SON OF 1892.

[From the Des Moines (Iowa) Capital.]

FOR

OR forty years the free-trade question has been the main hope of the Democracy. The great campaign of 1892 was won on the tariff or free-trade issue, under conditions much resembling those of the present time. It will be recalled that the country was in a condition of prosperity in 1892 that up to that time had not been equaled. The country is in a greater condition of prosperity at the present time. Some people are seemingly anxious to make some sort of tariff revolution. As in 1892 all

are doing well, but there are jealousies arising between various interests, each seemingly willing to take its chances of self-destruction by attempting to destroy somebody else.

In Iowa, men are anchoring themselves on present prosperity to demand a change in the schedules that have brought this prosperity. The proposition is made in the interest of tariff reform, as it was made in 1892, for the purpose of "hitting the monopolies." In 1892 the blow was aimed at Carnegie. In 1902 it is aimed at Pierpont Morgan. It did not hit Carnegie in 1892, but hit nearly everybody else. It may not hit Morgan in 1902, but it may hit nearly every one else. Some of the men in Iowa who have made hundreds of thousands of dollars in increased values of real estate are the chief agitators for the present disturbance of the tariff. They think

that Congress could go pell-mell into the tariff question without hurting anything or anybody. There is danger to the country and to the Republican party in this agitation which, seemingly, has its home in Iowa. Republicans are every day heard raving against the tariff, just as they did in 1892, when people scarcely had time to add up their profits.

It is a cute piece of politics that the Democrats or mugwumps are

playing in Iowa, rock-ribbed Republican state as she is. If a "tariff reform" plank can be put into the Republican platform of Iowa it will be a great victory for mugwumpism. Iowa has the speaker of the House,

the leader of the Senate and two members of the Cabinet. A voice from Iowa would sound like the voice of authority coming directly from the administration. The Republicans of Iowa might well stop and think and also analyze the source from which emanates the attempt to put a tariff reform plank into the Iowa Republican platform, a plank that might be measurably right in itself, but one that would be construed as a letting down of old time principles and be regarded away from home as giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

SENATOR PROCTOR of Vermont says the finest speech he ever made consisted of only four words. It was in retort to Senator Hoar's sarcastic little thrust in a speech directed at the Green Mountain senator. He said: "No man in Vermont is allowed to vote unless he has made $5,000 trading with Massachusetts people." Whereat Proctor said, "And we all vote."

as near as the records show, but he thinks the correct figures would be considerably larger, as American goods shipped by Canadian Pacific steamers (for want of American ships) are credited to Canada. Those shipped by the Japanese line from Seattle and San Francisco (also for want of American ships) are credited to Japan. Those via London are credited to Great Britain, and those via Hongkong to Hongkong. We get credit at the Chinese Imperial maritime customs for only the goods shipped on the few American lines, and cleared from United States ports to ports in China.

The Consul General says the general trade of China is recovering rapidly since the Chinese court returned to Pekin. China's total imports in 1901 exceeded those of 1899, which had been the banner year; China's export trade in 1901, however, owing to floods and disturbances in Manchuria and other northern provinces, while greater than in 1901, did not reach the total of 1899.

The figures for the three years of exports and imports are:

Exports.

Imports.

1899

.....

.$142,922,927 $193,266,472

1900

....

119,232,564

158,302,918

1901

......

122,152,865 193,178,100

Our principal sales to China in 1900 and 1901 were:

1900. 1901. Cotton drills ....$1,763,609 $3,481,113 Cotton sheetings. 4,600,191 Kerosene Flour Timber Tobacco Cotton flannel

5,498,434

4,728,288

6,219,721

2,497,401

3,403,413

775,925

1,247,507

675,000

900,000

638,694 820,779

Our total trade with China in 1901 (exports and imports) was about $42,000,000, as against about the same in 1900. Imports from the United States increased about $7,500,000 and exports to the United States fell off $7,500,000, making the balance of trade $15,000,000 in our favor. The falling off in our purchases of tea is large but it cannot yet be attributed to the successful experiments of our Department of Agriculture in tea raising in our own country. We must account for it by the increasing carelessness of preparation (as the consul-general says) and our Spanish war tax. All lines of imports increased except iron, lead and machinery.

American cottons show a gratifying increase; more than cottons of any other country, the figures being, for our goods,

a corresponding reduction, are successful.

American cotton flannel and gray and white shirtings are becoming quite popular. Our sales of flour show a large increase, thanks to the success of our treaty commissioner, Hon. W. W. Rockhill, in keeping flour on the free list. The figures show nearly $1,000,000 increase in 1901 over 1900. Timber shows an increase of nearly $500,000.

The difficulty of obtaining room for freight from the United States to China did not decrease during the year. Of the 15,257 vessels entered at and cleared from Chinese ports, in the foreign trade, in 1901, only 204 carried the American flag. The total tonnage, in and out, was 12,855,028, but our share was only 356,493. Our trade with China was about 14 per cent of her total foreign commerce, but only 1.3 of it was carried in American ships. All the lines, except American, are subsidized in some form or other by their respective governments.

Great Britain is trying to amend her Chinese trade treaties. Though the full propositions are secret, so far, it is known that they include, (1) a guarantee against any more prohibitions of the exportation of rice; (2) permission for the importation of salt at present the sale of salt is a government monopoly and yields a large revenue to the Imperial government; (3) an increase of the import duty on foreign goods to 15 per cent in consideration of an agreement by the Chinese govern

ment that it will abolish all likin on native and foreign products throughout the empire. The British-China The British-China Association and the American-China Association both oppose this. On this point we cannot do better than quote our able consul-general's words verbatim:

"The American-China Association has also protested, claiming that 70 per cent of the entire imports from the United States goes for consumption into the provinces around the Gulf of Pechili, comprising, roughly speaking, one-fourth of the empire. The likin in those provinces is so light that only one-fourteenth of the entire amount is collected in that section of the empire. In other words, likin in Central and South China is three to four times as heavy as it is in North China, where our goods are mainly consumed. Our association argues that it would be a bad bargain for us to consent to the same increase of duty on goods going into the northern provinces, where the likin is light, as would be necessary on goods going into Central and South China, to compensate for the heavy likin now being collected there. Our association also points to the fact that previous treaties have provided that a payment of an extra two and one-half per cent at the seaboard shall free foreign goods from all inland taxation whatsoever; but that, in spite of this, the likin has been collected in the shape of landing taxes and in taxes on the stores where foreign goods have been exposed for sale. It argues from this experience that an abolition of likin by treaty may not abolish it in fact."

The consul-general's full report, on which this article is based, is quite recent, bearing date, April 5, 1902, being Consular Report No. 1335.

As we have never incurred the hostility of the Chinese by forcing grants of territory or ports, in compensation for real or fancied injuries, nor in any way sought to benefit by the many embarrassments of the Celestial Empire; on the contrary, as in our dealings with her, we have always governed our actions by the motto, or title of Charles Reade's celebrated novel, "Put Yourself in His Place," we can fairly count on Chinese good will towards Americans and everything American, which means a much larger share of the future business of that densely populated country of enormous consuming capacity, and very limited manufacturing facilities.

SCHENECTADY, N. Y., July, 1902.

THE resignation by Lord Salisbury of the premiership of Great Britain, on account of his age and infirmities, and the appointment of Mr. A. J. Balfour in his place, on account of his fitness for it and not because he is a

nephew of Lord Salisbury, will probably make no difference in the

relations of Great Britain with the

colonies or with other countries. About ten years ago Lord Salisbury made a speech at Hastings in which he said free trade was not businesslike, but he did not give much encouragement to the fair traders or to the imperial federationists because they had not yet educated the British public up to their views. Lord Salisbury was instrumental in bringing about the most friendly relations that have ever existed between his country and ours, and Americans wish him a green old age.

D

DUSTRIES.

URING the five years, 1895 to

1900, the number of manufacturing establishments in Massachusetts increased from 26,265 to 31,953, or 21.66 per cent, and the value of the ouptut increased 21.82 per cent. Only 14.41 per cent of the capital invested has gone into combinations.

The industries in which more than twenty million dollars were invested

Still, with all this increased activity, there were 148 idle establishments in the commonwealth, involving a capital of $5,583,083; 16 of them pentering, 11 boots and shoes, 8 being in the woolen industry, 13 carmarble and stone work, 6 bricks and tiles and 5 lumber and timber.

The foregoing figures are from the Sixteenth Report of the Statistics of Manufactures by the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the comparison is between that bureau's census of 1895 and the U. S. census of 1900. As the federal census was taken only a year or two after the depression caused by the Wilson tariff, the improvement shown in Massachusetts is remarkable and would be much greater to-day.

Mr. Charles D. McDuffie, agent of the Manchester mills and well known among mill men of New England, died July 6, at his home in Manchester, N. H., of hemorrhage of the lungs, having been in ill-health ever since an attack of grip last winter. Still he was mending, and only ten days before he died he enjoyed an outing with the N. E. Textile Club at the Squantum Association's beautiful resort below Providence. He began his mill career in Lowell in 1849 and had been superintendent of the mills of the Whittenton Manufacturing Company of Taunton, the Everett Mills of Lawrence, and since 1880 agent of the Manchester Mills.