, 1921-07-23

SIN III eou.ue.Avn ~..I ~ Own manufactures re
gardless Of the cost of production at home and abroad
Wherefore a regular American is moved to rerlarkL
TO the not place with these half baked international
lists. that they may be cooked done
The argument is, with reference 10 the hdenpeo-
ness of European countries, that the debts must De
paid in goods, since they have no money with which
TO Iiouidate. And the effect of a tariff law would
prevent the United States from collecting the debts
in the form Of loans and interest running into the
billions. i.
IL may be conceded that ultimately the debts of
other countries must be paid largely IN goods or other
services. Throughout practically all the mercantile
history of the United States this country has 'sold to
Europe more commodities than it has bought from
Europe, the balance in favor of this country being
paid in services Of various kinds particularly IN the
loaning of capital, ocean transportation, the writing OF
maritime insurance and entertainment Of tourists. 1t
is not likely that for many years 70 come European
countries will perform any service to the Onlteo
States in the nature of loaninE capital. 1t remains a
question soon to be determined whether those nations
will render service in the form of ocean transporta-
ton or marine insurance. 1t may be safely asserted
that in the future as in the past, and perhaps more eN-
tions will render services to the people Of the United
States who travel on the other side Of the ocean.
These services, however, will not be sufficient to Ii
quidate the debt to the United States and there will
be an importation of goods.
It is not and never has been the policy of Repub-
liean writers of tariff laws to impose duties that would
shut out foreign commodities entirely. The purpose
is to impose a rate of duty which shall represent the
difference in cost of production here and abroad, so
that the American producer will market his com
modify, in domestic trade, on an equality with his for
eign competition. II there is a commodity, for in
stance, which can be produced for one dollar in the
United States. but could be produced and shipped
over here from Europe at a cost Of seventy cents,
there would be a margin of profit to the European
producer of thirty cents on the commodity That is
to say, if the American producer sold at cost, the
European producer could make thirty cents on a sew
enty cent article by shipping it here. He could put
the American out of business by selling at ninety
FIVE cents and still make twenty-five cents profit. At
that rate European nations could very rapidly liqui-
date the debt to the United States, for in the face of
that kind of competition American mills would be
closed, American labor would go out of employment
and we would send our money to Europe to make
profits for foreign capital and foreign labor, which
profits would be sent back here to pay off the debts.
That would be payment of the debts in goods, but at
the sacrifice of American industry.
What Republicans propose is that there shall be
practically a thirty cent tariff levied on a commodity
which can be produced for seventy cents in Europe,
but which costs one dollar to produce in the United
States. so that if the foreigner markets his COM
modify here he must cut his profits and shall not be
in a position to force the American producer out of
business. To permit the producer of a seventy cent
foreign article to market it here in rivalry with a dol
lar American article would not be competition, it
would be destruction.