Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-02-08
GERMANY AND TIE PRoTEcTly
4 TARIFF.

Editor Honolulu SfarBulletin.
Sir: The caustic Voltaire once said
that the French ruled the land, the
English the water, and the Germans
the clouds. That was at the time OF
Germany's great poets. philosophers,
assayists, phil0l0gists and idealists.
Germany has ceased to rule the
clouds. Since 1879 she has planted
herself solidly on the earth. No one
man had the influence in producing
this change equal to that of Bismarck.
Bismarck had both head and feet
solidly On the earth. In this respect
he was a true Prussian He ignored
speculative theory. Before 1879 Ger
many had begun to manufacture
cheap and Indifferent products.
Cheap and nasty as the English
said. Since 1879 Germany's manufae-
tHred products have been so excellent
that they have competed with and are
taking the place of much of the same
kind Of things produced in England.
Just previous to this present deplof-
able war Germany's oversee COM
merce was approaching that OF Eng
land. She had a monopoly of the
chemical industries of the world Bis
marck was the statesman that intro
7duced this wonderful change. In q
speech in the Reichstag he said that
the German agrarians wished pfotec-
ton for their products but not for
their. industries. The manufacturers
wished protection for their products
but were opposed to protection for
agriculture. Non-producers and bank.
ers were opposed to any kind Of pro-
lection. But with the power that he
had be induced the German parlia-
ment to adopt German protection and
this was the beginning of Germany's
wonderful DEVELOPMENT in eli lines of
human effort to the beginning OF this
war The following speech OF his in
1879 may be interesting in the light
Of present conditions both In Europe
and in the United States.
Il do not mean to discuss protection
and free trade In the abstract.
We have opened wide the doors of our
state to the imports Of foreign coun-
tries and We have become the dump
ing-gronnd for the oyer.produetion of
all those countries. Germany being
swamped by the surplus production Of
foreign nations. prices have been de-
pressed and the Development Of all
our industries and our entire ec0nom-
ie position has suffered In conse-
auence II the danger Of protection
we're as great as we are told by en-
fhpsiastic free traders, France would
have been impoverished long ago, for
she has had protection since the time
Of Colbert and she should have been
ruined long ago. owing to the theories
which have guided her economic pol
icy.
After my opinion, we are slowly
bleeding to death owing to INSULT 1
ciept protection. This process has
been arrested for a time by the FIVE
nillairds which we have received
from France after the war: otherwise
We should have been compelled al
ready I've years ago to take those
steps which we are taking today.
We demand q moderate protection
for German labor. Let as close our
doors and erect some barriers In order
to reserve to German industries ct |
least the home market. IN which Ger
man good nature Is at present being
exploited By the foreigner The prob
lem Of = large exnort trade Is always
an extremely delicate one. No more