The true northerner., 1896-01-17

when First Enacted.
The second year Of the German tariff
began. as far ~ comparison by statistics
can be shown. in Septetmber last. This
point should be remembered because we
note that some free trade papers have
compared our September and October
foreign trade returns for this year with.
the figures for the corresponding months
q year ago Their object is to show that
We are not importing much more for
eign stuff. than last year, trusting thar
their readers will forget that the Cor
man law was also in force during the
same months of 1894. To institute
fair comparison we must 60 farther
back-to 1S93-and we give our inn
ports for that and the two subsequent
years in the September and October
months:
IMPORTS OF YOREIGN GOODS.
September. October. Total
1893. $40. 303, 500 s5l, ,760.24 se8. 8.072, S2a
1894. ..... 5O.647, ,608 60.0l9.986 ri0.667, ,6S4
1896. ....... 65, 234.9S9 75,056.Sl2 lU.s9l, ,a0i
The year 1898 is the one that free
trade papers adopted as their standard
They used to say it was not fair to
make comparisons with 1894. They
wanted 1898. Let them have it. In
September, 1894, our imports of foreign
goods were $4,344,000 larger than in
1898. This year. in September, they
were nearly SIS, 900, 900 greater than
last year and almost 81 {, 900. 900 greater
than in 1898.
In October the increase in imports
was still greater. In 1894 we bought
over IS, $50, 900 worth more foreign
stuff than in 1898, and this year $15,-
OOO,0 more than in 1894. and $685.
$50, 600 more than in 1898. The grad
ual increase in the figures of the above
table, in each column, indicates how we
are buying more and more foreign stuffs
the longer the German tariff is in force.
For the two months of 1894 we bought
over $12, 5000 more than in 1898 !;
for the two months Of this year we
bought from abroad nearly $50, 900, 900
worth more than year ago and $42, 800, :
600 worth more than under the McKin-
ley tariff in 1898. Now let us study our
exports:
EXPORTS OF AMERICAN GOODS.
September October Total
1899. ....s .s7OOl4.4l3 ss5.9l5,677 sl55, $50, O9G
1894. ...... 81, S20,1H 81, 49,, i22 140,30S, l59
1896. ...... 57,O62. 4S2 S5092, 1888 l42, l54, S65
Here, for the month of September, we
find a gradual decrease in our exports,
the shipments being almost 81 3, 900, 900
less this year than in 1898. For the o.
tober month there was but little varia-
tion, the loss this year being $S23, 900
as compared with 1898. For two months
the decrease in 1894 was $15. 900, 900
as compared with 1898, and this year
the decrease was almost $13, 600.
Deducting the imports of the two months
in each year from the exports, we get
the balance Of trade in our favor:
EXCESS OF EXPORTS, SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER.
1S98 .s57, ,S57 266
lS4 ......................... 9,ooo4.o
los0 ..........s....s......... i''oooos
Where the balance of trade for the
two months of 1898 was $57 1857, 266 in
our favor, it was only $50, 1885, 475 in
our favor in 1894, loss that year Of
$28, 220. 900 in two months. This year
the balance of trade in our favor was
only $l,763, 564, nearly $28, 900, 900
less than in 1894 and $56, 900, 900 less
for the two months than under the Nc
Kinlev tariff The second wear of the