The Globe-republican., 1901-07-11
GREATNEEDOF STUDY
~ ORDER TO UNDERSTAND
RECIPROCITY CUES rfoN.


According to a recent interview in
the Boston Transcript Senator Gull
lom of Illinois is among the fresh
devotees of the policy of tinkering the
tariff schedules by means of special
trade treaties He is quoted as being
firmly convinced that our foreign mar
kets are threatened and that thee is
danger of alliance of European
countries to resist the inTOads of Amer
lean trade through the imposition OF
retaliatory duties upon American ex-
ports Thus we See one more tfmid
soul frightened into fits by the bugbear
which certain interests are SO indus
triously exploiting for the purpose Of
extending their own export trade at
the expense of anybody and everybody
except themselves. Senator CuIom
easily drops into free trade dialect
when he says:
IF we build a wall around our mar
kets the Europeans say we can hardly
complain If they follow our example
And that IS the situation. It is SIM
pie business proposition that as bust
ness men, or as business nation, we
should be the alert In danger OF
losing our markets, we must see what
can be DONE
Frequent mention OF that Chinese
WALL by the enemies of protection has
made it very familiar figure OF
speech 1t has also become a very alb
surd figure OF speech in view OF the
fact that we are sending out more ex-
ports than any other nation on earth,
and are taking In of competitive i'm
ports all that we ought to take and
more. too. 1t is your Jealous new
convert who be relied upon to
swallow a doctrine without qua1m.
The old stagers don't have so much
to say about the Chinese wall'' as
they used to.
So far as the senior senator from
Illinois has gone in his study OF the
problem of increasing domestic pros
perity by decreasing the empl Gym ent
| of domestic labor he is OF the opinion
that:
Probably much OF the difficulty can
| be met by reciprocity. 1t is case OF
| give and take. We get lower duties on
certain of our goods going to other
| countries. and they are permitted, in
| return, to send certain goods here
| without paying such a high tariff.
| While this has been our avowed pol
| icy, we have not lived up to it con-
sistently. Our State Department h7s
| negotiated a number of treaties pro
| viding for reciprocal reductions, and
| then the senate has proceeded to ig-
| more them. To foreign nations this
| looks like bad faith In my opinion 1t
| behooVes the Senate to take up these
| treaties and give them serious consid-
| Grafton. They should be viewed and
voted upon from the standpoint OF the
| whole country's welfare, and not $ m
/ ply from supposed local se1f-interest
| I have been giving the subject some
| special study this spring and will dc
| my part to press It on the attention OF
| Congress next winter
| Senator Cul1om should persevere in
| his special study OF the subject. Spe-
| cial study is precisely what is needed
| Close application for the next six
| months may enable him to arrive al
| sound conclusion regarding the very
| important question. What industries
| shall we sacrifice through diminish &c
| protection in order that some of the
| Illinois senator's influential const.t l.
/ ents may increase their exports OF
| machinery and agricultural imp-e-
| ments? This question vii have to bt
| answered when the reciprocity treaties
| come up again next winter, and Sen
| ator CuIlOm will need all the specia
| study he can spare to the subject i
he shall be prepared with wise and
! an intelligent solution.