June 9, 1888





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Vol. XLI.





JUNE 9, 1888.





No. 1,056





There are several influences which ought to affect the stock mar¬
ket favorably. Money is easy and certain to remain so dui-ing the
summer. The drain of gold to Em-ope has ceased, tlie loans placed
abroad have been quickly taken up ; we are shipping more exports
and importing fewer goods than earlier in the year. The Demo¬
cratic nominations are satisfactory to the conservative instincts of
the community, Grover Cleveland is not a great statesman nor a
man of any marked abihty. but he is prudent, safe and conscien-
cious .'n the performance of hisijublic duties. There is every reason
to believe that the Republicans will make a wise nomination and
put forward a sensible platform. Should this prove to be the case
it ought to affect the stock market favorably, for the country would
be safe no matter who was elected. But the best feature of all is
the improvements in crop products. Winter wheat turns out some¬
what better than was expected. Spring wheat looks very well,
■wlule the counfciy will have a magnificent hay crop. We can tell
nothing as yet about corn, but six years in seven it turns out satis¬
factory. We are not over-hopeful as to prices iu general, but dur¬
ing the summer the "bulls" will have their inning iu Wall street
as well as the " bears."





The Democratic platform is full of glittering generalities and is
intended as such documents usually are to catch votes without com¬
mitting the party to any definite lines of policy. The commitments
in favor of Civil Service Reform are of course insincere. Neither the
Democratic nor the Eepublican politicans are in favor of the aboli¬
tion of the spoils system, for they are all after the "loaves and
fishes." The plank about " tnists " is pure demagoguery, and tlie
claim that tliis administration has appropriated more money in pen¬
sions than any previous Republican admmisti-ation is onetliat ought
to discredit the Democratic party with the country. There are no new
issues raised of any value, and the reaffii'mation of the platitudes in
former Democratic platforms have neither novelty nor point. StiU
we have no notion that the Republican platform will be any
imiirovement ou the one we are criticising. The Chicago poUti¬
cians will thrash over the old sti-aw. Om- national jioUtics are now
on a very low level, and our professional statesmen of both parties
seem to prefer to dweU upon the dead past rather than the hving
present, or the splendid possibilities of the futm-e of our counti-y.





Just at the moment the possible Eepublican candidates for the
Presidency seem to be Shennan of Ohio, Harrison of Indiana, or
Alger of MicMgan. If a Western mau is choseu, Levi P. Jlorton
wiU be the nominee for Vice-President, Alger's cbance seems to be
a Uttle the best of the tiiree, for he is personally unobjectionable,
and instead of a barrel wil) supply a hogshead of funds for conduct¬
ing the campaign. Morton's availabilitj' is also due to the size of
his bank account. There will be little principle in the coming
election, but oceans of money will be spent, and after nest November
there is Hkely to be a strong demand for the passage of the
AustraUan election law so as to pnt a stop to the wholesale bribing
of voters. The Depew " boom " seems to bave died out because of
the prejudice against raih-oad magnates among tlie Republican
voters of the Western States. Gresham's friends have injured liim
by ttieir aggressive course aud their opposition to Blaiue. After the
November election let us hope that a party will be formed which
will have a progi-amme of action more in consonance with the age
we live in tlian the platform of either the St. Louis or Chicago
national conventions.





The Oregon and Illinois elections ai-e not favorable to the pros¬
pects of the Democratic party. The Rhode Island election told the
same story. It is true that none of these three is au important
State, but the increased Repubhcan vote or the relatively decreased
Democratic vote would seem to show a tendency that may an-ay
Indiana aud New York on the Rcimblican side next November. In
any event the coming Presidential election promises to be close aud
exciting. Mr. Cievelaud personally is much stronger than his party.
It is usual to re-elect Presidents for a second term who have done





fairly well duringtbe first four years, and this feeling wiU help Mr.
Cleveland in the ensuing canvass. Thurman'g name on the ticket
win be worth tens of thousands of votes for Mr, Cleveland. Still,
we suspect that the American people are wedded to the pohcy of
building up home industi-ies, so as to become commerciaUy inde¬
pendent of England, The decided free trade drift of Democratic
sentiment is unmistakable, but it may be premature. Some time or
other tbe United States will stand for absolute free intercoui-se
between nations, but not until our own manufacturing industi-ies
are so far developed as to enable us to withstand British competition.





Piince I^-apotkin, the SociaUst and Nihilist, has an article on the
decay of British trade in an English magazine which it is sui-prising
has not been republished in our daily jom-nals, for it is a very able
presentation of facts wliich have a bearing on the economic discus¬
sions now going on in and out of Congress, This writer gives sta¬
tistics to show that EngUsh manufactured products are losing ground
in all civihzed and semi-civilized nations ; wluch latter, by means
of protective tariffs, are creating home markets. Tbe tendency in
all countries is to estabhsh manufactures so as to insiu-e a large
domestic conaumption for agricultural products. During the past
three-quarters of a century the industries of the several nations
were specialized. Great Britain supplied the world with cotton,
ironware and coal, Belgium with woolen cloth, France with arti¬
cles of luxury and wines. This was under an era of comparatively
free trade.





But for the last quarter of a century a reverse movement has
beeu in progress, and each nation by protective tariffs has entered
into competition with the coantries w^liich have heretofore had the
monopoly of them. In 1861 Russia had 14,600 manufactories, which
produced goods to the annual value of $180,000,000. In 1884 the
value of manufactured Russian products reached $775,000,000.
That gi-eat Northern power not only practically prohibits the intro¬
duction of English goods into her territories, but competes with the
same nation in every part of Asia. France is a highly protected
nation, and before the German indemnity and the ravages of the
phylloxera was the most prosperous one in Europe. Germany not
only protects her home manufactures but is competmg sharply
with England in all the markets of the world. British imports of
cotton into Brazil have fallen off about $5,000,000 per annum in
four years. India has over 80,000,000 spindles in the cotton manu¬
factories, when twenty years ago it had uot 35,000. Tbis spu-it of
manufacturing independence dates back forty years in France,
twenty years in Russia, about fifteen years in Austria-Hungary, ten
in Italy, and not quite so long in Spain, and eo of other nations,
including English colonies like Canada.





Now the question is, will the United States inaugurate a new
departure among the nations of tbe earth by re-electmg Grover
Cleveland on a free trade platform ? It is idle to talk about the
absti-act teachings of poUtical euonomy ; the fact is patent that
Ijractically tbe Manchester school of that so-called science has been
discredited by every nation on earth outside of Great Britain. Yet
it has had the warm advocacy of the gi-eat trading middle class the
world over. The Record and Guide is no advocate of the present
tariff. It ought to be amended. The free list shouldjbe extended
aud should inclnde wool, as well as lumber, salt, coal, all the metals
save iron aud perhaps sugar. Theu tlie tax on necessary clothing is
too high. But there is no reason to beUeve that the American
people are yet prepai-ed to abandon protection, and the recent elec¬
tion seems to show that the Democratic party ia losing ground
because of the decided free trade leadings of the President and his
advisers. The existing depression in business, due to the tariff agi¬
tation, will also swell the number of the Repubhcan votes, unless
there is such a change of public policy aa will give us better times.





The Republicans do not show to advantage in the tai'iff debate in
the House. The details to be discussed involve economic rather
than political considerations. A revision of the tariff is inevitable,
if not this session, then next year or the year after, and the Repub¬
licans as well as the Democrats should try to make an honorable
record. But they propose nothing themselves, and the fight they
make is one of obstruction and delay. Tlieir most objectionable
iiiaueuver ia in ti-ying to eet aside the tariff debate and take up the
arrear of pensions bill. This is the most detestable swindle of aUthe
villainous pension bills that have beeu enacted by Congress. If
passed it would vote away from four to five hundred millions of the
public money which ia needed for useful aud ijroductive impi'ove-
ments. But this is a Presidential year, and it is conceded that
there is not vh'tue enough, either among the Republican or Demo¬
cratic representatives to vote this monstrous bill down for fear of
losing tbe mythical soldier vote. The Democrats want to dodge
this issue, but the Repubhcans are using every parliamentary
device to bring the matter before the House. This may be poUtics,
but it is not honorable and high-miuded statesmanship. As we
have said before, whoever votas for this bill, Senator or Representa-