Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1900-07-25
TRADE BALANCES.
How Our owr. Ships Would Make of
Us p Creditor Nation,


Nothing SO perpetuates the debtor
condition of the United States as its
annual payment to foreign shipowners
of some S200,o00.00o each year. When
to that amount is added the sum paid
for insurance, banking and exchange to
Foreigners because they control the
means of transporting our exports and
imports, the cash or its equivalent ia
our products annually drawn from the
United States largely exceeds $780,
100000. To 30 legislate as to foster ~
immense ship-cwning and siilSsaadng
Industry in the Juited States Suili-
Client to enable our own people to carry
our imports and exports in American
ships-would be equivalent to securing
the retention at home Of minimum
sum OF S200000.QQo each year that now
goes out Of the country TO afford en-
ploymant to aliens at cur expense To
keep such a vast sum nj home would
rapidly transform the United States
into a creditor nation
During the last four years the appar-
ent balance of trade in favor Of tie
United States has closely Appropriated
to two thousand millions Of dollars.
Were that an actual rather than an APP
parent favorable trade balance we
woulr soon cease to he a debtor nation
But when we deduct about one-half of
that trade balance because % the pay
nents made TO foreign shrpowners,
baukers and insurance companies, and
again deduct the large but unknown
amounts consisting of interest due for
eignerS on investments in the United
States, money spent abroad by Ameri-
cans and the sums RENTED by immi-
grants, we find our favorable trade bal
ance dwindles dawn to very small pro-
portions AS consequence, we are
but slowly emerging from our condi-
ton of foreign Indebtedness.
Free silver advocates must see, how
ever. the golden opportunity our pres
mt enormous exports in excess of i'm
ports gives us to once and for all fee
ourselves from foreign indebtedness.
Did our own people but earn the
$500, 100000 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 u.s. 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 thousand mill
ions of dollars for doing our foreign
stayed out of the country 10 its perma-
nent npoverishment Our national
wealth to-day is all Of four thousand
millions of dollars less than it would
have been had American ships carried
the same proportion Of our foreign com
merce during the past forty years that
they did during the preceding seventy
years. More than that. to keep on pay.
! ing foreigners at the rate we are now
/ doing for the carriage Of our impori 5
and exports will during the next quar-
| ter of century alone. take out of the
United States fully five thousand mill
| ions of dollars additional
| Not only win the country be drained
of this colossal amount. but American
labor in the mines, the mills. the fac
tories, the snipyards and on board the
ships. will be denied the employment
incident to the building of ships, from
the mining of the ore and the Telling OF
| the forests to the completed ships.
The passage of the shipping bill
which VIII quickly put an end TO our
present dangerous and impoverishne
dependence upon foreign shipping for
our foreign carrying should, for the
few reasons outlined. if not for the
very many others unstated for lack of
space. command the active sG?r5rt of
not OILY every monometalllst, but Of
every bimetalTist IN the United States.