which Senator Hanna is chairman, has recently their own affairs, and that principles vital adopted a set of rules and by-laws. Under to such freedom cannot be surrendered. But these the committee will tender its good the committee believes that even where the offices to obviate disputes and to bring about issue cannot be arbitrated it is profitable to peace where a rupture has occurred. It discuss it candidly and sensibly, for the side will, when the issue is of sufficient impor- which occupies untenable ground may be tance, offer to fur- induced to recede and thus remove the nish a board of arbi- obstacle to peace. There has never been a tration. Auxiliary strike or lockout which did not present some committees are to be question for calm and proper discussion. appointed in various Pride, bigotry, and arrogance have more to sections to deal with do with industrial disturbances than real local disturbances. conflicts of interest. It will be the task of One strike has al- the committee to eliminate these influences. ready been prevented The appeal will be to reason and enlightened by the efforts of this interest. committee, and the members rightly think that employers and workmen will be more willing to avail themselves of the services of distinguished and well-informed men than they have been to invoke the aid of official arbitrators. The failure of the state boards of arbitration has been almost complete.

In one respect the policy of this voluntary organization may fairly be characterized as a significant concession to organized labor. The recognition" of trades unions is distinctly advised. Heretofore certain employers have declined to deal with unions or accredited representatives of their workmen; they insisted on treating with the latter "as individuals." This attitude could hardly be maintained in a day of combination, "mergers," and consolidations, and reasonable employers now appreciate the necessity of collective bargaining on the part of labor. The committee advises contracts and agreements between employers and workmen, and lays down the general principle that "at all times representatives of employers and workers should confer for the adjustment of differences or disputes before an acute stage is reached."

66

The assertion is frequently heard that "there is nothing to arbitrate," that employers must have the freedom to manage

Foreign Trade and the "Balance.'

The foreign trade for the calendar year 1901 was remarkable in several respects. Our exports reached the total of $1,465,514,000, and our imports were valued at $880,405,346. The nominal or apparent balance of trade in our favor was therefore $585,108,654. As compared with 1900, the exports showed a decrease of about $12,400,000, while the imports increased by over $51,250,000. The balance was nearly $64,000,000 lower than in the previous year.

American manufacturers suffered somewhat during the year. The exports of their goods fell off to a total extent of about $44,000,000, but, as Chief Austin of the Bureau of Statistics at Washington points out, part of this loss is only apparent, for in previous years Hawaii and Porto Rico were classed as foreign countries, whereas last year they were treated as domestic territories, and the trade of the States with them did not figure in the treasury returns. Το some extent, too, the reduction in the exports of manufactures is due to lowered prices rather than to lessened demand for the goods. At any rate, owing to the variety of American resources and old-world crop shortages, the loss in one direction was offset by gains in another, as the exports of our agricultural products were higher in value in 1901 by $31,000,000.

On the whole, then, the expected check

so far. We have held our own, despite the severe industrial crisis in Germany, the depression in Russia, and the threats of retaliation by means of increased duties on the part of Canada, whose statesmen have been demanding concessions from the United States. But careful students believe that we have reached the high water mark in our export trade, and that no further advance in foreign markets is possible except through reciprocity treaties, which would of course also operate to increase our imports. It is important to note the course of our foreign trade since 1890, and to inquire more closely into the question of the balance of trade, lately the subject of such intelligent and candid discussion. The trade figures are as follows:

or reaction in our export trade has not come and other old-world investors to part with
their American securities. The panic of
1893 first caused this tendency, and of late
our exceptionally high prices have furnished.
the inducement. But it is impossible to
ascertain the aggregate amount of the stocks
and bonds surrend-
ered by Europe and
purchased by Ameri-
cans. Some believe
that the total may
be put at about
$800,000,000, but
this is conjecture
merely. There is,
clearly, no palpable
evidence of any re-
laxation of the for-
eign grip on Ameri-
can industry.

Excess of
exports.

Year.

What is admitted

Exports. Imports. 1901. $1,465,514,139 $880,405,346 $585,108,654 by bankers and finan

1900.

1,477,946,113 829,149,714 648,796,399

1899.

1,275,467,971 798,967,410 476,500,561

1898. 1,255,546,266 634,964,448 620,581,818 in Europe to draw on at will. The balances

1,099,709,045 742,595,229 357,113,816 have been settled somehow, though no gold

1897.. 1896 1,005,837,241 1,005,837,241 681,579,556 324,257,685 has been imported in any imposing quanti1895 .. 824,860,136 801,669,347 23,190,789 ties. The excess of our gold imports over 1894. . 825,102,248 676,312,914 148,789,334 1893. . 875,831,848 766,239,846 109,592,002 1892. . 938,020,941 830,490,141 107,530,800 not exceed $130,000,000. For the calendar

gold exports for the last six fiscal years does

1891 . .

970,265,925 818,364,521 151,901,404 The exports, it will be seen, have been increasing by leaps and bounds, while the imports have (except during the years which succeeded the panic and depression of 1893) grown at a steady and fairly uniform rate. But in spite of increased exports, the customs balances have been stupendous and appalling.

Have these balances been settled? If so, how? If not, how are they to be accounted for? Is Europe now the debtor of the United States, and are we already the world's leading creditor nation? Disregarding superficial claims made for political effect, or in sheer ignorance, the truth of the matter, according to the soundest thinkers, seems to be as follows.

The United States still owes over $2,000,000,000 to Europe. There has been a tendency on the part of English, German,

MRS. WM. TOD HELMUTH,

New president of the National Council of Women.

ciers is that we have no accumulation of funds

year 1901, the gold exports actually exceeded the imports of the same metal. It is true, however, that in the last two or three years Americans have invested in foreign bonds and securities about $100,000,000. The main factors to consider in accounting for the disappearance of the paper balance are these:

1. American payments for the transportation of our goods in foreign ships. These payments may amount to about $70,000,000 a year.

2. Expenditures of American tourists and travelers abroad.

3. Interest and dividends to foreign holders of our stocks and bonds.

4.

Rents to foreigners or expatriated Americans

residing abroad, and owning land and buildings in this

country.

5. Remittances by immigrants to relatives and kinsmen at home.

6. Hoards of returning immigrants.

In addition, it is to be borne in mind that the real value of our exports and imports is

not necessarily equal to the actual value. sion, and, in addition, providing for the

The imports are undervalued, the motive for
this practice being strong and constant under
a high tariff system. It is regarded as
probable that the undervaluations constitute
about twenty per cent of the official total of
our imports. Ex-
ports, on the other
hand, are overvalued,
for in many cases
the prices charged
abroad by trusts are
lower than those
exacted at home,
and it is the part of
prudence to conceal
the evidence of this
discrimination.

establishment, in the near future, of a cen-
tral native and representative government.
Provincial and municipal governments have
been created in all the pacified districts, and
it is the conviction of Governor Taft and the
commission, as well as of the administration,
that these steps should be followed by a
great stride toward self-government in a
larger, territorial sense.
The central gov-
ernment is to be composed of two houses -
an elective branch and a senate wholly or in
part appointive.

The upshot of the whole matter is that the actual balance in our favor, settled by the repurchase of our securities and the importation of specie, is by no means large, if it has any existence at all, which London questions.

New Phases of the Philippine Question. The senate bill, which differs substantially from the house measure for the levying of custom duties on Philippine-American trade, and which was adopted by a strict party vote, provides for a tariff on such Philippine imports as are not on the free list equal to seventy-five per cent of the Dingley rates, and confirms the tariff law enacted by the Taft commission for all imports into the islands. The Taft tariff does not discriminate between American goods and products from other countries. This is in accord with the open-door principle favored by the United States in the Orient. All the revenue from the duties collected on this side on Philippine products will be turned over to the Philippine government for the benefit of the archipelago.

Next to the Philippine tariff is the question of a civil government for the islands. Measures are pending in congress confirming and extending the acts of the Taft commis

These features of the Philippine program, and one or two others of smaller importance, have no necessary relation to the ultimate solution of the problem presented by the Asiatic possessions. All sober-minded men might coöperate in these immediate tasks. The ultimate problem, however, has lately been discussed with unusual vigor, animation, and tolerance. Indeed, it is impossible not to perceive a decided change in public sentiment with respect thereto. Permanent annexation is advocated less and less; independence is favored more and more. President Schurman's remarkable speech at Boston was an earnest plea for definite recognition of the right and necessity of aiming at Philippine independence and shaping all legislation in conformity with that policy. President Schurman, as the head of our first Philippine commission, who reported to the government that the natives were not ready for independence and, though cherishing that ideal, could not realize their aspiration for the lifetime of a generation, has had great influence on conservative sentiment. He is now persuaded that independence will be possible and safe (and hence desirable) within ten years. His speech has produced a profound impression, and many regard it as highly "symptomatic."

Dr. Lyman Abbott, in The Outlook, has declared that "President McKinley did not, and President Roosevelt does not, desire to keep the Philippine Islands permanently against the expressed will of their inhabitants." tants." This seems to be completely justified by the significant words in Mr. Roose

velt's December message. to quote them again now:

It is interesting Igoe Miller, in her report at the second anniversary says:

as

"The desire of the society has been to relieve cases of distress, providing necessary provisions and clothing, and maintaining systematic relief for the needy, through donations and money that might be raised by various means, and by giving employment to many needy persons as possible. Thus we hope to reduce mendicancy, and relieve our merchants and homes. of the house-to-house or professional begging.

"We do not desire to do for the islanders merely what has elsewhere been done for tropic peoples even by the best foreign governments. We hope to do for them what has never before been done for any people of the tropics to make them fit for self-government after the fashion of the really free nations."

That Secretary Long agrees with Dr. Abbott's interpretation of this hint may be inferred from his explicit and deliberately uttered assurance that the Filipinos will be the masters of their own destiny. In an address on Lincoln's birthday anniversary, he said that the question of independerce will one day be a vital one, even if it be academic now, and that our relation to the islands is merely that of a trustee. He continued as follows:

"This is the work not of a day, but of a generation. But when the time comes that that trust is executed and the ability of self-government is assured, then the question of their political status will be for the people of those islands themselves to decide. Whether they will walk alone and independent or whether they will walk hand in hand with us, as Canada walks with Eng

land, they whoever they shall then be will decide. And as England respects the wishes of Canada in this regard, so shall we then respect, and ought to respect, the wishes of the Philippines."

Senator Spooner of Wisconsin, a brilliant supporter of the administration, likewise declared recently (on the floor of the senate) that he was opposed to our permanent dominion in the Asiatic islands and looked forward to the gradual establishment of a Philippine republic, with a flag of its own floating by the side of the American flag.

All these expressions point to a healthier state of mind, to freer and saner discussion, and to the elimination of partisan politics from the consideration of the great question.

The Porto Rican Benevolent Society.

Early in September, 1899, at the call of Mr. Robert A. Miller, a number of ladies met at the home of Mr. Porrata Doria, then Alcalde of Ponce, and from this meeting resulted the Porto Rican Benevolent Society.

The president of the society, Mrs. Louise

"Early in December, 1899, we gave a bazaar at the theater, the use of which was kindly given to us by Messrs. Thos. Armstrong and Pedro J. Parra. We solicited donations for the bazaar from merchants in the States, and from the merchants of our city. Articles from New president of Williams College. the States, through the kindness of Mr. Fritze, came by the N. Y. & P. R. S. S. Co., free.

DR. HENRY HOPKINS,

"It was our intention from the first to give relief

by giving employment to the needy so far as possible. We therefore started at once to get women employed the still more needy. And we endeavored to employ as at making clothing, which when made was distributed to many women at making fancy or drawn-work as was possible, by undertaking to sell what they made. In order that these lines might be kept up, we made loans of money that the supplicant might repair her house, or supply herself with a machine or such necessary articles as were needed to enable her to work. But the drawn or fancy-work we endeavor to sell at a slight advance, that any loss might be covered and that we might make the society to a certain extent self-supporting.

"This work was for the first nine months in charge

of the president, who, on going to the States for a visit, gave the work over to Mrs. Graham, the treasurer, who has had charge of it ever since; and she deserves special mention for her untiring efforts and labors in this work, which has not only grown to considerable proportions, but has greatly improved under her hands. Mrs. W. H. S. Lothrop of Boston has been our principal worker in the States, and her efforts at selling our work have been successful beyond measure. She deserves our especial thanks for her earnest, unselfish and unremitting labor for the benefit of this industrial side of our society."

Under the auspices of this society a school was established for poor children. The Insular Board of Education agreed to supply a

teacher if the society would furnish the collection, as now arranged with a running building. This was done and now there is description, is of immeasurable historic a flourishing school of about forty pupils, value and perhaps unsurpassed. named the P. R. B. S. School.

In 1864, the United States man-of-war Kearsarge, lying in the harbor of Flushing, Holland, was informed through the American minister to Great Britain that the dreaded Alabama had been located at Cherbourg, France. Captain Winslow, with his crew of twenty-two officers and one hundred and forty men, immediately sailed for Cherbourg to take advantage of this unexpected opportunity of engaging the greatest enemy the United States merchant marine had ever encountered. The photographs of the Kearsarge and of its crew (see pages 34 and 36) from which the illustrations are made were taken probably subsequent to the battle, but the crew was almost identical, to a man. Captain Winslow may be seen in the midst of the group.

The third illustration from Mr. Wait's collection shows two of the forty-five old whalers and other abandoned vessels bought by the Federal government for its 'stone blockade." (See page 37.) (See page 37.) They cost from five to twenty thousand dollars each. In northern harbors they were stripped of their upper metal and were then loaded with stone down to the safety line. A large lead pipe was placed in the side at light water mark, fitted with a plug which could be withdrawn when their destination had been reached. They were then towed to some of the many inlets along the North Carolina coast, whose number prevented a blockade by men of war. The system thus begun was extended to Charleston and other regular ports.

In closing the report Mrs. Miller says:
"I have now given you in a general way a résumé of
our work for the past two
years. It is our inten-
tion to continue all we

have been doing for the

past two years, and to
add to the same as much
and as rapidly as possible
in the future. Besides
continuing what we have
been doing, it is our inten-
tion to establish an in-
dustrial school where boys
and girls under the age
of eighteen may be taught
gardening, cobbling, car-
pentering, sewing, cook-

ing, etc., as we may from

Vice-President of Cuba.

DR. LUIS ESTEVEZ Y ROMERO, time to time be able to supply teachers for the different courses. We ave had given for this school eight thousand dollars which is now on hand, and which is not included in the statement of donations. In the very near future we hope to start this school which is in our direct line or plan of charity-helping the people to help themselves.

In 1900 we had the army supplies to distribute, in 1901 we aided 1,620 persons, gave out 1,146 pieces of clothing, and purchased or repaired 71 houses.

We would appeal to the citizens to give us their aid and encouragement, and we most heartily recommend that everyone decline to give to beggars or supplicants who come to their stores or houses, and that the money or aid that has been given to the people from the doors be given the Society, which will look into the needs and requirements of each supplicant. The address of the Society is 15 Commercio Street, Ponce Porto Rico."

66

The two whalers shown in the illustration were brought from Bedford, Massachusetts, to Port Royal, South Carolina, empty, or, if they had a stone cargo it was thrown out, and the two hulks were converted into machine shops. They served this purpose until the close of the war.

Illustrations of Historic Interest.

Three illustrations accompanying the first chapter of the Diplomacy serial in this number possess some historic interest. They are from the collection of Mr. Horatio L. Wait, of Chicago. Mr. Wait served as paymaster in the United States Navy during the Civil war and for some time thereafter. This gave him opportunity for collecting photographs of noteworthy persons and places which he supplemented by water-color cussed so widely in our own country, takes sketches made by himself. The resulting on peculiar phases in Germany, to which

Freedom of Teaching in Germany. Freedom of teaching in universities, dis