The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-28

A GERMAN MIRROR.
If there were no mirrors in the world
no one would know for himself or her
self how he or she looked. Beyond
question the vanity innate in all of
us would be vastly greater had not
some beneficent genius discovered the
effect of backing the polished plate Of
glass with silver, because, without it,
we would each think that the beauty in
our soul was figured in our features.
Even with the aid of the unf1attering
mirror there are enough men and
women, not yet past their callow stage,
who persuade themselves that there
are lines of beauty in the very plain
faces with which the truthful looking
glass confronts them. But there are
other mirrors, equally accurate, in
which we can see reflections of our
selves. We can see in others the effects
selves. If we are foolish, we persuade
| ourselves that courses leading others to
evil ends will lead us only to good
ones; but, if we are wise, we learn to
correct our habits from what we OBJ
serve of their effects upon others.
In larger way nations, in their pol
icies, are mirrors in which other ma
| lions, if they are wise and not lost in
self-conceit, may see themselves as
| they are, see to what end their own
nOljCiGC innUit a
their ways before dire disaster over
| takes them. All the wisdom man or
nation has accumulated has been gain
| ed by just such lessons of the mirrors.
And still nations, like their units, reject
| these lessons, believing themselves ex-
empt from the natural laws the effect
of whose violations are so apparent on
their neighbOrs. Nations can be quite
as foolish and vain-glorious as men or
women. Germany is today a mirror in
which we can plainly see consequences
OF policy we have pursued with less
impetuous, but none the less certain
feet. There we can trace similar re-
suits from like courses, and there we
may see whittier our course leads I'M
deviatingly.
It is eighteen years since the Iron
Chancellor embarked Germany uDOn
the policy we had been pursuing. os
tensibly, at least, as a war measure
since 1862, but to which we have only
been committed as a distinct and def
mite policy, to be pushed, for it's own
CoEn
Kinley, was logical. If the state is TO
protect and foster it must apply the
stimulus of bounties as we'll as of tar
ifs. The one Is the necessary connie
ment of the other. Where the one will
not reach the other must be sent So
German tariffs shielded German manu-
facturers, while bounties fostered- in
ternal production. Agriculture needed
| diversification. The country was i'm
porting immense quantities of sugar
and sending abroad annually immense
sums in cash OR products to pay for it.
Let US save this money and make orr
own sugar. We are being familiarized
with this talk and argument. Bis
marck acted. No obstacle. such as
our Democratic majority of 1892 has
impeded there the development of the
policy and it's effects We can see
there the full effects of growing indus
tries under glass;
1t is a long story. Let us condense n
A bounty was given based on the then
known percentage Of sugar, or per
cent. The acute agrarians soon in
creased this bounty by raising the per-
centage to IL and IA per cent. The
home market was soon overstocked
Then came a bounty on exported su-
gar, given to enable Germany to COM
pete with other countries in foreign
markets. To raise the money to nav
these bounties tax was laid on sugar
production. What were the effects?
With increased income came increase
OF expenditure among the junkers the
landlords, on whose estates tenant
farmers grew beets. A land mania set
in and estates were enlarged and mort
gagged. The plane of living lifted into
extravaganza. Habits were formed
The junker grew less independent and
more dependent upon the state. the
tenant on him. With the exports of
surplus with it's bounty, came the in
evitable result of falling prices. Ger
many made sugar cheaper for England
and somewhat for us, less because of
tariffs and trusts. There ensued de-
mands for higher bounties on product
and export. The infants grew weaker
instead of stronger. With it came in
crease of taxation, and the incidence
was increasedA cost Of sugar to the
home consumer with decrease of con-
sumption. There rapidly developed the
Social Derlpcratic party, casting, in a
few years. soIre three million votes.
made UP ofimen who found themselves
burdened to help others with no COM
pensating benefits. The government