Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-11-29
THE EXPORT DELUsIoN.

The Chicago Chronicle calls attention
TO a favorite source of Republican sa1-
congratulation, the great increase IN
our export trade, and proceeds to show
that not only is a large export business
not wholly satisfactory, but in the
present big business there appears
to be no return for that which is sent
abroad. either in money or anything
Else
The administrative rejoicing is based
lpon an export business of more than
me hundred million dollars for every
ronth in the present year." while on
he other hand they point with pride
20 a decreased importation. The Chron-
tcle takes up this alleged evidence OF
prosperity and remarks:
According TO these economists the ex-
portation of merchandise is the one thlng
to be desired in foreign commerce. They
assume this is an axiom which no one
will have the hardihood to dispute.
Hence the thing they brag of most is the
excess of merchandise exports over mer-
They tell us that the President in his
forthcoming message VIII point with
pride to the figures with which the sec,
rotary of the treasury will supply MIN,
showing that during the four calendar
years which will end December 31st, the
exports have exceeded the Ell imports mp ,, by
the enormous sum of $1,000 100000
"All this goes 10 show how persistent
a delusion is when once ii gets posses
sion Of the public mind This Dragging
over the excess of imports betrays
strong survival of the old mercantile de-
fusion of the middle ages that in inter-
national trade what one nation gains an
other must lose combined with the still
older delusion that gold and silver are
the only real wealth and that the whole
object of international trade in the case
of any country is to get more OF those
metals than it parts with.
This notion that somehow foreign
trade must be so regulated as to bring
about an excess of merchandise exports
in order to have a balance" OF gold and
silver coming in took such fast hold on
the mercantile mind that for many long
years commerce was prosecuted at the
lnstigauon of the mercantile class-perse-
cuted with all manner of laws DEGREES,
regulations and, devices of statecraft-in
order to secure that elusive balance OF
trade And the delusion still clings
with wonderful tenacity, especially. TO
nearly all minds which are dominated by
he sophisms of protection
1T would perhaps be instructive to the
victims Of this delusion to follow their
own theory or assumption to its logical
conclusion If an excess of exports IS
profitable to a country the excess can
hardly be too great. If it is desidera-
tuIn the aim should be not only to make
the merchandise exports as great as pos
sible, but to make the merchandise i'm
ports as small as possible.
PLAINLY, then, the most profitable con-
dition would be that in which we would
export the greatest possible amount and
import no merchandise at all, In other
words. the most profitable thing for us
would be to part with the greatest pos
sible amount of our wealth and get moth
ing in exchange for it except gold and
silver.
This reduces the export assumption to
an absurdity, for it must be obvious to
every rational mind that a country has
no more need of an excessive supply of
gold and silver than It has OF an excess
siVe supply of spades or saws or farm
wagons or any other article of use
The Chronicle then proceeds to show
that while we have exported two thou
sand millions more than we have ex-
ported we have imported not quite
thirty-two millions more in coin than
we have exported In other words. We
have gained S127 6000 600 in gold and
lost S95SO00 G0 in silver, the net gain
benlg thus $31 800, 900, and asks: what
have we received for the difference Of
s1,G9S,000, 000?" Apparently nothing,
for the government reports are silent
on the subject. There must be a quid
pro quo somewhere, but up to date it
hasn't been found and identified.