The age-herald., 1902-01-24
Washington Day by Day

Washington, January 25.-(speciaI)-In the remarkable enthusiasm prevailing in this country over the extraordinary in- terchange of international courtesies be- tween our government and the German Emperor, our people are manifestly mis- leading themselves into the attitude of looking for greater tangible results in the way of trade relations than the situation warrants.
 There is very little for us to hope for in thls direction. German import tariffs remain hostile to us as ours remain hos tile to all the world, with this essential difference: German legislation regarding meat and grain imports have been aimed at the United States, and no effort has been made to conceal the plain-as-day fact, while our legislation as to imports has been general in its character affects own insular possessions, and covers prac- tically everything grown upon the sur face of the earth or dlgged from it's depths-all fields, all forests all waters all mines, all factories! The Chinese Wall was not more effective against in- vasion in ancient times than is our high protective tariff against fair trade with any and all lands.
 Germany has struck effectively at our meat and grain, but we had previously struck at everything Germany possessed for export, from the music of Leips1c and the art of Dresden to the beer of Munich--the little glass of beer for which In, manding ten cents on Pennsylvania ave- rue or the Bowery-it makes no differ ence as to locality Of course Germany ancient Germany--produces music impos- sible of production in this new country; art which we may require thousand years to equal, and beer that we may not even dream of except as it is im- ported and sold at dime for a one-cent glass.
 What has practical Congress backed by "practical' bushes men, and s'practicar' infant" industries got to do with music and art and the best ofobeer? One American owns some of the great est paintings that ever inspired the world to higher ideals. They are valued at mill lions, and being superlatively great are too good for this practical" American people. Consequently the Chinese wall Is uplifted against them and they are on loan to the British government for safe keeping and the poorest vagabond who walks the streets of London may enjoy the priceless privilege of viewing them without cost in the royal museum of South Kensington-a privilege to London beggars which possibly not one American in one thousand ever enjoyed.
 In all Alabama are there fifty persons who have ever seen a truly great paint ing by a great master? Probably not.
 Our practical government would charge our fellow citizen who owns the pictures now in South Kensington, if he brought them into our country a sum sufficient to pay interest on the Alabama State debt for five years. The result is, he will not bring his pictures home; and he ought not to. No man in this country able to purchase great works of art should ever suffer himself to be held up and robbed by our government in order
 
 unprincipled legislation ever devised for robrng the poor and enriching the rich.
 And so long as our people will by their votes keep in power a government whose very existence Is based upon robbing the toilers to swell the money bags of the few that are so rich that they have to lavishly expend their incomes in self glor4lcation through the medium of so- called public institutions.
 This is not free trade talk. It is merely one expression of what is in the hearts and minds of all who toll. Because one would esteem the privilege of buying tweed coat instead of New Jersey shoddy is not free trade in the real meaning of that much-abused term, it is merely the rights of man.
 The trade relations, if not the actual situations between the American and German governments, were painfully, one might say, alarmingly, strained when that astute diplomat and wise statesman the German Emperor surprised the world and pleased two great nations by asking President Roosevelt to permit Miss Roose- welt to christen His Majesty's new Amer ican-built yacht. The tension was graver than the people of this country imagined, ~-~<<><<~~->-<<%>
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