had to AFFORD
and have improved on them when they returned TO
Germany. and the result is that. though we have
slowly after all-creeping up to us In some Of our
colonies. in India and In Egypt which Is under our
,telage for the present, German trade has gravely
nenaced British trade.
The per capita tax of exports proposed by Lord
ROsebery is not conclusive since he does not ap-
ply 1t TO Germany where a similar decline can
be shown. which is based on immense increase
| Of population. What is more significant is the
Increase of 80 per cent during ten years Of the
importation of German manufactured goods into
Great Britain and the British Empire. which he
| frankly acknowledges TO be serious menace to
English trade Experts seek to break the force
4 this exhibit by explaining that considerable
ari Of this increase is accounted for by the i'm
priation Of beet sugar under heavy export
srnties and also by citing statistics indicating
hat English exports to Germany have been ris
ING since 1856. Conservative financial journals
Ike The Economist" however. do not attempt
deny that German competition has become
much keener OF late years. and that in some
Branches Of trade these enterprsing rivals have
managed 10 increase their exports, while Eng
ISL trade has diminished These concessions
are made after a critical comparison Of the ex-
ports Of the two countries from 1856 70 1894.
Which is distinctly more favorable TO Germany
Aan TO England. especially in cotton and WOOL
"a manufactures, iron, steel and machinery
cal and coke, glassware and paper. STATISTICS
however are hardly required for establishing
me fact that Germany under the protective s!s-
'sm has become a formidab bic competitor OF Eng
Sho IN the markets Of the world. FROM one
snd Of England 10 the other there is increasing
irritation the successful invasion OF the
Hne market by German manufacturers ana
'saers The English working classes would
"'Shaye welcomed last January the prospect OF
AsSa war with Germany. if they had not been
@"hced that energetic competitors were TAX
s me bread out Of their mouths; nor would
'e manufacturers and merchants have been so
"er as they were in their contemptuous de-
Nhoiauon OF the German Emperor II they had
~'' ie' The force Of commercial rivalry in many
foreign markets.
"ANfs EXPORTS TO ENGLAND.
Ihese conclusions are confirmed by statistics
which have been able 70 obtain here from Off
VA sources. Germsny's exports to Great Britain
increased from 4417lO,DpO TO ga 10000 marks
-.yIn IoNy y lSl4 Il these fpures are mis-