The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-23
OBSTACLES TO COMMERCE.
STUN BLING BLOCKS ~ TIE WAT OF
WORLD-W IDE TRADE.
TaIsenooss Told by Trade Rivals Absut Ameri-
can Ezports-Reason why Nicaragua SENDS
Us Baannns rrom Only One Dtsfrict-Coun-
,rinn Tint Rrohihit anmn Imnorts.

tries that Prehibit Some Imports.
Some months ago tho RreuS ZcitunO, one OF
tho organ s of tho Agrarian party in Germany,
solomnly asserted that numerous cases OF 80
we're collie had been traced to eating American
sliced apples that had tocn dried on zinc In
order to give them finer color and preserve them
better. Last spring tho markets of Berlin and
other largo German cities wcro full of delicious
apples, large, fragrant, fne-iavored and cheap,
that camc from tho United States. They were
undoubtedly superior to tho European fruit, but
no newspaper dared say so and some of tho
Journals were really dubious as 10 the wisdom
of importing our apples. Might they not" 1t
was suggested, bring in some beetle or moth,
whose worm would play havoc with tho Ger
man applesi' Then there is tho buRaboo Of
American meat. Can IL be eaten by Europeans
without imperilling their livesi rs it not well
known" asked an excited Agrarian organ n
year ago, that n horse slaughtcrer OF Long
island City for years worked up 5000 diseased
horses yearly into corncd beef and forwarded
the mess to Antwerp to BIO scattered over west
ern Europcl" Alleged experts In the pay Of the
German Agrarians, who arc bitterly opposed to
tho Importation Of food products from the
United States, have long been casting doubt on
the thoroughness of meat inspection in the
United States; and recently q Belfast news.
paper has been appalled, ut the evidence 1t has
discovered that American millcrs are adulterat-
ing the -four they send to Ireland, by mixing
finely ground corn meal, having the general APP
pearance Of wheat flour. with their wheat.
These incidents illustrate one phase of tho OBJ
staclcs with which every successful exporting
country has to contend. Trade rivals will
Islander their goods and try to impeach their
honesty. Sometimes the trade in one or an
other article Is seriously damaged for q while
by this hostile depreciation and misrcpresenta-
ton. but In the long run, a worthy article usu-
ally makes Its way against this sort OF injustice.
There IL little or no patriotism in trade, and
when German merchants, for instance. think
they can buy a better article at a smaller price
in o foreign land. they will buy it and ignore tho
home product. The story Of our refined petro-
loum in Germany is an excellent illustration of
this fact. Everything short of actual prohibi-
ton has been done to keep our kerosene out of
the German market 30 that tho Russian article
may have full sway. These efforts have thus
far failed both because the Russian oil Is really
inferior and also because, as yet, 1t has never
been delivered in Hamburg as cheaply AS the
American oil.
Many illustrations might be given Of the vari-
GUS obstacles that obstruct the development of
trade. 1t is a mere truism to say that trade
and industry are paralyzed wherever the
means Of transportation arc lacking or inferior,
but how curiously is this fact often illustrated.
All along the river lands Of eastern Nicaragua
there are large areas perfectly adapted for the
cultivation Of the banana, but there is only ono
district on that long stretch of seaboard from
which bananas may DO proftably exported.
This is tho region of the Blucfields River, the
only stream that can be entered by steamers
large enough for the fruit trade. All the other
rivers are closed by sandbars at their mouths,
md the rich banana lands are almost worthless
To- IL t.
leIful extent with navigablo rivers and a great
network of canals connecting them. but the ex-
treme slowness of these means Of communica-
ton Is sometimes very detrimental In some
of tho provinces. two years ago, tens Of thou
sands starved TO death before relief could reach
them from other provinces where there was an
abundance OF food.
We little dreamed, when Congress was dis
cussing the Dingley bill. of the painful excite
island of Sicily. Thousands OF people there live |
by raising oranges and lemons. Half the annual
and It was s' PROPOSED to increase cT s tho ~ duty y' from;
70 to 20 cents q box. Mass meetings were held
at Palermo, Messina, and Catania, and all
classes attended from the wealthy landowners
people feared their CHER Industry would be
meetings. they discussed how to get other mar
kets and how to diversity their industries.
terrib5!y from their disregard pSar pV Of the 'i laws Of dc.
sbipned an nsar si~p sGG o6 N b three Of m fGmIl 70 they hey
country; the influx glutted our already well:
supplied markets and much of the sicilian fruit
6arely realized freight charges and duties.
protectionist policy, and as inr as these duties
tend to restrict the purchase Of goods from other
tional trade; but the Germans are telling us
now that they don't care half so much about our
ehhSi = Customs RSiss rates. as .he The eS f say 04 16a fVe no
sooner do they adapt themselves to one tariff
schedule than we put another in force. and they
entirely book trade in some directions by pro-
hibiting all imports in certain lines. Thus the
be imported into that country II it can advan-
tageousiy be produced at home. Under this
esuela. German lead pencils are not permitted
to be used In tho schools and public and railroad
into Cochin China, and scores Of similar Instances
might BIO IN ntioned. Laws practically estab-
fishing export monopolie,, are also in force, as in
the Congo Free state. where such high export
and rubber that the entire business is now com
emit. which is reaping all the profits. We can.
not deal with Spain so advaniageously as Eng
have no favorable trade treaty with her. while
their commercial treaties with spain give them
iasg, tariff against US. spain does not Offer an In.
wiling feld to our business enterprises. 4
Ths evils Of oysrproduetion have been illus.
countries, largo and small, have suffered terri
bly, from this misfortune in recent years. The
world at large scarcely realizes vet the calami-
" that has bcfallen widely scattered regions
on account Of the enormous decline In the
price of oil of cocoanut. Twenty years ago this
oil began to DO more largely employed in the
manufacture OF soaps. and copra. the dried CO.
coanut meat from which tho oil Is made. com
manded most remuneratiye prices in Europe.
The result was TO stimulate the planting OF tons
Of. thousands of acres in the Pacific islands,
Africa, Asia, and tropical America. The new
groves are now in full bearing. the world Is not
consuming the entire amount OF copra they offer,
the price has fallen from Sll5 to $52 a ton. and
many planters have been ruined.
The coffee markets OF tho whole world have
been warning tho coffee producing countries
for some years that a crisis would be sure to
come, unless the volume of product were cur
tailed. Tho warning has not been needed. The
production of Brazil in 1sD6-07 was 5000 900
bags. and crops of Venezuela, Colombia, and Cen
trul America were In proportion. There Is dis.
tress to-day among the coffee growers. and a
ductioD Is curiailed. Overproduction is one
Of the commercial. evils which it seems impossi.
BILE TO combat until tho cure Is wrought by tho
misery IL brings, manufacturers, from America
to Russia, reaped no benefit from tho excessive
w low nripa If m IA rntfnn IN I 1901 .,,,nI, 4. la,.