The Commoner
SEPTEMBER, 1915
ii
Develop Trade With
Latin-America
The following statement was issued from
Washington, D. C., under date of August 22,
1915:
At the request of the president, the federal
trade commission will make a thorough investi
gation of the tariff laws and customs regulations
of the countries of Central and South America
for the purpose of assisting in laying the founda-
tion for the development of the largest measure Vni,nl !', . , r ... , , .
of reciprocal trade between the United States ftnlQ,Ble, !nt 1,avc for tH?lr ob cct lJ10
vwHmvin jl u. uwiwuil Ui 1I1UIU U11I4UI1H 111 U UU"
fense movement have recently been organized in
New York. The activities of the arms and now-
tho aim of tho commission to expose theso diffi
culties and to suggest remedies. It is uel loved
that this investigation, sweeping In scope, will
be of great assistance not only to tho United
States, but to every republic of America in Im
proving its foreign trade and consequently its
prosperity. f
In addition to tho co-operation of tho treasury
department and tho international high commis
sion, tho federal trado commission will have the
assistance of tho departments oi rtnto and com
merce through tho commercial attaches and the
uipiomatlc and consular officers of tho United
in Latin-America.
has been urged by Colonel Roosevelt in defense
of ordinary old-style "preparation."
Is this the simple choice between manliness
and Miss Nancyism that Colonel Roosevelt would
have us think it? San Francisco Bulletin.
states
and Latin America. The commission will make
a searching study of all the artificial barriers
raised by adverse laws and regulations that
hinder the expansion of our commerce with the
republics of the Western Hemisphere, and will
submit recommendations to the president for the
removal of the obstacles and for the establish
ment of reciprocal trade relations.
The inquiry was suggested to the president by
Secretary McAdoo and grows out of the Pan
American Financial conference recently. held in
Washington. The conference was unanimous in
endorsing co-operative effort among the Ameri
can governments for the expansion of Pan
American finance and trade, and pointed the way
for its accomplishment. The essential thing
now, the secretary saidt is to take up the threads
where the conference left off and by quick and
intelligent action, bringits purposes to fruition.
Many of the existing obstacles to the extension
of finance and trade among the. American na
tions were disclosed by tlie interchange of views
at the conference. Tariff laws, customs regula
tions, classification of merchandise, consular cer
tificates and invoices and port charges in many
Latin-American countries are serious impedi
ments to tho growth of their trade with the
United States.
Secretary McAdoo already has taken a number
of definite steps ,to bring practical results from
the work so- auspicously begun by the confer
ence. He, ,b ,now organizing the International
high commission, created by the conference to
consider uniformity of laws relating to trade,
commerce and international commercial court.
This commission will be composed of nine mem
bers from each of the nineteen countries that
participated in the conference, tho minister of.
finance, or secretary of the treasury, of the re
spective countries being chairman of each group.
Secretary McAdoo has suggested that the com
mission meet in Buenos Aires, on November 1,
1915. The United States-, Cuba, Ecuador, Chile,
Panama and Peru already have appointed their
members of the commission, and tho remaining
countries are expecting to complete its personnel
within tho next few weeks.
Tho federal trado commission will co-operate
with the international high commission, as far
as practicable, to bring about, if possible, uni
formity of laws in all the Latin-American coun
tries and the United States with respect to cus
toms regulations, consular invoices, port charges,
etc. Aside from exposing conditions and bar
riers which impede trado relations between the
United States and Central and South America,
tho federal trade commission will give careful
consideration to the larger question of recipro
city, which would be a practical and substantial
basis for the enlargement cf Pan-American com
mercial, relations.
The Simmons-Underwood, tariff act of October
3, 1913, opens the way for the negotiations of
reciprocal trade agreements by the following
provision:
"That for tho purpose of readjusting the pres
ent duties on importations into the United States
and at the same time to encourage the export
trade of this country, the president of the United
States is authorized and empowered to regoti
ato trade agreements with foreign nations where
in mutual concessions are made looking toward
freer trade relations and further reciprocal ex
pansion of trade and commerce: 7?rovided, how
ever, that said trado agreements before becoming
onerative shall be submitted to the congress of
the United States for ratification or rejection."
Each American nation has its distinctive prob
lems and the federal trado commission will deal
with them separately, so as to make the investi
gation of as much practical value as possible.
For years 4t has been known that tho develop
ment of trade relatione between the United
States and her sister republics has been retarded
by restrictive laws and regulations. It will bo
der manufacturers know no bounds.
PROBLEMS FOR A PREPARATIONS
Militarism has no ccruples as to its weapons..
How would we fight a nation which used gas,
poisoned food, or spread typhoid bacilli?
The aim of the "Preparationists," as we may
call those militarists who do not like to be
called militarists, obviously is to increase tho
warlike efficiency of the nation. Some pi them a
lay most stress on the needs of the army,, and.
some on the needs of the navy; some go in for
flying machines and submarines, and some still
stick by dreadnaughts; but all' of them want the
United States to have a strong killing and de
stroying power on hand to back up such notiona
of righteousness as now or hereafter they may
entertain. They all regard the disarmament
movement as at best visionary, and at the worst
silly, besotted, effeminate and criminal. They
refer to "preparation" as though we could take
it like a pill, once we made up our minds to it.
But the state of the military art which is
the art of destroying property and mangling hu
man flesh is not such as to bear out this as
sumption of practicality and simplicity. Meth
ods of killing cattle, hogs and sheep, as in tho
great Chicago stockyards, change slowly, but
methods of killing menr are being revolutionized
almost every week. If the United States should
start out to kill its enemies' by obsolete methods
it would bo committing suicide.
So far Colonel Roosevelt and his fellow prep
arationists have contented themselves with
preaching a principle, without going very far In
to the practical difficulties of carrying out that
principle. Now, let it be assumed, that this
newspaper and its readers have been converted
to the principle of preparation. What concrete
measures would Colonel Roosevelt recommend
to make the country a strong military power?
Would ho build dreadnaughts, submarines, or
aeroplanes, and in what numbers and propor
tions? Submarines have driven dreadnaughts out of
the fighting zones. Improved aeroplanes, with
an improved gun and an improved projectile,
may destroy the usefulness of the submarine.
Two or three years more may see aeroplanes
destroyed by electricians pressing keys in safety,
miles from danger. The most vigorous mechan
ical and scientific minds of our day are working
on this one problem of efficient butchery.
There is a further question, which concerns
morals. Where would Colonel Roosevelt draw
tho line in instruments of destruction? Ho
would, of course, be willing to dismember the
enemy with shrapnel. Would he also poison him
with gas? The German army has been using gas
with great effect, notwithstanding the agree
ments of The Hague conventions, and gas is con
sequently certain to be used In future wars.
From poisoning by gas it is an easy step to pois
oning .wells, poisoning food supplies, and dis
tributing the germs of fatal diseases. If mil
itary force is to be the world's law, as the prep
arationists have to assume, no international
agreement hereafter adopted will prevent the
use of any means and all means that kill and
destroy. A nation which uses gas will no more
spare a natio'n which refuses to use gas than
(as Colonel . Roosevelt tells us) it would spare
an unarmed nation; a nation which poisons wells
will not spare one to which this practice is ab
horrent, and so on. The most brutal, the least
scrupulous of nations will surely triumph,. Tho
United States must prepare to bo absolutely in
human and pitiless, or it had better not prepare
at all. .. . .
Thus, the same argument, on the same basis,
with the same supporting facts, can be urged in
favor of the use of typhoid bacilli in war that
LIQUOR MEN FEARFUL NOW
Asserting that horctoforo tho church was
afraid of tho saloon, Mrs. Mary Harris Armor of
Georgia, In an nddrcss at Philadelphia, declared
that tho situation was now reversed. She said:
"The fight now being waged against tho liquor
Interests in this country Is nn Irrepressible con
flict. It is irrepressible because tho American
people have an aspiration to drive the flquor in
terests out of business. The cause is righteous,
and the strugglo will not end until that aspira
tion of the citizens Is fulfilled or the liquor traffic
passes Into oblivion."
"Heretofore, tho church was afraid of tho liq
uor Interests. Now matters havo been reversed.
Tho liquor tntorcsts fear the church. For that
reason the cause of prohibition will win. Victory
for national prohibition is coming. We arc
bound to win.
"The recent victory of the prohibition forces
in congresB is a forerunner to tho victories of the
prohibition movement. The good people of this1
nation want prohibition. They have God ou their
side and will eventually win."
If the war should come to a speedy ending
it will throw out of employment a number of
men who make a business of, putting forth claims
for the various belligerents at each step in the
battles. Tlie fact that a presidential campaign
is about to begin in the United States, however,
will bring cheer to their hearts and a chance for
a job.
Congressman Jim Mann of Illinois has a well
deserved reputation for acumen. He added to
this recently by announcing that ho would not.
enter the republican primary as a candidate for
tho presidency. The Hon. Jim Js not trading
his chances of continuing in office for something
that won't assay high at the election mint.
The banks of the country report the possession
of a larger amount of gold and a greater amount
of money than they havo had on hand for mariy
years. Tho task tho republican campaign man
agers have set themselves of talking hard times
will present increasing difficulties In the face of
this remarkable showing.
The Topeka papers boast that thirty per cent
of the persons sent to the Kansas state insane
asylum are sent back home cured. There really
is no excuse for despair either over the future
restoration of those republicans who still believe
that the democrats don't know how to govern
the United States.
LOVE VS. FORCE
"Put up thy sword!" the voice of Christ once
more
Speaks In the pauses of the cannon's roar,
O'er fields of corn by fiery sickles reaped
And left dry ashes; o'er trenches heaped
With nameless dead; o'er cities starving slow
Under a rain of fire; through words of woe '
Down which a groaning diapason runs
From tortured brothers, husbands, lovers, sons
Of desolate women in their far-off homes,
Waiting to hear the step that never comes!
O men and brothers! let that voice be heard.
War falls, try peace; put up tho useless sword!
Fear not the end. There is a story told
In eastern tents, when autumn nights grow cold
And round the fire the Mongol shepherds sit
With grave responses listening unto it;
Once, on the errands of his mercy bent,
Buddha, the holy and benevolent,
Met a fell monster, huge and fierce of look, :
Whose awful voice the hills and forests shook.
"O son of peace!" the giant cried, thy fate -
Is sealed at last, and love shall yield to hate!
The unarmed Buddha looking, with no trace
Of fear or anger, in the monster's face,
In pity said: "Poor friend, even thee I love."
Lo! as he spake the sky-tall terror sank
To hand-breadth size; the huge abhorrence
shrank
Into the form and fashion of a dove;
And where the thunder of its rage was heard,
Circling above him sweetly sang the bird:
"Hate hath no harm for love," so ran the song;
"And peace unweaponed conquers every wrong."
Whittler.
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