New-York tribune., 1905-08-08
RECIPROCITY BY RESOLUTION.

An unfortunate effort has been made In GER
tain quarters to turn the approaching reciprocity
conference in Chicago TO political uses boollsn
stories have been circulated to the erect tnat the
conference has been boycotted by the hauonai
administration on the ground that Its promoters
are interested not so much In improving our
trade relations with Germany as In furthering
demand for the general revision of our tarlH
schedules The same rumors were current when
the last reciprocity conference met, about four
wears ago in Washington. But that gathering
very wisely put partisan issues and partisan IN
trigues aside and devoted itself TO the quesuohs
properly before II. The Chicago conference VIII
do well to initiate this example TO ENFORCE re-
spect for its conclusions, it must deal with the
matter in hand sincerely and unequ1Vocally. IL
must contribute something sensible and helpful
TO the settlement Of problem beset with many
perplexities and difficulties.
The conference must remember, for one thing,
that the commercial status quo has been altered
not by the action of the United States. but
nv tbe action Of Germany. This country was
satisfied-and had every reason to be satisfied
with trade relations they existed. In the
wear 19O3-O4 we sold to Germany products
valued at S215,OO0,000, and bought from tnat
country products valued at 100000. There
is in force at present between the TWO ha-
tons a limited reciprocity treaty, ana In ao-
dition we enjoy In the German market the
privileges of the most favored nation" The
German government has seen fit, In It's own IN
terest. to conclude commercial agreements with
seven nations of Central Southern and Eastern
Europe-Belgium, Switzerland Italy, Servia
Rumania. Austria Hungary and Russia. With
these neighbors it has set up a sort OF limited
zollverein, giving them the benefit of a mini
mum tariff rate, while enforcing a maximum
rate against France, Spain, Portugal, Turkey
Denmark Sweden and Norway, Holland, Great
Britain and the non-European world Germany
has its own reasons political and economlc-ror
fostering this Central European commercial
league We cannot question their validity and
sufficiency. We may regret the altered status
quo. but we cannot challenge it. 1t is open to us
only to consider what steps we shall take TO
protect our own interests and to preserVe-h it
is possible to preserve-the advantages we have
hitherto enjoyed in the German markets.
Germany is logically bound to denounce both
the special reciprocity treaty concluded with US
under the terms Of the Dingley act and the
most favored nation" clause of our treaty of
commerce and amity made with Prussia in 1873.
It is also logically bound to inform US whether
it has anything to offer to replace these agree
ments AS we have more than once pointed out,
our trade with Germany is likely to suffer less
from a denunciation of existing treaties than
Germany's trade with us. Under the new Ger
man tariff the rates on nearly two-thirds Of our
imports are unchanged. Germany buys from
| us vast amount of raw material which 1t needs
! for manufa cturing purposes and which it cannot
afford TO exclude We get from Germany few
| imports which we could not buy elsewhere. 1t
is therefore TO Germany's interest as manu-
facturer to hold the market 1t now has in the
United States; and to hold that market the Ber-
lin government is doubtless prepared to offer
concessions compensatng US in part at least for
| those we surrender.
But the negotiation of a new commercial
treaty is a task for diplomatists and trade ex-
perts. q popular convention, knowing nothing
in advance of Germany's plans and wishes, is
wholly untitled to draft its text or even to de-
termine its general outlines. The delegates to
the Chicago gathering may properly recommend
a friendly effort TO re-establish commercial re-
lations a mutually advantageous basis. But
they cannot safely go much further. Least OF
all would they be justified in issuing wholesale
ultimatums which would operate to hamper the
negotiations already in progress between Wash
ington and Berlin.