Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1904-05-26
HAVE HELPED TO PAY DESTS OWED
TO FOREIGNERS.

| The New Haven correspondent, Mr..
| Trueman, to whose questions on the
subject of foreign trade balances we
have already devoted considerable
space, does not yet understand what
we have received in return for our ey-
cess exports and comes to US with fur
ther arguments and questions. Mr..
| Trueman's difficulty seems to be inabil-
| ity to grasp the principles of foreign
trade. Till he understands those fully
he cannot comprehend the details. For
instance, he asks:
"When during the past III years we
have exported merchandise amounting
to 81, I'll ,4SS,023 more than the imports,
besides exporting 81 ,4GS, 10000 in gold
and silver more than we imported,
total reaching the enormous sum Of
SALTS, ,643, ,923, what could we possibly
have received that was not paid for as
we went along? AS all foreign capital
imported into this country and invest
ed here is included in the above calcu-
lations, how can 1t be impossible for
us to still owe any foreign debts unless
we have received no equivalent for
some of our eXportS!'
a debt is not paid till an equivalent
Is returned by the borrower to the
lender. Some people seem to think
that the giving of note pays the
debt, but there is always subsequent
| awakening for such people. Not only
must the amount in full be returned,
but oftentimes, if the debt be allowed
to run great length of time, an
amount equal to or even exceeding the
debt itself will have to be paid in in
terest in addition to the principal.
! What, then, is received in return for
this outlay of interest? That alone
will account for large part of our eX-
cess of exports of merchandise and
gold and silver, which Mr.. Trueman
correctly shows has exceeded $4,000
10000
Our annual freight bill and the
amounts expended by American tour
lists abroad added to the sums sent to
the old country are between three and
four hundred million dollars n year.
and if we did not pay these bills and
these exchanges in merchandise we
should have to pay them in gold.
To divest the subject of all confusion
and compleXity let us assume that the
money which has been borrowed by
our government and corporations and
individuals was an import, and when
returned 1t became an export and need
not consequently be considered at all
We think that the items of interest
and dividends and rents and freight
and tourists expenditures and moneys
sent abroad as gifts make up large
portion Of the more than $4,O00,O00,-
600 excess of exports during our his
tory. 1t will be impossible TO specify
exact or even approximate amounts in
connection with these several items,
and the free trader can continue till
doomsday to ask the question. what
have we received for our excess eX-
ports?'
The honest student. however, will
see at once and acknowledge that we
must have received a full equivalent
and that If we had not during recent
years been able TO show large excess
of exports of merchandise we should
have been compelled to part with our
gold to an equivalent amount. Mer-
chandise, being consumable and per-
ishable decreases both In volume and
value, while gold retains its full value
from year to year and must add to the
wealth of the country which imports
it or keeps it. If we import from
abroad $1,OOO,OO0 worth of wine, for
which we must send abroad $1,0OO,0O0
worth of merchandise or gold, at the
end of few months the wine has
been consumed and we have nothing
whatever to show for it. 1t has not
added to the wealth of the country,
while at the same time we have part
ed with either $1,000,OOO worth Of gold,
which Is stable wealth, or else 81 ,OOQ,-
600 worth of merchandise, which in
turn in few months may lose its
value abroad, but with which we have
been able to pay an obligation to that
amount We are at the end of the
transaction neither better off nor worse
off. If we export merchandise for the
wine we are no better off. If we eX-
port gold we are worse off.
Now let us reverse the transaction.
If we send $1,0O0,OO0 worth of grain
abroad and receive $1000,OO0 worth
of merchandise or gold in return
we are either as well or better off.
If, therefore, in the various transac-
tions wherein we export and import
the necessaries and luxuries of life we
can make payments in merchandise for
what we buy we certainly are at no
time any worse off, nor have we lost
any wealth. If. however we must
make payments in gold for what we
buy we certainly must be worse off,
for in few months time we will mel
ther have the gold nor the commodity
If. however, we can receive gold III
payment of our merchandise sold
abroad we then add real wealth to the