The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1899-06-08
A POLITICAL BUGBEAR.

hSM tAulS W Nulc Wo dE6 fcSolcU
with the absurd and often disproven
claim that our protective policy will
call forth retaliatory measures and
curtailment of our market in foreign
countries. In this, as we'll as in some
other things. it is well enough to use
a little Of the common-sense with
which nature is supposed to have en-
dowed most of US. When you go to
the corner store to buy butter for
breakfast do you inquire into the
pedigree Of the cow which gave the
milk from which the butter was
made :? or do you pry into the private
character or individual beliefs or
practices of the butter-maker? You
60 to the store because you are out
of butter and must have it for break
fast or have domestic insurrection;
you select butter of quality to suit
your taste, or as nearly so as possible,
from the stock on hand, pay the mar
ket price and 60 home with your
purchase. If there is another store
where you can get better butter for
the same money, or the same butter
for less money, there you will 60 to
buy. You will purchase where 1t is
to your advantage to purchase.
Business houses will do tho same
thing. The fact that the house is To-
Gated in London, Hong Kong, st.
Petersburg, Paris, Canton or Kala-
mazoo makes no difference. It is
Just the same with nations. In fact,
a nation as an organized entity cuts
little figure in the great world of
buyers and sellers-it is the business
of individuals, firms and corporations
which makes up and is as the busi-
ness of the nation, aud it is conducted
on the same lines as you, as a good
private business man, would conduct
your own business. It is not neoes-
sary to enter into an argument to
show that you would both buy and
sell where you could do the best, nor
to point out that these principles con-
troll the business OF the world.
Hon. Robert P. Porter, now abroad
for the purpose of studying COM
merce conditions on the ground. and
whose peculiar fitness to conduct
such an investigation and formulate
it's results is not questioned by well
informed and unprejudiced people,
makes this statement as one finding
of his work:
"The importance to all European
of American raw materials is SO great
that it is almost impossible for the
continental countries to threaten US
with adverse legislation without in
juring themselves"
Nations, no more than individuals,
are fond of cutting off their noses to
spite their own faces. The world
must have both our raw materials
and manufactured products, mas
much as our production has reached
that commanding position where it is
to the worlds advantage to have
them, and talk of adverse or retalia-
tory legislation because of our pro-
tective tariff is the veriest foolishness
which has lost its power to deceive.
Our raw materials, food products
and other manufactured articles will
continue to supply the needs of a
large portion of the worlds traffic,
while our own laborers will still be
shielded from The danger of having
their home market, the best market
of all, supplied by the products ot
poorly-paid foreign labor. There is
no occasion for anxiety, and no occa-
sion to desert our knitting to help
out our friends of the opposition who
are so solicitous for those "markets
of the world" which we are continu-
ing to supply in increasing measure.