Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1922-08-24
UNCLE TED DOWNS FREETRADE
ARGUMENT - FIGURES PROVE
MORE EXPORTS Than IMPORTS
UNDER pROwEC TIVE TARIFF

Il just don't understand it, that's
all said Ruth.
We'll, | don't understand much
myself but know enaugh from
what Uncle Ted has told us that
Freddie is ALL wrong. 1t is silly to
say that if we keep other countries
from sending all the goods they want
into our country to sell that we can't
sell anything to them" Jack was
more than emphatic with MS ideas
about the tariff
@TEe heat doesn't seem to worry
I you kiddias much when it comes to
an argument" said Uncle Ted as he
came into the room wiping the per-
spiration from his face. "You know
it is MUCH cooler in your room and
there is big fan there too, so what
do you say if we wind our way to-
ward the land of nod ?"
ooh, Gee!. Uncle Ted" said Jack,
I'VE .ion't want to go to bed yet. It's
too hot to go to bed"
"What is harder for you kiddies
than going to bed? I'll tell you. If
you will get undressed you can come
down both of you half hour and I'll
tell you something that will help both
of you when Freddie asks you again
about selling goois to other coun-
| tries"
1t was no sooner said than done
and Uncle Ted had no more than seat
ed himself as comfortably as possible
when the kiddies were ready for their
story.
"You see, children, the Republican
party has always stool for what is
known as protective tariff to pro-
| tect American workmen and Ameri-
can products against the sale of for
eign goods in this country at lower
prices and Of inferior quality inniany
cases. Now, of course, with new
tariff la win sight those opposed to a
protective teriff are spreading all
kinds of wild stories. They say that
! if we don't buy from other countries
we can't sell to them. That is not
| true because anybody can write to
the Department of Commerce at
Washington, as / have done, and they
will find that in Al of the AZ years
since 1874 we have sold more goods
abroad than we have purchased. 1t
/ is foolish TO ranyone to argue that
other countries are buying from us
simply because we have bought from
them. There is no more sentiment
enters into national business. We
don't buy oranges from California
simply because we sell them auto
mobiles. We buy California oranges
because we want them and like them
and theybuy our automobiles because
they are good cars. These free trade
people try to paint an awful picture
of what will happen to our trade IL
we put a protective tariff into effect,
that 6ther countries will stop buying
our goods, etc. There is no truth in
this argument.
"Here are some figures for argu-
ment's sake. During the year 1912
an 1918 the Payne-Aldrich protect
i've tariff bill was in effect, but there
was no such trouble as free traders
would have us believe. In 1912 Cam
ada bought goods from us amounting
to 1929 psf 1874 while our purchases
from her amounted to only $108,113,
1858. That was quite difference but
in 1918 the difference was even
greater the amount Of goods sold to
us by Canada totaling only $12O,571 !
1870 while her purchases of American
goods amounted to $415,499, 457.
Everywhere you look there is abb
solutely no foundation to the argu-
ment that an American protective
tariff will destroy our foreign trade.
All the figures have been able to
run down, taken from the years when
we had the protective tariff show
that our export trade was greater
than our import trade.
"Going back to the year 1912 we
find that our foreign business a.
mounted to total of $1,341, 1872, 789
while Europe's total business with US
amounted to only $819,585, 1926.
| Many of those who are doing their
best to defeat protective tariff are
using Germany as one Of their main
arguments. Germany makes fine
target for them because they love to