Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 September 1890 — TALK ON THE TARIFF. [ARTICLE]

TALK ON THE TARIFF.

The Home Trade Not Built Up at the Expense of the Protective Trade. The American Register, published in London, has probably opened some English eyes wide enough to enable them to look over and around their free trade spectacles by these remarks: “One of the most glaring fallacies of free trade fanatics is that the home trade, under the protective system, is built up at the expense of the export trade. In fact, many people imagine that the export trade of the United States has, under the protective system dwindled to zero. It may be a matter of surprise to these people to learn that the export trade of the United States was never, with one solitary exception, so great as it was last year. It is true that a protective system keeps back imports, and that it does in fact what it is .intended to do—but it rather accelerates than otherwise the export trade. American bread stuffs, cotton, etc., are always sure of a large European market simply because European nations must purchase these products, as they cannot do without them. A contemporary says: “It is but a short time since the cry was raised that domestic exports must decrease, and were actually decreasing in consequence of the unwise financial policy of the government. As if on purpose to dispose of this complaint, there comes the annual report of foreign commerce for the year ending June 30, which shows that the Value of domestic exports during the year was greater than in any other year in the entire history of the country, except one year. Leaving that single exception, the year 1881, it may first be noticed that no other important country in the \vorld can boast as great an increase, either proportionally or in absolute amount, as the United States has realized in exports of domestic products within the last twenty years. From 1870 so 1890 Great Britain gained $'283,000,000 in value of BritisK~“expbrts—but the United States gained $468,000,000. For Great Britain the gain has been 29 per cent, during a period of twenty years, but for the United States the gain has been 125 per cent. Had the products, actually sent from American ports during the last fiscal year, been valued at the prices. of. 1869, they would have shown a gain of 220 per cent, under American protection, against only 29 per cent- under British free trade.’ ”