The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-02-01
THURSDAY. FEBRUARY /. 1900.
ESTABLISHING THE CLOUDS.

ESTABLISHING THE CLOUDS.
g. A cup of strong coffee and a light
breakfast prepare one to look upon the
i'erfand after bread and butter during the
forenoon ASIA mission from heaven, but
before the noon hour has arrived sub
,ustantial lunch is requisite to establish
wisdom and strength. This is a plain,
physical fact, with no souls errand in
volyed. The corallary of it in reason is
that theory and politics make up a
heavenly mission Until about the hour of
noontide in the affairs of a nation, and
in its youth and prodigahty, but so soon
as the heavy work of the day appears,
the wear and tear of man against man
end interest against interest-nation
against nation, and commerce against
conmerce-gold imports against gold ex
ports-exchequer reports make up the
.eonly substantial meal for man. To
dream of vast inundation of products
from a population that has not yet
and the innocence of the chopstick, to
anticipate fifty years of lessons in finance,
in the face of Europe's lessons with
Amerieayewfqere she has had over hun
dred years of uninterrupted rich picking
from greenhorns in trade balances. is to
play at establishing the clouds. Far bet
ter ter to O. attempt strepg thening the founda-
lions of the deep-te. promote such finan-
ciering, such social movements, such
wisdom among the common peoples at
home and such regard among them for
differences in treasury reports, as will en-
able government to shift as rapidly as
possible the gold balances between us
and foreign-aatiens. ss9-s
Suppose Mr.. Hill to be wrong. and
that it will be but a few years before
1.-The Orient will be sending cargoes Of
wheat to America-a physical impossible
ity from China-yet the United States
ought to have at least fifty years of I'M
interrupted balances in their favor for
iron and steel and cotton goods sold to
the Orient Suppose it to be true. as
anticipated by the British Board of Trade
reports, that the United States are rap
idly approaching the end of their rope
in wheat and flour expectations, and win
soon consume all their own products In
those lines. will that not mean that the
iron mills of Ohio and the iron mines
of Minnesota are rushed with orders
from Africa and Asia? Will it not mean
that the cotton spindles of New England
and the South are likewise overrun with
demands for American cottons? We have
the finest systems in the world. But we
for many years built our iron and steel
and cotton mills on English soil, and
paid enormous prices for English goods
carried in English vessels. By leverage
of the South American trade aIone-by
virtue of that hidden balance against us
for coffee and sugar-Europe picked us
for fifty years at the rate of from $780,
100000 to s2OO,o0O, O0oF per year. besides the
freights. And we paid for 1t in cloud
land dreams with wheat and cotton at
the lowest market prices.
If all the water power at Minneapolis
cannot be utilized in flour making, and
there is surplus capital existing for the
enterprise, turn it by all means into
electricity for steel making or through
turbines for cotton mills Why not cot
ton mills in Minnesota as well as In New
England? The Mississippi is here to
carry the bales, and the railroads are
here to carry the product of the mills to
the Pacific. At the Pacific and between
those ports and Manila-if the Philip
pines really have become American ter.
ritory-American vessels engaged in the
co-tstwise trade should carry the stufs
to the Orient and the whole profit go
Into American hands. For from Manila
the distribution could be easily made to
the whole Oriental trade
Establishing the clouds" may be suit
able occupation for omnipotence but for
7O,0O0,000 of people who are approaching
the climax of their youthfulness. and who
have been flung by circumstances and
good fortune alike into the whirlpool Of