Chicago Daily Tribune

THE NEXT FOREIGN WAR

The American merchants along the Mexican frontier have a remarkable grievance, and to redress it they think the United States ought to go to war with Mexico. Many years ago Mexico had a protective tariff. The duty under the American tariff was at that time comparatively small. The principal towns on the Mexican side of the river are Matamoros and Nuova Laredo. The result was that the American merchants could undersell those on the American side of the river, just as the Canadians can now undersell merchants in this country. The means of crossing the Rio Grande are very simple. In addition to the public ferry-boats, the river may be crossed in a canoe or any other boat at any point for a thousand miles. As the goods the Mexicans needed could be purchased on the American side so much cheaper, the Mexicans for a long distance back into the country, traded with the Americans. They brought all they had to sell to the American side, and, exchanging it for what they needed, had no difficulty in getting back with their purchases free of all Custom-house supervision.
In plain English, our people did a very extensive trade with the Mexican smugglers. The weak Government of Mexico, failing, as might have been expected, to break up this smuggling by which it lost its revenues, and the trade of its own cities being destroyed, resorted to the heroic remedy, and established a "free belt"--Zona Libre--extending the whole length of the Rio Grande and reaching back six miles from the river. It decreed that all foreign goods brought into Mexico within this district should be free of duty. Under our very moderate tariff prior to 1860, this did not work very badly, for there was practically a free belt on both sides of the river. This continued until after the Rebellion, when Texas again passed under our laws. Then the enormous change in our tariff was at once felt. The state of things had become exactly reversed. On the Mexican side there was no tariff: on the American side was a tariff amounting to perhaps 60 per cent in gold. As a result, the whole Mexican trade went to the Mexican cities. The American trade followed it. The Texans soon discovered that they could get from 50 to 75 per cent more goods in exchange for their products on the Mexican than on the American side of the river. There was no difficulty in getting these goods into the United States, and the smuggling which was once general along the whole border from the United States into Mexico is now carried on more extensively by our own people from Mexico into the United States. The merchants at Brownsville see their customers cross the river to deal at Matamoros. The Mexican towns now do the trade for both sides of the river, just as the American towns did before the establishment of the Libre Zona, and consequently there is a demand made on the United States Government that it compel Mexico to abolish the free belt--that is, to enact a tariff. The member of Congress from that part of Texas lays this grievance before Congress every year, and the rascality of the Mexican Government receives its annual exposure. Mexico, refusing to abolish the Libre Zona, the American merchants along the Rio Grande think that the United States ought to declare war upon that Republic, and make it pay damages to compensate the American merchants for the loss of trade. Mr. Fish has not, thus far, inclined to war, but there is no knowing when the Secretary of the Navy may deem it wise to expend $10,000,000 or $20,000,000 equipping a navy to compel Mexico to enact a tariff on the Rio Grande.

On our Northern border, the Dominion of Canada offers for sale every description of goods needed by our people at from 20 to 50 per cent cheaper than they can be purchased in the United States, and the opportunity is largely embraced by our people. The State of Vermont furnishes the country with the author of the present tariff. Vermont is always vehement for protection to American industry, yet we suppose there are fifty dollars' worth of foreign goods smuggled annually into Vermont from Canada to one dollar's worth that is smuggled into Texas from Mexico. Though Vermont is an inland State, she includes probably as large a body of expert smugglers as any State with an extensive coast. When one Government works itself up to the point where it can assume to dictate to other Governments the management of its customs' laws, we suggest that it begin with Canada. The trade between the Canadian Provinces and this country is extensive, and is largely carried on by smugglers. If poor Mexico is to be compelled to levy such a tax on her own citizens as will make Americans trade on their own side of the river, we do not see why we ought not also to break up the more extensive smuggling over the Canada border, by compelling the Dominion to raise its tariff to the same nonsensical rate as our own.