Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-06

imposition of tariffs At the present time
IL is hardly certain that French agriculture
ton.
Germany has passed at different times
through similar perils. notably when Ameri-
can pork. invading the empires markets,
threatened by its abundance and cheapnesS
great public danger. The empire defend
ed itself as best II could. but not without
exciting considerable resentment on the
other side of the Atlantic.
Finally England has had her hours Of
doubt and difficulty with the same SINH
lar dangers. Think of what she had to
endure when she saw herself attacked and
beaten In her own markets. Think OF what
she must have felt when she saw the first
shipments Of American coal landed In her
harbors In 1900.
The peril exists. 1t Is absurd to try to
deny its existence. It would be still more
absurd to lose hope or believe that there
Is no remedy. The fright for first place In
the worlds trade Is not necessarily disas-
trous to either party thereto. Progress has
1t In profit for the whole world. Nor b
this profit limited to the gain Of a single
day or to one transaction. Progress brings
continued prosperity. There are well-known
cases IN which competition has enriched
all parties participating in the struggle.
In a wcrd. every conquest over inert matter
Is to be measured a gain to mankind.
All participate in its advantages. 1t Is not
necessary in peaceful battles that industrial
and commercial rivals be vanquished. Other
words than war and 'vanquished' would
better fit the friendly contests called COM
petition.
Compared With France.
Having no desire to embrace in an arti-
Gle of this kind the whole vast field of COM
petition between the two continents of Eu-
rope and America, / limit myself to a con-
slderation Of the commercial situation in
France and the United States. 1t seems to
me that in spite of all that has been said
fa,-1 ia l--l
with serenity and confidence. It is true that
our power is incontestabIy less than that
Of our rival We have neither the vast
stretches of territory nor the great natural
resources nor the prodigious Equipment In
machinery nor the vast number of men pos
sessed by the United States. France ap-
pears in comparison with the United States
insignificant. It's future appears somewhat
restricted. At least this is the conclusion to
which one must come finally who looks
upon the matter from the standpoint of the
relative positions of the two countries In
regard to their natural resources and forces
already developed. 1t is otherwise, perhaps,
If one looks at results based upon possibili-
ties. Temporarily the balance Of power in
commerce is In our favor. We are at pres
ent and will still remain exporters to the
United States; this is an actual fact. For
the future there are some considerat tons
which are of great weight. In the first
place. French products are not of a class
that come into competition with American
products.
America. entirely occupied in exploiting
Its own territory. produces and exports
above all things the raw materials which
our industries consume. as petroleum. cot
ton, iron. coal, etc. These are the most
considerable articles of her commerce,
things that we neither make nor consider of
fact, we are menaced with competi-
ton only in the matter of foods but
upon this point of production and
consumption will SO regulate themselves
hot cl, he
successfully If it comes. Besides, our mar
ket IS sufficiently rich, sufficiently sought,
Sufffciently important to permit us to Sc
cure concessions In foreign parts in favor
of our own products by making concessions
to parties seeking sales in our markets In
other words, we could exercise a rigorous
retaliatory control over petroleum If our
wine trade should be threatened.
"On the other hand, every increase IN
population and in the public good fortune
of the United States is profitable to us be-
cause of the increased sale of our products.
Our trade in articles of luxury increases
vixen the resources of the consumer in
crease. We need general good will; we must
preach with smiling faces. Our wines, our
champagne. our fine oils, our fruits, our
lfqueurs, our hats, our gloves, our per-
| fumery, our wooden cloths. our silks our
| objects of art always seek a refined. elegant
and cultured purchaser. Our wish, there
| fore. is very sincere when we wish good
fortune to our friends.
| Then. again. quantities do not speak at
| all times. 1t is necessary to consider also
| the qualities and results. On this point
+ statistics are insufhciently accurate. If
trey were able to set forth the real secret
| of the business transactions of each mer-
chant they would certainly confirm our opti-
| mistic belief. AS matter of fact industry
and trade advance, without ceasing, toward
| the production of the highest grades of
goods. and there are excellent reasons for
this fact. The natural movement is the
| elimination of encumbering weights, of I'M
III
tends to the least effOrt-that is, it seeks
the lines of least resistance. 1t desires a
minimum of tonnage with maximum of
gain. This is the trend of French COM
| merce. 1t is able to profit by all those
circumstances which might prove great
difficulties to its competitors.
Nor is this all. France Is today re-
strained within her own confines. Will it
be so tomorrow? 1t is not even now as
sured of it's future in reserving for itself on
this planet territory almost as vast perhaps
as that of the United States, which can be-
come in the future very prosperous? I re-
| fer, of course, to our colonial possessions.
| In them will be found an extent of terri
| tory a diversity of climate, an abundance
| of natural resources which Will furnish to
human activity and ito the commercial
world a new and unexpected field.
1T was new land that made the fortune
| of America. Why should not these new
! tune of France? Already Algeria. Tunis
| and Indo-China are claiming their places
| and rank among other possessions. To-
| morrow the Kongo, East Africa. Madagas-
car and New Caledonia will offer to
| strangers openings no less vast than those
| in America. These acquisitions were made
| only yesterday, but their progress has al
| ready been remarkable Why deny the
| possibility of their future? The pessimists,
| who are perhaps not only powerless. but
| idle, shrug their shoulders and smile. Let
| me tell them a simple story. In 1S23 the
| commander of Fort Dearborn. pessimlst
| of that time, wrote to the Secretary OF
| War of the United States as follows:
"I have the honor to inform you that
+, this post should be abandoned. because the
! country surrounding it is such that 1t Is i'm
| possible for a population to live here suf-
| ficient to justify the expenses OF keeping a
| fort at this place.
I'm 1893. seventy years later. the place
| where that fort stood had a population OF a
| million and a half, and 27,OOoOO0 people
| visited her exposition. I refer, of course,
| to Chicago.
| ut is neither resources nor future
| which France lacks IL she does not prove
| untrue to herself. Books such as these
| have presented to the public are useful be-
/ cause they are excitants to energy. ana l
| should like to see them in the hands not
| only of business men, who would be able 10
| draw information from them. but also OF
| professors to give instruction from them
! 4 very valuable point concerning TINS par
| hootr TIC that II Is printed In AFTER