The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-17
PEOPLES FORUM
Petting Political preiudiccS

To the Editor of The AgeHerald:
In the history of political econ
omy. the English mercantile sys-
tenn is an example of the illusions
which haunt the unimaGinat1Ve
brain of the plodders of business.
The English business man of that
age believed that only gold and
silver was wealth; and had their
special law to protect them in
their hallucination. This law PEN
allied the importation of any COM
modify other than gold and silver.
They thought they were making
England rich by taking nothing
in return for goods sold other than
the precious metals. British
commerce was woefully handi-
capped in operation and restricted
in volume by this foolish practice.
The business man knew that some
thing was wrong, but attributed
it to insufficiency of gold and
silver. They thought it would be
a perfect day when all the gold
and silver of the world had its
permanent home in the British
Isles. They could not see that its
value was not intrinsic but as
medium of exchange. 1t remained
for a mere professor, theorist, to
explode the bubble and plant Brit
ish commerce on sound basis by
discarding the ruinous restric-
lions Of the mercantile theory.
This system has its model par
allel In our protective tariff; and
it is going to take progressive
professors some time to convince
the practical business man that
he Is just as illogical (and doing
his country just as great a dis
service in our overdeveloped sys-
tenn of manufactories) in demand
ing protective tariff, as were his
English forebears in insisting that
only gold and silver was wealth.
Our theory of favorable trade
balance" Is only modified re-
statement Of the mercantile fall
lacy. Our favorable trade balance
simply represents money forbidden
natural circulation, which should
be in profitable service of invest
ment in our requirements of the
products of other nations. A trade
balance" inflated by legal enact
ment is matter more of statistics
than of fact. Such initiation Gre
ates a corresponding vacuum in
utilities and commodities distrib-
uted throughout the domain, the
lack or increased cost of which
operates against economy and eff
ficiency in inverse proportion to
the inflated statistical trade bal
ance. The unjust burden of the
ic icf ri h.
uted over the entire nation while
its special privileges attach to a
fractional percentage of the popu-
lace. True. there might be a real
favorable trade balance" but it
can only be known in the alb
sence of all restrictions on COM
merce. A nation with the great
est and most highly developed
natural resources will become
creditor nation in the course of
events. But nations buying from
such nation must, of necessity,
exchange their sur
plus products for the wherewithal
to buy. Otherwise the commerce
of even such a naturally favored
nation will stagnate and its ar
created wealth decrease
and It's trade balance disappear.
How long can we continue pyra-
miding loans of money and credit
with which to buy our goods?
Some time we must give the peo-
pie of other lands a chance to
create something and then allow
them to go into the marts of ex-
change for unrestricted DISPOSE
+
point of saturation and liquida-
ton is now impossible, with con-
sequent arrangement of exchange,
carrying in its wake poverty, dis
ease and death. Yet in the face
of this condition we erect a tariff
wall aginst our debtors toll and
thereby say you shall not work."
for toll Is vain unless its product
is utilized We say give us only
gold. your products are no good.
America needs an Adam Smith to
lead her business men away from
economic mirages and vagaries
inherent in the fallacy of protec-
ton and force upon them a reali-
cation of their swinish selfish
ness.
Unfortunate few of our poll
ticians have time or inclination to
study these things out. They are
too busy petting the prejudices of
their constituencies; looking for a
popular issue. one that Is a win
ner regardless of merit. We see
the politicians of both parties
cutting in on the line back home
to learn what the people like or
and 1t seems they would
be willing to advocate anything
that would put them in power,
even if 1t sank the world in chaos.
They are not concerned about
principle; only expediency. Since
his incumbency the president has
taken just one falt6ring forward
step and now the politicians are
demanding that he withdraw IN
the interest of expediency. This
juncture marks the line between
the courageous statesman and the
craven politician. The statesman
will hold true to the course he
believes to be true; the politician
will veer with wind and tide re-
CARELESS of the compass OF right.
II. A. ENTREKIN.
Ala, May IA. 1928.