Less Foreign Demand for Products. 37 



desertion of the farms for the army and for the large 

 rewards reaped in the manufacturing centres — as to per- 

 mit of drawing fair conckisions in regard to the export 



trade. 



Still another phase has to be taken into account in 

 drawing such conclusions; we indicate this by the ques- 

 tion—when did retaliatory tariffs begin to operate? 



"The Statesman's Year Book of 1902," page 588, says, 

 "Since 1879 Germany has been protectionist in her com- 

 mercial policy." "Commerce and Navigation of the 

 United States, 1893," page 111, shows that France began 

 to increase the rate of duties on wheat in 1883. For a 

 few preceding years they had been at about 2%. These 

 were now increased year by year until in 1888 they stood 



at 22.81%. 



Mr. D. A. Wells in his "Economic Changes" states 

 that "Russia commenced raising her duties on imports in 

 1877, and has continued to do so until the Eussian tariff 

 at the present time" (book copyrighted in 1889) "is in a 

 great degree prohibitory. " " Italy and Austria-Hungary 

 entered upon their reactionary policy in 1878 ; Germany 



in 1879; France in 1881 ; the Dominion of Canada in 



1879 and 1887 ; Belgium and Brazil in 1887." Mr. 



Wells says, "As the existing restrictions on commercial 

 intercourse within recent years have not been all imposed 

 at one time, but progressively, and as their influence has 

 accordingly been gradual, the world does not seem to 

 have as yet fully appreciated the extent to which the ex- 

 change of products between nations has been thereby 

 interrupted or destroyed. Germany, by repeated enact- 

 ments since 1879, has imposed almost prohibitory duties 

 on the importation of wheat. Belgium prevents the im- 

 portation of cattle and meat ; France, of pork and pork 



