The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-01-30
TUESDAY, JANUARY 80, 1906.
a TARIFF WAR WITH GERMANY.

new taf1H law goes Into
effect March 1st. 1t will greatly in
crease the duties on imports from the
United States. It is considered in this
country as a retaliatory measure be-
cause Of siIe high duties in u present
tariff law. Diplomats representing the
two governments have, of late, held a
good many conferences for the purpose
of trying to bring about an agreement
and satisfactory settlement Of he
vexed question involved in what bor-
ders on a tariff war between the two
countries, but it has been announced
that diplomacy on the part of u gov
ernment has been exhausted in the en-
deavor to reach Il satisfactory settle
ment of the matter in dispute. The
state department, reinforced by the
utterly failed, and now the question
has been turned over to congress for
its action in an END I've to prevent
what threatens to be a severe blow to
our If3Uc WITH IeTHEd1y.
OF course, as is always the case,
there are a great many plans suggest
ed as Il remedy or, rather, preventive
OF the threatened evil. One plan,
suggested by the 'stand-patters,' is
that our government should meet Ger
many's re~taliatory measure by in
creasing our duties on imports from
that country. They claim that such
action would quickly cause her to cry:
Hold, enough" In our opinion the
advocates of this counter movement of
retaliation are reckoning without their
antagonist. Instead of crying. Hold
enough" if such steps are taken by our
government, Kaiser William will be
more likely t. cry: Damned be him
that first cries, Hold, enough
The men who advocate r~etaliatory
action Ola the part of our government
propose that the Dingley law be so
amended as to MAZE maximum and
minimum rates, the latter being those
contained in the present law and the
former the same with twenty-five per
cent added, with discretionary power
vested in the president as to when the
maximum rates shall be enforced or
requiring him to put them in effect as
to any country when the latter shall
refuse to us the privilege of 1.-The most
favored nation provisions in its tariff
laws.
1t strikes us that such measures
would injuriously affect the United
States to a greater extent than Ger
many. The balance of trade between
the two countries is greatly in our
favor. Last year our imports from
Germany amounted to one hum
dred million dollars, while our exports
to that country reached the sum Of two
hundred and fourteen million dollars.
Could IL people afford to carry this
tariff wal to the extreme and give up
our sales of two hundred and four
teen million dollars worth of goods to
Germany for the sake of causing her
to loose the-one hundred millions from
the United States? Does it not look
like Germany would have greatly the
advantage of us in this fight? Furth-
ermore a very large part of our ex-
ports to Germany consist of agricul-
tural products, The result on the
prices of these farm products would
be disastrous were the producers
cut off from this foreign market,
which takes nearly two hun red and
fourteen million dollars worth of their
products annually. A large amount of
the surplus over home consumption,
which is now disposed OF at good
prices in Germany, would be thrown
On q glutted home market 1t is not
necessary to suggest what the result
would be.
If the president and secretary of
state have exhausted all means of
bringing about an amicable settlement
of the dispute, then congress should
take the matter up and act promptly
and in the interest of the American
people. But the "stand-patters" in
congress will not allow any such steps
to be taken. 1t is useless to look for
any relief from that quarter. High
tariff is the keystone of the republican
party, and it is treachery to the party
to even suggest that there should be
a revision of the present law.
Well, we will see what we will see.
When our export trade with Germany