The Globe-republican., 1900-08-02
TRADE BALANCES.

Nothing so perpetuates the debtor
condition Of the United States as its
annual payment to foreign ship own
ers of some 5000, zoo, 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
a1ent in our products annually drawn
exceeds 5000, 200, 900. To so legis1ate as
to foster an immense ship owning and
ship building industry in the United
States-suf1cient to enable our own
people to carry our imports and
ports in American ships-would be
equivalent to securing the retention at
home of a minimum sum of 5000, OOO,-
900 each year that now goes out of the
country to afford employment to aliens
at our expense. To keep such a vast
sum at home would rapidly transform
the United States into a creditor ma
ton.
During the last four years the APP
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 a
debtor nation. But when we deduct
about one-half of that trade balance
because of the payments made to for
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 to once and for all
| free ourselves from foreign indebted
ness. Did our own people but earn
| the 5000 900 900 or more each year now
paid 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. or
else Europeans would send back to us
| the American securities which they
| now hold in such enormous sums and
| which at present keep this country a
debtor nation
| We have in the past forty years
| paid to foreigners easily four thou
| sand millions of dollars for doing our
| foreign carrying, a sum that has gone
| out and stayed out of the country, tie
its 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 paying foreigners at
| the rate we now doing for the
| carriage of our imports and exports
| will. during the next quarter OF a CEN
| furv 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 Amer
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