Causes And Effect Of National Wealth

In tliis able article in the January nuraber of the Xorth American JEevlew, possibly the most ingenlous dldatlo tfïort of au cxceptionally long and able life, and undoubtedly the most powerful essay yct written in the defence of British industrial and banking interests, Mr. Gladstone contends, "This traisin;; vages) can only be done by raising to the utmost attainable hight the fund out of whioh wages and proiits alike are drawn," and also " Every such (protective) interfereuee nieans simply a diminution of natlonal wealth.'' It is not necessary, in this country at least, to combat the "wage-fand theory'' even when advanced by one so eminent as Mr. Gladstone. Nor can an American easily see how even a tlieoretical consideration of the facta prescnted by our wonderful growth in wealth since the balance of tracle turned in our favor, could convince one thftt our national wealth had decreased. Bat if both these contentions had been thought true in tliis country the belief won 11 have reeeivcd a rucie shock from perusal of a table lu the Sun of the 5th instant, showing the investment of over one hundred million dollars of English money in this country since lay, 1889. And the Sun thinks a vcry large part of tliis money was "new money,'' that is, money not taken trom other American investments. This does not indícate any dlminutlon nf natioiial wealth. The state of afl'airs is now very different from the FreeTrade times Mr. Gladstone would have us return to; then any investment in America implied anythlng but Briüsh money in this country, it might have been Welsh rails ,it $30 per ton and 7 and S per cent. bonds at a discount of 20 or '!0 per cent. Tliis was commerce, and it made a large showing in our annual reports of trade; it was also extremely profitable to the British and abled tlicm to make such accuinulations of capital that this year"s lending to us is a small tliing. It isadmitted that occasion ally au enineer may have gone to the president of the road employing htm, and witli some wurmth asserted he could not get those rails off the cars without breaktng them, to be told that lie need not swear about it, as the rails ivere probably full as good as the bonds exchanged for them, as was actuully said by a canny Scotch president of one of our now prreat Unes. But these bonds were paid, interest and principal, possibly by the export of wbeat, and those rails wcre laid over a bed of very :ooí1 Iron ore. Thedifferenee ander protection is that tlie rails for the road are now made at Chicago, astead of in Wales, and from the dlggiog of the oar to drivin; the last s)ike in their length, the men who make and handle them areAmericans; and not a liusliel of wheat nor a nnnnd of tnh:ipr-n goee luto the great English market in payment for theni, to depiess the price of what wn are not able to consume at lióme. la the meantime wages have lisen aml wealth lias increased as the profits of making the rails and growing the agricultura! producís have both been American. Another policeman has been shot down In Detroit while in the discharge of his duty. ïhis time Patrollman EJ. Schumaker was the victim and lie cannot recover, it is thought. The shootlng of policemen is getting to be altOKether too commou In JJetroit. If an officer does his duty and attempts to arrest the thleves, crooks, etc., be is pretty sure to pay for it with bis Ufe. Detroit could not do a moro noble act tlian to provide i fuod pensionitif!: its poüce officers who irmy be disabled In the discharge of their dut}-, or in case of their deaih to pension the family. In thlg case Oflicer Schumaker leaves a wife, baby and a poor old blind mother all dependent upon liim. it appeala to human sympathy in a wonderfut way. Will we all go to Chicago In 1S92? Yes, we will all go to Chicago in 1892 umi ittend the world's fair. One of the gréatest admlrers of Grover Cleveland is the erratic Henry George. Ho knowfl wliere to iind his friends. New York, in sulkingover the oiitcome of the world's fair project in the House of Hepresentatives, and in her threaU to yet defeat that city, shows mlghty poor judgment. Better turn In and help Chicuyo make a success of it. The authorfties at Lansing are credited with complimenting Congressman Allen for hls prompt actlon-whenever anythiiiR is wanted by them at tbc nation's capital. It bas grown to be a Baying tberc "if jou wantanything attended to at Washington eend to Capt. Allen."