The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-05-15
PAN.AMERlcAN COOPERATION


1t is announced from Washington that
the plan adopted at the late Pan Ameri-
can congress, held in the City Of Mexico.
to hold three supplementary congresses
to secure cooperation between all the
governments of this hemisphere in sanl-
tary and customs regulations and to con-
slider the coffee crisis. will be carried out,
and that the sanitary congress will assem-
BILE in Washington on Oct. /, the customs
congress in New York city on Oct. Is, and
the coffee congress in the same place on
Nov. l.. g., sr,- s. @e
The sanitary congress is matter Sof
prime Importance. It is proposed to es-
tablish at Washington a central interna-
tional sanitary bureau, which shall ut1l-
lie all the fruitage of scientific sanitary
investigation to protect. all the republics
from plaques and insure and facilitate
their commercial intercourse at all sea
sons of the year. This entails system
of expert inspection of goods and persons
in. transit within the sanitary bund. or
course, if this purpose is carried out, 1T
will be an important step in the promo
tion Of international trade. The customs
congress will bring the western hemi-
sphere nations into close consultation as
to means for the promotion of internar
tional commerce. The purpose Is to have
uniform regulations as to customs for
malities, to establish a common nomen-
clature of the products and merchandise
Of the republics in Spanish, French, Eng
lish and Portuguese, as a basis for, sta
tistical data of imports and exports and
to organize a permanent customs. commits
SIGN composed Of experts, TO execute the
customs and. tariff laws of the American
republics, and suggesting to the several
governments the enactment of laws and
regulations as to custom house formal
ties which will tend to facilitate mercan-
tile traffic. The coffee congress will be
an affair of the coffee producing republics
and of our own Porto Rico and Hawaii
The effectuation of the sanitary and
customs congress propositions is matter
of the highest Importance to this country
These gatherings will surely. lead to q
strong revival OF interest in reciprocal
trade on the genuine basis, not on the
basis of the r1eager proposition Of The
National Association Of Manufacturers al
its last meeting. The entire trade Of the
Spanish American republics can be &C
quired by an accession to- the congre ssi ION
al mind of some Of the liberality Of the
late President Mckinley, whose advocacy
of genuine reciprocity stimulated interest
In the subject which would have greatly
increased and would have led to- definite
aud good results had the friends of reel
procity been half as we'll organized as the
element which is opposed to any trade
reciprocity whatever, or that kind which
demands entirely free foreign markets
tor ourselves, but declines to give any
thing of great value in return. The
trouble in this country is that there is Z
lack Of combination among those who be.
t;lieve in the principle with more or les:
earnestness. In New England there is E
strong movement for reciprocity witt
Canada and there interest in reciprocity
stops. A hundred manufacturing firms
last winter strongly declared for reciproc
ity without qualification, but the Nationa
| Association Of Manufacturers, at thei1
meeting, shrank back to the narrow pol
| icy of demanding free foreign markets
and giving in return Favorable terms
| GO per cent Off for $what we do not our
selves produce, nearly all of the latter
| being now on the free list.2 :. = ...,
t The National Reciprocity League; or:
gained recently in Chicago by sixty o!
seventy leading manufacturing firms o
/ the country, ought to be a national league
In the full sense of the term. It should b.
the nucleus which shall grow into com
manding power and influence.~It shoult
seek to make the coming Pan erical
customs congress success, that it ma,
bring the republics Of this hemispher
together to a realization of the, large ad
vantages they are losing by neglect o
commercial opportunity and by mutua
misunderstanding. 49,.