The Saint Paul globe., 1899-02-12
interested in the arms and ammunition
AMERICAN AFFAIRS.

l
| trade
| AMERICAN AFFAIRS.
| American affairs have occupied a
| large space in the German press dur
| ing the past week The events at Ma
| Mia have been followed keenly and
| the press comments are plentiful and
| varied. Generally speaking, the pa
pers are rather sympathetic to the
! Americans, but fears are expressed
that the task of subduing the FiEpinos
will prove harder than the Americans
suppose. The Vossiche-Zeitung, in an
article wishing the Americans success,
says:
IF President Mckinley insists upon
establishing permanent American
rule in the Philippines, the United
| States stand Just on the Threshold of
| a colonial war, of whose dangers and
| expense, blood and money the Ameri-
can newspaper strategists have prob
ably no adequate idea
| The kreuZ Zeitung says: whoever
looks over the situation calmly, must
| admit that the final victory of the
| Americans is not only certain, but
desirable. The Tagalos, with their
Aguinaldo, are certainly incapable Of
| self-government. We are unable to
| discover in this Aguinaldo, who has
played with more than hostile inten-
tions between two powers, has any
| traits of real greatness
| The Kreuz Zeitung then rejoices that
the relations between Germany and the
| United States are improving, and paws
= fpih 10
steady efforts In that direction. The
paper next advises a partition of the
Samoan islands, Germany taking
Uponu, that upon which Apia, the
capital, is situated, and which contains
more than half the total population of
the entire group, and the United States
and Great Britain dividing Savaii,
Tutuila and Manua.
The commercial relations between
! the United States and Germany have
however, absorbed chief attention part
| ly on account of the reichstag inter-
pellation on the subject today. intro
| duced by Count Won Konitz, the Agra
rlan leader, with the approval of the
! government, which hopes thereby to
exert pressure on the Washington gov
| ernment, which. it is claimed here, is
hanging back needlessly and interpos-
| ing obstacles in the way of a mutual
understanding regarding reciprocity.
| ABUSE FOR AMERICA.
The Agrarian press this week again
abuses the United States and the Cen
trists, who backed the Interpolation,
| print in their mouthpiece, the Cologne
Nolkszeitung, long, aggressive article
| referring to American insolence" in
tariff matters. Among other things the
paper says:
The German market is equally val
liable to the Americans as the Ameri-
can is for US, especially since the Amer
lean tariff policy succeeded in exclud-
Ing large part of German export from
the American market. American brag-
gadocfo pretends that America has moth
Ing to lose, and that she can frighten
Germany by increasing brutality. But
We believe that in the end thew will
recognize that they have to deal with
a people who will not be frightened.
FIRST OF all the re1chstag must make it
plaln that German patience in the face
oI American proVocation has it's limits,
and that We are determined to defend
ourselves unless they learn to behave
sensibly. This may favorably influence
the negotiations. The Centrists, in sup
porting the Interpolation do not wish
TO rush Germany into tariff war with
the United States. We are aware that
such a war hurts both parties and in
dustries would suffer. But Americans.
by their total disregard of treaties
have already injured our exports 81
seriously that it seems necessary to
show them at once for all that we can
hit back. otherwise they will behaye
worse and worse, and injure us moro
than tariff war;
The foregoing article from the organ
Of the dominant faction in the reich
stag is certainly significant. The Kreuz
LeItung prints a similar but more mod
crate editorial, while the Deutsche Zei-
tung mas an exclusively aggressive edi-
torial concluding:
AS. pressure is upon our government
which has always shown weakness to-
wards the United States, and as pres
sure is to be used diplomaticallv
against those gentlemen at Washing
ton, this Interpolation is germane and
welcome"
UNFAIR TACTICS.
The entire Liberal press takes the
opposite view. The National Zeituna
deems the Interpolation untimely, the
Friessinige Zeitung says it is merely
intended to facilitate the policy Of ag-
ricultural development for the benefit
OF the agrarian, and the Tageblatt
strongly opposes a tariff war;
The veXatious application Of the Ger
man tariff on American imports has
! I no wise ceased, and during the past
lew months American fruit has been
treated with especial unfafrness at all
the tariff stations, particularly Ham
burg, Bremen and Emmrich, on the
frontier Of Holland. The attention of
Mr. White has just been called to a
case where, on Jan. 8, when 100 cases
OF the finest dried California pears
consigned to a dealer of Dusseldorf
were stopped at Emmrich by the Ger
mans, who advised the consignee that