the Ai;rKu.AiiVES. WHAT ' MUST FOLCONW ' "lKqRBA8EO FOREIGN COMPETiTlON.' ' t . ' ' ; s' ItllhiT the Domradc Onlplll Would llr lllaplnrptl by Clirnper (IiiihU or lillsr Amrrlrnn Wnitea Mnat He- Hr-ilurrd Hr-ilurrd ( (,'lirpeii I'ruilnrlioii, Whllo our freo,tnidcrs, revlnlonlsta and rrrlproellyUes ar vhuslng' th for-clgn for-clgn markets rainbow all foreign manufacturing man-ufacturing countries ore seeking meaua of prol?etIou from American goods through tariffs or colonial preference. 'rv1f.y tho Unltt-d States has a larger share of foreign markets thun any other oth-er country,. These markets hove been gained for the most part through superiority su-periority of our manufactures and tho necessity of having our cotton and certain cer-tain other agricultural product. We have not gained these market In competition com-petition In the namu llnu of product. 'Europe must have a large share of our cotton, our corn, our copper, our oil and other products, and Europe will have nuch of our manufactured wares as are superior to her own. Whnt Europe must have and will haro is entirely without relation In any way to either her tariff or our tariff. Oinarts. buy more from us than from thn mother country lu spite of n preferential prefer-ential tariff of :c.l 1-3 per cent lu favor of the latter. I Is time thut our chasers chas-ers after foreign murkcts learned this feature of our export trade. That trade at present Is mot satisfactory. A generation ugo, In 1870, when wo had recovered somewhat from the War, our exports were less than $300,000,-000. $300,000,-000. Now they arc $1,00,000,000. Every Ev-ery year for the puBt decade, with one exception, these exports bare Increased Increas-ed at an average rate of nearly $100,-000.000 $100,-000.000 n year. During "this period we have passed free trade Great Britain and taken tho lead a an export nation. na-tion. Our Import havo Increased, too, aud yet we havo an annual favorable trsdo balance of some $400,000,000, which (jetties nil foreign obligation and prevents a drain of gold. Can wo Improve this most excellent foreign trade condition? Can we gain more markets? Can we compete with .foreign manufacturers In their own or other ountrles? There I but one an-wer an-wer only by reducing wage to tha European level. That Ih absolute. Are w;e ready to make that sacrifice? It Is up to tho revisionists and reclproct-tyltcs reclproct-tyltcs to tell the wage camera of thin country If that Is their object, for in no other way can we gain Increased foreign markets save In the natural Increase In-crease such a we are nt present en-' en-' Joying through necessity and superiority superiori-ty of wares. If through lower duties or reciprocity treaties we give to foreigners for-eigners our own market for tho hopo of theirs, what shall wo havo gained' What shall we not havo lost ! Our own home market Is today worth more than nil the markets of tho world combined for Imports. i This home market 1 seeuiv. Foreign market at best aro vlslouary. Wo might Increase our sales to, say, $1!,-000,000,000, $1!,-000,000,000, but at what a ooatl It (luce tho duties 011 silks, aud Franco will sell us the silks wo use. Ueduce the duties on potter', and Ilelglum will make our wares. Iteduce the duties on cottons nnd woolens, on boots and shoes, aud we shall be at the mercy of foreign manufacturers uuless wo reduce wages to tho leval paid their workmen. Wo would 110 louger sell more than we buy. We would no louger have the purchasing power that makes us tho greatest consumers of tho world. We would be an Idle, Impoverished, ruined people, a third rate nation. Wo would havo a constant deficit and would have to resort to direct taxation to meet expenses. To gain $500,000,000 worth more of foielgn trade we would have to sucri-lice sucri-lice billions of dollars in wages and billions more In profits. If wo would havo more markets, If wo woufd Increase In-crease production, we havo the mnr-ket mnr-ket right here at home. At best wu could not Increase our foreign sales more thau $.100,000,000. There Is an Increased In-creased market of that value right here lu our own country to be gained without any tmcrlflco or any lowering 1 of wages, and, besides our own In crease In population, we are gaining uearly a million consumers every year 1ij uaiht be foil aud clothed. Wo might much better saerllleo ull our foreign trade thau to saerllleo any part of our domestic trade. Hut wo do not have to saerllleo our foreign trade. As We havo pointed out, It is made up of products aud wures that U10 foreigner must aud will have, aud It will go on Increasing year after year In spite of tnrHTs or any trade barriers that can be erected, This question of revision or so called reciprocity can be agitated by our economists aud by thu bencllclurles of foreign Interests, but the ones who nro the most affected and should be tho most lutercs'pcd nro our 30,000,000 wage earners und those dependent on them. It Is to them a question' of lift) and death, a question of riches or ruin. There Is no halfway lu the mutter, no compromise, any moro than we can compromise with death. Wo must nwako to this danger which threatens us In tho renewed efforts of foreign 'oiitrrests to gain our markets. Wo .: 'fit tight It wltho.it quarter. It Is a fight for Industrial liberty, for homo and fireside, for n chance of decent existence nnd tho upbringing of children chil-dren In comfort and peace and a do-cnt do-cnt measure of prosperity.