A Clear Case

To the Editor of the Couriek:- Mr. Stoarns In UisapcccUoö muUoö ictcrpiipi tn tbe Adrián oannlng establishment, and irii-s to show that free trade nr sometliiii" ipproxiiniiiincr it would be for tSielr nilvniii.it;. Tiiu B iltiinore Trade, a puUllcation in the interests of the canning Industry, does not agree witli Mr. Stearns. The paper is ably editd and we inclose witli tliis note au article receutly publlshed in it. This editorial does not make assertions uierely respectiug the Inflaence free trade would have on tbe can ning industry, as does Mr. Stearns. I proves lts position correct. lts statemen as to the inlluence of free trade on the debtor class, wliich will slways be large In a country where every man is ambi tious to better bis condition, is one of the clearest the writer bas seen. We believe it wiii be round well worthy of a place ii your column?. Yours respectfully, F. A. The trade h8 no politics except sucli ns re late dlreelly to busIneBS and lts Interests, fo we du not believe any mercliant wlll sacrlflce lits business to mere partlsan prejudlces. tin the latter drift of politics has narrowed tli principie questlons down to one, the tartfl and the two great parlies of tbe country liav taken alBrmalive and negatlve posttlous ol thequestlons of tarilf and free trade. Hu both partles ure dlvided wlthln tliemsi'lvcs each haviriu everal grades of malcomen ts. m that any leglslatlon on the subject wlll pleM comparatlvely few, and no ¦ leglslallon pleasestlll less. For once politics come cli-a home to the business men aud each has lo ask hlmself, what Is the best for me "coin plete prolectlon." ''partlal protectiou" or 'no protectlon?" Different llnes of business wlll be dlllcrently affected, and the member of each are Justifled in Beeking that whlch wlll be most lo their Individual advantage It N a 'ïui'stuiii that may be of vital import anee eo the canned goods interest. Let us see If we can analyse It: First of all, what Is the effect of a "tarlíF,1' at home? It tends to makeall thlngs blgher prlced, both doinestlc and lmported. Thls is conceded by both par tles, one claiming it is an evll to our people the ottier that it Is au advantagn. The trull Is that It depend on an Individuales circutn stances whether It Is good or evll for hlm. I all dependson wheiher he Is or is not in debt If a merchant, wliose business averages hlm S10.0OÜ proflt per year, owes Í1U.U0Ü he Is fooi iih to deire a general reductlon of prlces, as hls i niiiis wlll lessen white hls debt wlll not What is trueof the im-ichant Is equally true of the humblest workman and of tlie natiou as a whole. On the other hand If any persoi has money hoarded or hokls vouchers ol the iudebtediiesa ol others to tilm, tbon he wil be benetited In thls respect ly the ïowerlng of prlces in general. Keeping these facts ii mimi, It would seem that the good or evll o high or low prlces depeuds on the debt o credit balances of the whole people. There Is no quesltou bat that we owe a great deal ; nationally, corporatlvely and lndlvidually, thp natloual debt of two billlons boini; a trifle as corapared wlth the aggregate tha foots up f rom state, county, city, rallroad, telegraph and farm mortgages, leavlng out all commercial and manufacturini; indebtsdnau. At least ihlrty billlons of thls general indebteduess may be regarded as flxed; having bonus at the back of It, and Uu amount increases every year. Now If we were to reduce general prices say to one-half what they are, by any process, It would make the welght of thls debt doublé as heavy to bear, for It would take Just doublé the work that wou'd be required at present prlces, to payllolf. liut It the value of thts debt were tluis lucreased those who hold these claims would get the benefit. The queslion arlses then as to who holds them. If they were held abroad we would bo drlven to ruin by such lessenlng of prlces for It would be llke offerIng to pay the forelgn holderj two dollars for everf one we owed hlm, lor we voluntarlly make the producís with whlrh we pay our drii! s worth but one-half thelr present value, as compared wlth hls wrltten claim. Hut if these evldences of Indnbtedness are held at home, then some of our own people get what others of our people lose In the reducltou in prlce. If these bonds, etc, are held by the people In general, Ihat Is. dlstributedamonust thegreat majorlty of the people, then llttle hiirni wlll result to business from lessenlng of prlces. I!ut If they are held by a comparativo few. If the masa of the neonle bear the burden of these debts and a few are the credltors, I ii.n business must suffer when prlces are reduced, lor tlie wunlth of the country Is beiug tlu'ii concentrateil In ilio hands of the few wlio cannot posslbly consmne the product Ihelr wealth would purchase, s. they do not purcha8e lt; and H n(t--s nnoontomdd hecause the many who could and would consume it do not Ket the money necessary to obtaln thts product. Compelled to economIze, i lic many drop their liltle luxurlc coming always nearer tlie merest necessaries, and lt Is very dillliult to nay how close this can Im-, Iiere ia whore the questlon applles lo the eanned ooils business, they areluxurles that cannot be aiïorded by tho niass of people outalde of America. Can we lower prices In general In America and still m nntaln the demand for canueil gooils? We can lf two requlremenu are oomplleü wlth, vlr., that tho values of all materlals used, agrlcullural aswell and others ba lesscued lu prlce proïiorllonately, and that wages be also low ¦ii il In thesamescale. Tomakelhlsposslble we must abollsh our Indebtednesa In uroportlon as we lower prlces; bul as deuts are abollslied properly only by payment of them lt needa no ureumeut to prove that lower prlces for materiuts and labor will not make Reuter for tlie producers to pay off these debts. Therefore lt Reems to us whllst we are so deeply In debt. htt;her prlces Is the only hope of business and one of the ñrst Unes of business that wlll suffer from low prlces wlll be cauued goods.