The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-27
THE BLOW RECIPROCAL.


Nations are motived no higher than
are the average individuals who COM
pose them. and the Impulse Of retalia
ton moves the one just as quickly as
it does the other Individually we re
sent the refusal of another to buy of
us by refusing to trade with him, and
we let our resentment have its way
regardless of the loss 1t may involve.
Nationally we are irritated when, from
whatever motive. one nation raises it's
barriers against the products Of our
people, and we look about for oppor
tunities to give them the blow re-
ciprocal We apply the military doc
trine Of reprisals to our commerce, for
getting that war is destructive and
commerce constructive, and that re-
prisals in trade hurt only those who
nature often, and takes no account Of
reactions.
So we have NJ. HanotauX, the foreign
minister of France, COUGHING in diplo-
the impediments the Dingley bill
throws in the way Of French products
seeking customers here, and the Ca
madam finance minister delivering his
budget to the house of commons with
the significant intimation that Canada
will have two tariffs. one a preferential
one for those countries that are willing
to trade with Canada, and another one,
with higher rates, for those who indi-
cate in their tariffs a desire to lessen
trade with the Dominion. With the
covert threats of M. HanOtaux we have
no concern or sympathy, for France
protecting producers from our compe-
tition, aptly beginning the process with
pork, for the motive of all such meth
DDS, wherever used, is hoggish. But
with Canada the case is different.
When, under the stress of war reve-
nues, we discontinued the reciprocity
relations and hampered interchange Of
products with our war taxes, we gave
opportunity to Canadian Tories to imi-
tate our policy of protection. When the
reaction came with us in 1892 it found
it's reflection in the Dominion, result
ing in the first victory for the free
trade element last year. This desired
reciprocal trade relations with US 1t
offered to let down its bars If we would
lower ours. Our movement toward
freer trade was checked by the panic,
artfulIy seized on by our Tories to Sc
cure a restored grasp on privilege. The
outcome is the Dingley bill with its
direct thrusts at our neighbor on the
north. Naturally, humanity, comes the
return blow
And Canada proposes to deliver it
deftly. It does not intend to resume the
absurd policy Of making its people pay
more for the things they exchange their
products for abroad, unless they come
from some country that makes its peo-
pie pay more for the Canadian prod
ucts they import. AS nearly everything
Canada imports can be supplied by
other countries than the United States
and as the result of the proposed diff
ferential tariff will be TO enable Ca
nadians to get those things cheaper
elsewhere than from us, we may look
forward to an almost entire loss Of our
Canadian trade. This is not inconsid-
cradle in amount. In 1896 we export
ed to the Dominion and Newfoundland
domestic products, mostly manufac-
lures, amounting to s54,454, asa, while
our imports Of Canadian products on
the free list amounted to $26, 9O4, 100 and
on the dutiable list to s14, 4O7, $40, a bal
ance of trade in cur favor Of over
$4,000, 900. Not only will this be chang
ed, but a more serious result will be
the restoration Of hostile sentiment as
we'll as trade, and, in Canada, a check
to the new movement towards free
trade, that great force making for
human brotherhood