The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-03
TARIFF WAR DECLARED
IMPORTATION OF AMERICAN FRUITS
PROHIBITED BY PRUSSIA

News of the Radical REGULATORY
Measure Decided Upon by the Ger
mans--Alleged Reason for the
Act Regarded as "a Subterfuge
WASHINGTON, Feb. "A real SEN
sation in official circles was precipitat-
! ed today by news from Berlin that a
! decree had been issued by the Prus-
| sian government prohibiting the i'm
portation of every kind of American
| fresh fruit. The alleged ground for the
action-that California fruit is infested
! with dangerous microbes that threaten
| German trees-is not accepted as any
/ thing but subterfuge to cover an act
| of tariff retaliation. The general i'm
! preston prevails that America Is now
/ involved in a tariff war with Germany.
| views differ as to the steps that should
! be taken, some urging radical retalia-
ton and others conservative measures.
| The state department has not yet
! been Informed by Ambassador White
/ of the decree, and the official state
! ment of the matter is awaited with
! anxiety at the department. which de-
| sires to know just how far the German
! government is willing to yield to the
wishes of the Agraran party, which
! insists upon the exclusion of all Amer
| lean farm products which enter into
! competition with the German farmers.
For two years the state department
has been engaged, almost fruitlessly, to
secure from the German government
/ the reversal of a decree like the pres
ent one, but applied to our meat prod
! uctS. The attitude of the Germans in
| this matter is not encouraging, and the
announcement Of this additional decree
against another great American staple
| export has tried the patience of the de-
partment sorely, and there Is no telling
how far 90 r6c he n L
iation, if the conditions justify it.
OF course, nothing will be done in
the absence of full official information
from Mr.. White as to the facts In the
| case, and it may be that the history
of the meat exclusion negotiations will
be repeated, in that there may be a
long correspondence to permit the
German government to demonstrate, if
1t can, the damage to be looked for in
American fresh fruits But If the facts
indicate that there is as little founda
ton for this exclusion decree as was
the case with the meat products, it is
said at the state department that the
president probably will avail himself
OF his statutory power to retaliate
sharply.
The news that Germany had closed
her ports against American fruits at
tracted much attention among the
members OF the house of representa-
tives
Mr. Hit, chairman of the committee
on foreign affairs, expressed surprise "a
the step taken, particularly that 1t
should not have been preceded with
notice to our representative at Berlin.
Without discussing the motives of the
movement, Mr.. Hit said it was evident
that Germany based her course on san
itary grounds. so as to exclude the idea
| that the move was of political and
| prospective character.
REGULATORY Steps.
Mr.. Hit felt that our authorities
would take steps to learn whether any
sanitary evil could be attributed to the
! condition of the fruit crop in Califor-
MIA, and, If this was established in the
negative, he had no doubt courteous
but firm representation would be made
to the German government with view
to showing that their action had been
taken without a sufficient inquiry
Other members of the house foreign
committee expressed the view that this
was a part of Germany's retaliatory
attitude toward the United States
Representative w. Alden Smith
(Mich),. a member Of the committee.
said: 1.-THE attempted exclusion Of
American fruit from the German mar
ket at Emmerich is not the first act
of hostility displayed by Germany.
Their present course is unfair and I'M
justlfable from any standpoint, ana
should be rebuked'
Representative Barlow, who repre-
sents the Sixth California district. in
which is located the fertile San Joa-
uuin valley, one of the great fruit dis
tricts OF the state. said that so far as
California fruit is concerned the Ger
man decree prohibiting the importation
Of American fruit is a mere pretext.
a." The reason advanced by the Ger
man foreign office" said representative
Hnborn (Cal), sis the thnest kind of
q pretext No where in the world is
l fruit so free from disease as in Cali
fornia.'
other members of the California dele
cation expressed similar views.
Chairman Dingley said: This is evil
IDENTIFY a device to prohibit the impOrta-
ton of American fruits on alleged san
itary grounds, in line with the similar
prohibition of American pork The i'm
portation seems to be prohibited on
sanitary grounds. In order to evade the
provisions Of the commercial treaties
with Germany which gave TO imports
from the United States equal privileges
with imports from other countries.'
Game for Two.
Representative Tawney and other
members Of the ways and means com
mittee Endorsed Mr.. Dingley's view,
and said that if Germany began such
a course 1t was game in which two
could play 1t was said also that the
result would work serious results to
German wines, German hosiery, Ger
man shoddy and many other lines of
German goods Brought In great quaint
ties to this country.
Representative Dinsmore, of Arkan-
sas, the leading minority member Of
the house foreign affairs committee.
said he considered the decree of the
Prussian government a plain case of
retaliation, based, as was the decree
against the importation of American
pork, on a pretext of sanitary grounds.
Some of the representatives from the
Pacific coast say there might be a
slight justification for the Prussian
claim, so far as the fruit of Oregon
and Washington is concerned. but that
it is groundless SO far as California is
in question.
Senator Perkins, OF California, said
that the prevention of importation on
sanitary grounds was merely a pretext,
and that 1t was simply to keep out Cali
fornia fruit, which competed with Ger
man production, and the order was no
i doubt issued as a retaliation against