New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-02-25

OF trade is significant. In most OF tho
countries from which We get our trop-
zeal supplies the balance OF trade IS
heavily against U.s. The nine chief
countries on the list sold Us ia 1913
goods 20 the amount Of 6l7,362,oI2,
but bought Of US only 1916, l6A.f5l
worth. That left balance against us
Of S3i0.59o, l2l, or considerably more
than the total amount of our exports
to those countries. Our sales were
less than 10 per cent o. our purchases.
With the Philippines, however, the
case is very different. There the bal
ance OF trade is small. and IS some
times on the one side and sometimes
on the other. Practically imports and
exports balance. That is quite salts
factory. because while we do not want
big balance against Us, neither we
do not want our possessions to suffer
from a heavy adverse balance.
II is more than satisfactory. II is
gratifyingly indicative of almost I'M
limited increase in trade. II shows that
whatever we spend in making pur-
chascs from the islands the islands
quickly return 10 us by making pur-
cbases of our goods. II affords ground
for expectation that If we increase our
purchases from them they will cor
respondingly increase their purchases
from US. And there are strong reasons
for greatly Increasing our purchases.
For example, the United States pur-
chases about sl00000,O00 worth OF
sugar eve.y year, of which not 10 per
cent comes from the Philippines. This
country purchases Si0000,00 worth OF
tobacco, of which q still smaller pro-
spite the fact that the Philippines were
the original home Of the famous "Su-
matra wrappers" and can now grow
some of the most desirable kinds OF
grades OF tobacco. II would certainly
be appropriate and would as surely he
profitable to increase materially the
proportion OF THESE imports which
comes from the Philippines. We ought
at the present moment to he getting
az least one-fourth of those supplies
from our own islands.
That is because il is better TO patron
ize markets which we can control than
those which We cannot control. We are
now buying hundreds Of millions of dol
lars worth of tropical goods every year
from countries whose markets we do
not control and cannot control NO
matter how much we buy of them,
there Is no possible assurance tnst
they will buy anything of us IN re-
turn. In fact. they do not buy much
of us. Brazil. British India, China,
Cuba, japan and the rest all have enor-
nous balances Of trade against the
United States. We buy things from
them, and they take our money and
with it go to other lands to make their
purchases; and We cannot stop them.
But we do control the Philippine mar
kets. and can make sure that, prac-
tically. for every dollar we spend there
a dollar will be spent here. Is 1t con
oeivable that level headed business men
will ever consent TO the wanton sacrl-
fee OF 40 advantageous market OF our
own. in which we have no serious com
petition. in favor OF alien markets IN
which we shall have to compete with
all other nations?
That scuttling out Of the Philippines
noIitically would quickly mean beng
bundled out Of them commercially Is
certain beyond any reasonable doubt.
II the islands became and remained IN
denendent there would no longer be
free trade between them and US with
tariff against the rest of the world, nut
we should have 20 pay the same duty
70 get our goods into their markets
that other lands paid. We should have
no advantage whatever in our rivalry
With the labor OF India, China and Js-
nan. That alone would be sufficient 20
cause the loss OF most of our trade.
But. Of course, The islands would not
remain independent. Japan would an
mex them. OF that there is not shadow
of reasonable doubt. And that would
mean free trade between them and
Japan and a tariff against us.
The assured prospect of future trade
with the Philippines is sufficient TO