and seemingly satisfies his own mind that the Argentine Republic can find no profit in trading with a people who tax two-thirds of their importations. His entire speech is burdened with studied and labored complaints to show the injustice of our selfish and exclusive policy. He extols the virtue and excellence of free trade and commends it in glowing rhetoric to the acceptance of nations.

This is not the time nor the place for me to discuss the comparative merits of free-trade and protection. I pause only to ask my friend why he fails to accept the logic of his own argument. We offered him absolute free-trade and he rejected it. We offer him now in the majority report liberal treaties of reciprocity and they, too, find no favor.

He complains that Argentine wool is excluded from our markets, and contrasts the liberality of England with the selfishness of the United States. Will he permit me to remind him that Great Britain, with free-trade, purchased of the Argentine last year 1,326,067 pounds of wool, while the United States purchased from her 11,000,584 pounds, or nearly nine times as much?

But whatever complaints may be lodged against our commercial policy by European nations, certainly the American Republics should not complain of us.

Taking the year 1888 as the last one furnishing full statistics, I find that we sold to the Argentine, of our domestic products, $6,099,411, of which nearly every article was subject to duty in her ports. In the same time we purchased of the Argentine goods valued at $5,902,169, of which the dutiable articles amounted to only $1,342,088, or less than one-fourth of the whole. And deducting from these dutiable articles the wool we received, costing $1,178,003, it leaves only 164,065 of Argentine productions which paid duty into our Treasury. These articles, excluding the wool only, which averaged 24.79 per cent., probably paid into our Treasury not exceeding $73,000. And at this point permit me to say that we annually import from all countries about 100,000,000 pounds of wool, and this country stands ready to establish with the Argentine the most liberal treaties of reciprocity by which

the only remaining articles of her exportation into our country may be admitted free of duty.

We sold to Chili in 1888 goods valued at $2,423,303. She sold us goods valued at $2,894,520, all of which came into our ports free except $256,280; and of the latter amount $217,987 represented wool, leaving of other articles taxable the insignificant sum of $38,293. This at the average rate of duty in this country excluding the wool, paid into our Treasury about $17,000. The wool of Chili, like that of the Argentine, we now offer to accept free of charge through liberal treaties of reciprocity.

To Brazil we export only $7,063,892, while we import of her products $53,710,234. Of this large amount only $6,836,410 is dutiable, and of the dutiable articles sugar alone constitutes $6,752,555, leaving of other articles a value of only $83,885 subject to tax.

To Brazil we now tender such inducements on the subject of sugar as will stimulate that industry and afford it an assured and lasting market in the United States.

If we take Venezuela, the showing is no less liberal on our part. While she buys of us only $3,008,336, we purchase of her products valued at $10,051,250, and of this large sum, comparatively speaking, we tax only $8,345, receiving into our Treasury less than $4,000 from a commerce with Venezuela of $13,000,000.

In the same manner we have an annual commerce with Colombia of over $9,000,000, of which importations amounting to only $148,890 pay duty. Hides, rubber, vegetable ivory, vanilla, cocoa, coffee, bananas, and cocoa-nuts all come free, and the chief article taxed is opium prepared for smoking, an article that should not be either produced or consumed.

All of South America purchases from us $28,609,144. We purchase from South America $84,356,398, of which less than one-seventh (or $11.880,490) pays duty. If we deduct the dutiable importations from British, French, and Dutch Guiana, consisting largely of sugar, we have only $8,989,719 of dutiable articles received from all the Republics of South America.

The Central American States make no charge of illiber

ality against us. They annually buy of us $4,131,574 and we buy of them to the extent of $7,623,378, and of this latter amount the dutiable list is only $266,523.

To Mexico we export, through her sea-ports, $9,242,188 (I have not the exports by rail), while we import $17,329,889, of which goods to the amount of $6,287,117 pay duty.

The Mexican dutiable list, consisting largely of lintbearing products, such as hemp, jute, sisal grass, etc., may be greatly modified, if not entirely changed to the free list, under the operation of discreet reciprocal legislation.

The moment we leave our sister Republics the relations of trade are changed. Our imports from the West Indies amount to $71,565,666, of which over $61,000,000 are dutiable and only $10,000,000 are non-dutiable. The same is the case in British Guiana, from which we import to the value of $2,816,627, all of it dutiable except $5,755.

I allude to these statistics for the sole purpose of vindicating the United States against the charge of selfishness and unkindness in its commerce with the American Republics. Great Britain might complain that while she annually buys of us $358,238,790, we buy of her only $177,897,975. Belgium might complain that while we purchase of her $10,000,000, she buys of us nearly $25,000,000. The balance of our trade with Spain is nearly $10,000,000 against her, and even with the wool-growing countries of Australasia our trade is as two to one in our favor.

In our commerce with all Europe in 1888 the balance of trade in our favor was $142,040,628. In our trade with South America the balance against us is $54,777,171. Of our total exports abroad both Chili and the Argentine Republic combined take but little over 1 per cent., an amount insufficient to excite avarice or tempt cupidity. I therefore pray my honorable friend that when he speaks of us hereafter he speak of us as we are "nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice."

For the revenue system of the United States we do not claim perfection. Like many other national measures, it has taken shape from the circumstances attending its growth and development. It had its origin in the necessities of the Treasury, and has been modified from time to

time as those necessities changed. Increased revenue was its original object, and protection was merely incidental.

In the rapid growth of the country conditions are materially changed. We have now reached a point where great and immediate reductions are absolutely demanded. It is at such a period that we call our sister Republics to consider the propriety of reciprocal trade. We do not call them to consider a barren impossibility. We have a Treasury surplus of $70,000,000. This must be stricken from our revenues. I have already shown that our entire dutiable importations from the Republics represented here to-day are as follows:

From South America

From Mexico....

From Central America..

Total....

$8,989,719 6, 289, 117 226, 523

15, 505, 359

The duty on these importations, at the average tariff rate of 45 per cent., would be $7,000,000. We can safely dispense with that sum and there still remains a surplus of $63,000,000. With this large sum we shall be able to comply with the hard conditions imposed on us by the Argentine as a condition of reciprocal commerce. The honorable Delegate, it will be remembered, demands as a condition precedent to free trade with his Republic that we admit free of duty raw material not only from the Argentine but from all the world. Without this he claims that the United States can never be able to compete with European nations in foreign markets. Human reasoning can not disturb the multiplication table, and one cold fact sometimes robs rhetoric of all its beauty. At the moment the gentleman was making his speech in this body the following notice was coming to our State Department:

Twenty-five thousand tons of American steel rails have recently been imported into Mexico for use in the construction of the Monterey and Mexican Gulf Railroad. The president of the road says that the cost was less than it would have been on the same quantity of European steel rails of the same grade.

This occurs, too, when the tariff on ore is 75 cents per

ton, on pig-iron $6.72 per ton, on steel rails themselves $17 per ton.

What is here said is equally true in respect of iron and steel in every form, of boots and shoes, of furniture, of agricultural implements, of cotton manufactures in all the forms of ordinary use, of locomotives and railway-cars, and of numberless other articles where the tariff duty is swallowed up in the competition between domestic producers.

The honorable member finds among our importations certain articles similar to those manufactured in the United States, and without reflection rushes to the conclusion that the laws of interest alone prompt these importations. Other motives may, and often do, control the purchase of the foreign articles at even higher prices. Where great individual wealth prevails, the promptings of taste, and even vanity, may induce the importation. On no other theory is it possible that foreign ales and beer to the extent of 2,500,000 gallons should be brought to this country. We produce these articles in all varieties, in unbounded quantities, and at the lowest possible cost of production, yet consumers are found willing to pay an impost tax of 52 per cent. for the foreign article. The same may be said. of other articles which are largely imported, while domestic products of the same kind are still more largely exported.

The first stage of national growth is agricultural, the second is manufacturing, and the third is commercial. The first two stages with us have been reached, and we now enter upon the third. The same restless energy, the same enterprise, and the same inventive genius which gave success to agriculture and manufactures will mark the development of commerce.

The census of 1890 will disclose an annual manufacturing product in the United States of $8,000,000,000. The products of the farm will be vastly greater. The use of these products at home shows accumulating wealth and comfort among the people and marks the highest stage of civilization.

But even these vast products may be increased by slight