Bisbee daily review., 1905-06-14
TRADE WITH GERMANY
Destined to Decrease Unless
 Tariff Is Lowered.
FARMERS WILL SUFFER HEAVILY

Bulk of Cur Exports to Land of Kali
 ser Are Food PrOducts-HiGh Pro-
 lection Wall Brings Retaliation In
 Kind.
 We note without surprise the fact that some of the extreme protectioniste speak of the recent tariff policy of Ger many as ''unfriendly" to this country. So far as they are concerned it should be regarded rather as fattering, for Sermany has at last, and after much hesitation, advanced a good way to- ward our own policy.
 What in substance Germany has done is 10 fix two sets of tariff rates on pret- ty nearly all imports. One, known as general" embraces the rates that al! countries must pay which have no reel procity treaties with Germany. The other embraces much lower rates which can be secured by those countries which are willing to make correspond ing reductions in their own tariffs.
 One of the chief objects of this new policy was to shut out the competition of the United States and Great Britain, both of which countries had conner cial treaty with Germany entitling them to the treatment of the most fa- vored nation. That claim is now met by the fact that any reduction of tariff rates must be purchased-to use plain phFase-by an equivalent favor to Ger many. Great Britain imposes no tariff rates on imports generally from Ger many, save in a few cases, such as wines and liquors. She is therefore without any basis for deal" and Mir. Chamberlain is making the most of this situation as an argument for his policy. But there is ample basis for one in the tariff of the United States, and Ger many will probably not be backward in seeking to take advantage of it.
 As to both imports and exports our trade with Germany is important and second in variety and amount only to our trade with the United Kingdom. Our total trade for the last year re- corded in detail was $313,614,137, of which some $12O.OO0,OO0 was imports and some SEA ,OOO,0O0 exports. Of the imports some 92,OO0O0O, or 75 per cent, was dutiable The duties on these imports were all high and the average was considerably higher than the du- ties Germany proposes to impose in her general tariff. Among the lowest are the duties on cement, 2 per cent; OF chemicals, 9 per cent; on coal oil colors, 3 per cent, and from these the duties range to from 45 per cent to @ per cent on cotton goods. 55 per cent on china and GO per cent on hempen fab rics. There are other duties which do not appear in the official reports for the reason that they are prohibitory and no imports are made. We have been informed by Germany that her govern ment is ready to enter upon negotia- tions for reciprocal reduction of tariff rates, and these negotiations are now in course of preparation.
 Our exports to Germany are almost exclusively food products. It is on these that the protectionists of that country have secured high duties to prevent or reduce competition, because in Germa- ny the protectiOnists are landowners, as they were originally in England. So far as these oppressive duties hinder the prosperity of our own citizens 1t is the farming class here that suffers, and that class can get no compensating ad- vantage from the tariff because there is no competition with their products from abroad.
 On the other hand, a glance at the list of high duties we have given will show that the men in OUT country who gain most from the tariff are those who have most generally formed con- binations in the nature of monopolies. and who are enabled by the tariff, which flinders competition from abroad, to exact monopolistic prices in our own market
 There Is every reason, therefore, why the duties on German importg should be reduced in order to obtain better terms for our exports to German mar kets. The plan will be opposed by the combinations of protected and favored interests, but if the farming class will use the influence to which they ara fairly entitled they can compel respect for their rights. The new German tariff law goes into effect next March New York Times.