Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1903-03-21
WHAT M'KINLEf ,SAID
AND WHAT WAS MEANT BY THE
BUFFALO SPEECH.
An Address Which Has Been Persist
emily Perverted to Mean the Aban-
donment of Protection Through the
Adoption of Competitive Recip-
rocity.

emitting such qualifying phrases as
those which insist upon preserving the
domestic market to the domestic pro-
Queer, and which deprecate any
scheme of foreign trade expansion
that shall '4injure home industry
or "curtail domestic production
phrases which do and were unmis-
takably intended to indicate the gen.
eral tone of strict adherence to the
principles and policy of protection
the advocates of wide-open reciprocity
continue to parade certain parts of
President McKinley's speech at Buff
f-lo in September, 1901, and to in
sist that the President in that
speech committed himself unreserved
~ to the scheme of swapping trade
privileges by means of special tariff
concessions. 1t is not true that
President Mckinley committed him
self or the Republican party to al.
such sacrifice or abandonment of pro-
lection. Let us take up that portion
of the speech most quoted by the ad-
vocates of reciprocity in competitive
products and see to what extent, if
any, the speech can be properly SO
construed.
"A system which provides mutual
exchange OF commodities is manifest
ly essential to the continued health
full growth of our export trade"
That system we already have. We
mutually exchange commodities to
the extent of close upon a billion dol
lars worth of merchandise which we
annually buy of foreign countries
nearly so per cent is admitted free
of duty. Add to the billion dollars
til,
which we pay every year to foreign
steamships for carrying 30 per cent
Of our commerce and the total makes
us out to be the most liberal buyer of
foreign goods of any nation in the
world.
I'VE must rot repose in fancied
security that we can forever sell ev
erything and buy little or nothing"
We are very far from reposing in
any such security. AS already stat
ed, we buy in merchandise and
freights about $1,000 900 900 a year.
We buy even more than this, for our
tourists spend abroad about $75,OOO,-
600 a year, and we are paying $751;
600. 000 more each year in the shape
of interest and dividends on Ameri-
can bonds and investment stocks
owned abroad. The total, then, of
what we actually buy each year is
brought up to about S1.350,O0O. 900.
That would hardly be called little
or nothing"
Reciprocity is the natural out
growth of our wonderful industrial de-
velopment under the domestic policy
now firmly established
True, provided it is the right kind
IC in tioIo
which we do not ourselves produce,
or non-competitive reciprocity Re
ciprocity in competitive products
would be distinctly unnatural
outsrowth of our wonderful indus
trial development, an absolute mega
ton Of the domestic policy now firmly
established.
The period of exclusiveness is
past
Undoubtedly it is. A country which
buys every year from the rest of the
world 81 $50 ,000, 900 would not we
think, be called an exclusive" coun-
try
The expansion of our trade and
commerce is the pressing problem"
Yes, and we are solving that prob
lem in the most thorough and salts
factory manner. In the last five and
a half years of protection we have
made mighty strides in the expan-
sion of our trade and commerce For
1901 our total exports were S146O.-
462. SOC; against a total of S793. 1872
$50 for 1895; a gain of S667, 070, PIG,
or about "a per cent. How Il that
for solution of a pressing problem?
Commercial wars are Improbable"
Truer word was never spoken.
How to avoid them? Treat every ma
ton exactly alike and require at the
hands of every nation equally fair
and impartial treatment This done.
there can be no such thing as COM
mercial wars for our country.
a policy of good will and friendly
trade relations wifi prevent repris-
ais
Good will and friendly trade reIa
lions are best conserved by strict
adherence to the policy of non-dis-
elimination, non-favoritism You ex-
cite jealousy, irritation and repris-
ais when by special treaty agreement
you admit the goods of one nation
at lower rate of duty than that
imposed upon the competitive goods
of another nation. Commercial neace
and amity are disturbed by such nm
fair and impolitic trade arrange
paents- For every friend secured Won
make several enemies, says Andrew
CarrP1fa