The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-01-19
The Balance OF Trade.

On October 10 you published a letter 0
mine giving an account of our foreign
trade, and on October "a another on
in which offered 500 to any one prov
ing my position incorrect. No one III
to the present time has attempted Il
collect the cash, though many reason!
for not doing so have been given. To
day l received the enclosed letter from
gentleman in New York and as il i!
splendid specimen of the verbal re-
plies received in New Haven, T ask yor
to publish it that our citizens may see
how their proposition looks in cold type
when compared with the treasury re-
ports, which show that during the past
three years we exported an excess OF
merchandise and silver to the amount
of 81, 500, 7ss 7s6, and that all the "solid
gold' we received to balance this was
$137 ,242,s65, leaving a deficit of $1,174,
520931. It Is to be noted that this let
ter is supposed to sustain the common
ly accepted notion that a nation in
creases in wealth by maintaining an
excess of exports over imports, or that
we get richer by our outgo being great
er than our income In my statement
| 1 gave the treasury reports as pub
lished, the only figures in this letter are
| those in the dates.
w. TRUEMAN.
"In endeavoring to show an excess of
exports over that OF imports makes the
country poorer" and quoting figures
which you think prove conclusively
that as a nation we are fast losing
riches and that if we go on still export
ing we are surely going to the dogs"
I'VE go on asserting and affirming our
belief that we are getting more prosper
GUS" You "really want to know what
we receive in return for the enormous
amount Of wealth we send away" All
the believers in the protective tariff,
and it has always been supposed those
that are not strictly believers or sup
porters, but who are financially inter-
ested recognize the fact that for all
merchandise sent away from this cour-
try we have received good, solid, hard
pan money-gold, OF course, Mr.. IT,,
everyone thought you knew this and
that Is the reason no one has replied
to your query. You claim that levi
dence of money flowing to this country
for our goods solids a sure indication
of debt Why, Mr.. r., I am surprised
at your illogical reasoning. 1t does not
require much to show and convince
any man that you are not correct in
80 ~. a.
Does not every merchant in business
try to keep all his goods continually on
the move-coming in and going out, es-
pecjally going out? What for, think
you? Just for amusement? For profit
Of course. Is it an evidence of loss that
he disposes of his merchandise and
keeps 1t moving out pretty lively? And
at some profit, be 1t more or less. OF
course he can't sell more goods than he
buys. Would you have him keep all
he gets? No; no, Mr.. 7. He keeps
rushing them out knowing there is |
plenty more to be purchased and sell |
ers glad to dispose of their goods to
him-at a profit, certainly. And the |
more they both sell the more there is In
it to them, and to the producers and
u. s. We have large productions of |
almost every kind. Shall we hold them |
when we can find a market for them
and are glad to get rid of them? Our
home market overstocked and other
crying for them. No, no;
send them out, all we can; no matter if
no other goods come back. Our coun-
try is getting no poorer through it. The
more we send the richer we become,
Why? Don't those countries have to
send gold for goods? and don't they, in
paying for them, pay for the goods and
a profit as well? Certainly they do.
We VIII say you are a farmer your
crops have turned out well, but there Is
no demand for any article you have
'aised The market is nverstocked
You become Respondent and lose your
and let things stand in such
I way that they will soon go to de-
,truction. There is war, or runners of
var in a foreign country, and a great
scarcity there of those very crops of
ours that are liable to go to waste
You hear of it, gather up and send all
o market where they are disposed of
It fair price. Now, as a farmer, have
-ou been loser because you sent some {
hing away and get no goods back Is .
not a fact that you are Just so much
money ahead, where as otherwise your
rops would have been a total loss? 1
ust so it IS with the United States. {
'ur overstoclIes markets sell to Europe {
t. some profit and get rid of many ar I
icles that may be actually going to I
taste. Understocked markets sell to !
Europe at great profit, and our people !
re stirred to greater efforts to produce s
lore. If you come to New York and
pend your money, New Haven is not q
ccountable for that, is she? 1t is your t
honey and your business, and questions /
miar to this do not enter into politics Il
ariff, political economy, ETC., at all u
nd are entirely foreign to the subject S
nd must not be considered, not for r
ne moment. You may have ponderad t
lese things over, probably have. Why h
it then you go on in your reckless Il
ay, saying We are getting poorer, 60 C