New-York tribune., 1908-12-13
TO THE EDITOR
COMPETITION IN ASIA.
Relation of Decrease in SilUer En-
changes to Tariff ReUisiOp.

To the Editor Of The Tribune
Sir: The press kilograms from America during
the last week convey the agreeable information
that Mr.. Carnegie believes steel may be safely
added to your free list The statement is very in
teresting because it may possibly be connected BY
Ill natured protectionsts with the runor when
had reached the press here in June last that tne
United States Steel Corporation contennplates the
erection of rolling mills at Shans in China Ihe
great deposits there of coal and a high quality
hematite have been reported by American e@-
perts more than once during the last quarter OF
century. Enough say that Shansi is the olstrlct
from which. be IL sooner or later. the world VIII
derive great supplies Of steel The minerals are
there also ant heap of humanity ANXIOUS l"
work for 20 cents day.
But whether or no an enlightened appreciation OF
Shansi is in any way connected with Nj Carnegl7
free trade 'heresy that is the matter 70 "nlcn
I ask your attention. What is on my m1fa' Il you
will permit HE unpack it in your pages, :
conversation which I had Washington Win Nj
Reed AT that time Speaker of the House OF Hepre-
ssntatives IN the spring Of 1894. found that Nj
Reed though only half informed and few II any'oL Us
were as far on the road that brilliant economist
vet was wide awake to the fact that the great
en- +,,~is +ra ravios year in the silver exchanges
with Asia had not only destroyed the power OF
Asia to buy your goods-as TO this aspect OF tLe =
change crisis I think Mr.. Reed cared 700 - ut'l7
r,7+ he was alarmed gloomy that peru OF Asldlic
t4,+-,a1 oor,,netitior looming ahead which he saw
a., RE lowered exchanges There ne vas up against
q problem tnseparably connected WIN IaIlll oos-'
,,7r 70 meet which he recognized the po-lc5 "a lO
lection BY tariff was inadequate
7 should perhaps recall to your readsIs ina
+aer lime 1888 and June 1891 the silver eNchail=7
with Asia had fallen some 2 per cent ana ma
tba second time only in the WpElu : Al91OLs
exchanges have marked about an equal IaL uuii iHs
- 80 ,as- venture TO suggest that the TWO
economic crises Of 1S9s-s4 and l9o5-eS We're hi,1
f,v the break in the silver exchanges la'i 80
with Mr. Reed nearly to the AoolOslcaI
-,-bfIa he turned over this exchange prooleIl' Il
rio To Il
OF the kangaroo in Maryland, and II lnt-re7'7I M
the more because I had myself enc0uhteI7a &c
problem when in the Far East liiau7 80
o,1r conversation the evening and sent mem
. -. Smoker for his corrections he returned tAe
notes with the condition that they We're hu' ~ D1
DubIfshed in America. Rather reluctantly l@'s' '
he permitted TO publish IheIh III l-l9 10
.i- ,r,-fsv--. in The Fortnightly Review the only
i,-ar,-iev, ever published in one Of our hoh--li7
think it appeared in June lssl' and IN 'iie m
I, for the month following Mr. Reeds vie" was
attacked by Lord Farrer' the ieaolns 7dlls +-pe--
the Golden Club. and was Defended pS fIol77S'l
shield Nicholson of Edinburgh, and the writer
I cannot at this time refer to MI He7u 9ld
wont blIr its keynote this, and his warning
- ,a, mora important your working classes TO-
da, The silver exchanges with ASA are no"
falling fast and as they shrink so does the wages
cost shrink Of every article Whlch ASIA iilaii'
e-s for ay-ort to gold standard countries. thus,
- -a,-fsa the tariff downward with sucn an lhcL7aS-
= .s--s NJ roupctitiou from silver currency
o7,n+rias ne regarded nothing short OF madness.
ell t6at during thA>same session Senator Cam
eron Of Pennsylvania. and senator 'O-iV9, 'l
S-.a4s rad made strong proteetionIst appeals on
rather similar lines
CrI,, a month since I had a letter from Senator
rrra asking me- for the purposes Of your monetary
,r,ssoD 10 forward him the publications OF the
Ir5fa1 government wages and prices III LAdla-
zror1Id add that I have now got these returns IoI
Senator Teller from Calcutta, and Jhey 90 qdll7
49, ont sneaker Reed's view. The official Hgures
sboy- that although the gold tor exchange VaIue
81 iyer has fallen nearly So per cent. yet the pur-
,,ezi,r and wage paying power OF the rupee IS
sgr-r1- greater than in 1873. And the same Is true
,f me tael and dollar in the Chinese and Slra-l9
,.,rrencies Thus We are threatened with IAe loss
% s1,cb staple manufactures as steel and cotton
and leather.
senator Teller puts the problem thus SIMPLY
give gold dollars cor one sovereign used To puT-
chase Eve taeIs only. and i've Jaels then paio the
WAGES for one day of twenty-five chinese MN
hands while to-day dve gold dollars buy t"ei'e
raeIs and twelve taels pay a day = wage loI Ho1
rv-an+y--five but sixty Chinese mill hands
venture 10 think when you are revising your
steel schedules it would be wel to place MI. NaI-
repies suggestion under this limeignt.
MORETON FREW EN-
Brede Place, sussex, EnsIan Nov o. -''''