Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1900-07-27
TRADE BALANCES.

Nothing so perpetuates the debtor
condition Of the United States as it's
annual payment to foreign ship own
ers OF some $200,000,0 900 each year.
When to that amount Is added the sum
paid for insurance. banking and ex-
change to foreigners because they con-
troll the means OF transporting our ex-
ports and imports, the cash or Its equiv
alent in our products annually drawn
exceeds 5000, 100000. To so legislate as
to foster an immense ship owning and
ship building industry In the United
States-suftlcient to enable our own
people to carry our imports and ex-
ports in American ships-would be
equivalent to securing the retention at
home OF minimum sum OF $500, 000,-
900 each year that now goes out Of the
country to afford employment to aliens
at our expense. To keep such vast
sum at home would rapidly transform
the United States into creditor ma
ton.
During the last four years the ap-
parent balance of trade in favor OF
the United States has closely approx
imated to two thousand millions OF
dollars. Were that an actual rather
than an apparent favorable trade bal
ance we would soon cease to be
debtor nation. But when we deduct
about one-half of that trade balance
because of the payments made to for
eign ship owners, bankers and insur-
ance companies, and again deduct the
large but unknown amounts, consist
ing of interest due foreigners on in
vestments in the United States. money
spent abroad by Americans and the
sums RENTED by immigrants, we find
our favorable trade balance dWindles
down to very small proportions. As
a consequence, we are but slowly
emerging from our condition of foreign
indebtedness.
Free silver advocates must see
however, the golden opportunity ou1
present enormous exports in excess OF
imports gives us to once and for all
free ourselves from foreign indebted
ness. Did our own people but earn
the 5000, 100000 or more each year now
maid to foreigners for charges incident
to the carriage Of our imports and ex-
ports European gold would be forced
into the United States at an enormous
rate to meet the balances due US. o.
else Europeans would send back to us
the American securities which they
now hold in such enormous sums aAd
which at present keep this country
debtor nation.
We have in the past forty years
paid to foreigners easily four thou.
sand millions Of dollars for doing ou1
foreign carrying. sum that has gone
out and stayed out Of the country, tc
it's permanent impoverishment. Our
national wealth today is all Of four
thousand millions of dollars less than
it would have been had American
ships carried the same proportion OF
our foreign commerce during the past
forty years that they did during the
preceding seventy years. More than
that, to keep on paying foreigners at
the rate we are now doing for the
carriage of our imports and exports
will. during the next quarter Of a cen.
tury alone. take out Of the United
States fully five thousand millions OF
dollars additional
Not only will the country be drained
of this colossal amount. but Ameri-
can labor in the mines. the mills. the
factories, the ship yards and on board
the ships, will be denied the employ
ment incident to the building Of ships.