The times., 1899-02-18
Reciprocity With Germany.

One of our dispatches this morning an
nounces the arrival in England of Mr..
Robert p Porter. on his way to Berlin, as
Special Commissioner OF the President to
study the commercial relations Of the
United States and Germany. and to seek
means for the accommodation of tariff and
cognate differences between them.
We applaud the mission and the intelli
gent purpose underlying it. The friction
between this country and the German EN-
pire is totally unnecessary. 1t would not
exist but for the vicious fiscal system
which survives among the obstructive ruins
of our old ante-bellum proyincialism. The
action which Mr.. Mckinley has taken, in
sending Mr.. Porter abroad on the business
stated, is evidence that the leader of Amer
lean opinion on the question of expansion
sees the necessity for a revision OF our
Chinese wall tariff system. albeit he has
been in times past its chief conservator.
and has had to climb over it into the light
OF our new interests and necessities.
From the hour Congress declared war
The Times has believed in the inevitable
advent of a new era in which the foolish,
artificial barriers built against the free in
terchange of commerce between the ma
tions of the world would be broken down
and swept out to the sea of forgotten
blunders. Dewey at Manila and Schley off
Santiago bOmbarded and destroyed those
barriers for all practical purposes, and it
only now remains for Mr.. Mckinley and
his party, as well as for the country at
,.F
commercial relations in accordance with
our new position. That position is incom-
patible with any fiscal policy founded upon
a prohibitive or even obstructive tariff.
Aside from the immediate reason in
volyed in Mr.. Porter's mission. for bet
ter commercial understanding with Ger
many. there are broader and nobler con-
siderations 10 bear in mind. The Empire
of the Kaiser is the parent stock of the
great Teutonic family of which Great Brit
ain and the United States are the vigor-
Gus younger branches. 1t is opposed to
the genius and the race movement of the
day that they should quarrel among them
selves when the merest tyro in political
science can see that, if once united in
friendship and policy, they could own and
divide the world, as far as strength and
effective means are concerned Even If
that were not true, we should remember
that we are bound to Germany by ties that
should not and cannot be ignored. 1t is
the birthplace of millions of our citizens.
ON the basis of original nationality, New
York is today the second German city in
the world. and there are few communities
in the Fatherland which can count more
German natives than Chicago. Indeed, we
are by far too much German in the United
States ever to wish serious trouble with
the Empire. and, in fact, nobody does wish
it who is at once sane and patriotic. We
may and do resent the superserviceable and
hostile action of German admirals and
consuls here and there. We should also
.be prepared to believe that their acts will
be disclaimed and offences punished by the
government at Berlin when the facts are
known.
All this does not mean that we would
not be ready to fight King, Kaiser, or the
devil if we were forced 10 that point. 1t
does mean that the future opens up a
vista of chance for union and the prosecu-
tion OF common expansion and civiliZa-
tion by the three grand divisions of the
Teutonic race-Germany, Great Britain,
and America.