The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-29
WHY FOREIGNERS NEEDLE.

Foreign meddling. or attempted meddling.
with tariff legislation to which the Jour-
nails Washington correspondent called at
tention in yesterdays issue, is no new
thing. 1t may not have assumed the form
of official protest, but the agents of for
eign interests have constituted an active
lobby whenever legislation which might in
terfere with them has been under consider
alton. Canada has always been grumbing
about the fiscal legislation of the United
States, as if it had some special rights in
this country. It's reciprocity has meant
free trade for Canada in the United States.
Time and again legislation designed to en-
courage American shipping has been de-
feated by British influence. That we have
not an anti-immigration law which would
keep out of our labor market 100000 common
laborers who cannot read any language is
due to ex-President Cleveland and the
agents of foreign steamship companies.
The governments which are protesting
against an American tariff are doing so
because the United States is the best mar
ket they have in the world. Several of
them are governments whose people are
unable to purchase the products of any
country to any great extent. China is one
of the nations which produce to sell abroad
because the ill-paid people cannot con-
sumo the best of their own products or
those of any country which trades with
them. During the past ten years we have
purchased $3.50 of Chinese merchandise as
often as China has purchased 81 here. A
tariff upon Chinese goods which must be
sold is paid largely by those who must sell
their products. If there were absolutely
free trade China would not purchase more
of our goods than it does, because its pau
per people cannot afford to consume them.
OF Japan we have purchased 81 worth of
merchandise as often as it has taken 81
worth of our products. Japan has been
paying low wages to its people, who have
lost half the purchase power of wages in
the past twenty years by the depreciation
of their silver money under the single
standard. Free trade would fill our mar
kets with the very cheap labor products
of Japan, many of which come in compe-
tition with those of the United States, but
free trade would add very little to the con-
sumption of our goods in Japan because the
mass Of the Japanese do not earn enough
to become liberal buyers. Japan protests
against high duties because it must sell a
large part of it's goods in the United States;
and must sell them at price to undersell
other competitors. If the United States
would take as many of the goods of Japan
at the high price which the addition of the
duty to its noncompeting products would
impose, Japan would not protest, but it's
merchants know that to sell the same vol
ume of goods they must pay part of the
duty in the reduced prices. Hence their
complaint We buy millions of the prod
ucts of Switzerland where it scarcely takes
dollars worth of our goods. Many of these
goods we can make at home. Consuming
little because of the inability of the people
of Switzerland to purchase, the duty we i'm
pose can have no effect upon the quantity
which we will sell them.
If all these protesting governments would
turn more of their attention to stimuiat-
ing the consumption of their own products
by paying higher wages and depend less
upon the United States for a market, they
would not only have no cause for anger,
but would be better off in every way. When
such governments so advance the compen-
sation of labor that it can purchase for
consumption like the United States, their
protests may receive attention and the mar
kets Of the world will mean something.
The United States is the best market in
the world because the mass of people earn
more money to expend than do any other
people. 1t will not long be the best mar
ket if the goods of low-priced labor are
permitted to be brought hither for con-
sumption, thereby interfering disastrously
with home production and the high-grade
compensation paid.