The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1901-11-20
PAPERS ON
RECIPROCITY
These Consume To-day's
Time IN the Convention.
HIGH TARIFFS SWAY
Convention Is Captured by the Pro
lection Element.
NOTHING DEFINITE IN SIGHT
Cincinnati Tanner Protests Against
the Attitude of the Ultra
PrOtectiOnists.

Frens The Je,.r7sat Bsre~s. ROcms IS. Fsss
B"tt%t1sS, Washington.
Washington, Nov. 20.@The reciprocity
convention to-day is devoting it's time to
| listening to papers by delegates A dele
| gate gets UP, says he favors reciprocity
and proceeds to read a paper. Another
one then gets up, says he is not enthusi-
astic on the reciprocity question and then
he reads paper. The principal interest
| in the convention now centers in the work
Of the resolutions committee, which may
present rough draft of it's work this
afternoon.
The convention seems to have been
captured by the protection element and so
nothing definite is looked for in the reso-
lutions.
AT five this afternoon the delegates who
are here representing the -four milling in
terests OF the northwest and west will
meet to decide what stand they shall take
regarding Canadian reciprocity, which is
the subject for discussion at tonight s
session.
Understands His own Business Only.
The aspect Of the convention which oc-
| caslons most remark is the failure thus
far Of facts to clash squarely with. facts
as to special customs duties. The oppo-
nents of the Kasson treaties, particularly
the cotton knit good men, come forward
with definite assertions as to the disas-
trous effects on their business of any
lowering whatever of the tariff. The
friends of the treaties answer with an
equally definite showing that this is such
a duty as could safely be lowered. Per-
maps this is because one man does not
| understand another's business 1t is also
a good argument for tariff commission
authorized to delYe into the facts
Owen Osborn, of Philadelphia, for ex-
ample, made presentation to-day of the
cotton knit goods situation just as Mr..
Bigney, OF Massachusetts,, did last evening.
on interests as affected by the proposed
French tariff. He cited the wages paid
to various grades of operatives here and
| in Germany, and said competition was
more difficult now than when the Dingley
law was passed, on account of the rise in
wages, and that it was only by practieing
the strictest economy and accepting small
profits that the industry maintained it's
place here. He also alleged that Amer
lean consumers were getting more for
Lu6lT mOu6y IO-udy III COTTON k01L goods
than consumers in Europe as he had as
certained by comparisons in English re-
tail shops. system which was thus
. beneficial to laborer, manufacturer and
consumer, he thought, should not be
changed.
Worried About Stockings.
A speaker who followed, discussing the
same industry, said the advocates of reci-
nrOpitv n hn Oh 20
disposal of surplus products; what he
was worrying about was the Sc, 900, 600
worth of stockings now annually imported
and to check that should be the first aim
of legislation.
The friends of reciprocity answer as did
f. B. Thurber, who avowed himself a
| strong protectionist, by saying that he
does not want to see the protective dam
maintained against such a current that it
will eventually break, carrying ruin in
its path. He saw ominous signs of retail
atory action abroad which would cut off
our markets and he favored, to avert such
a calamity, some reasonable concessions
now. William G. Barker of New York,
who took the same view, brought out fig
ures differing from those quoted yesterday
to show that our reciprocity treaties had
been successful and had resulted in great
er increase of exports than of imports.
He quoted Benjamin Harrison on the eff
fects of South American reciprocity, and
the Northwestern Millers' association on
Brazilian reciprocity, and in general
warmly supported the Kasson treaties.
He showed that our exports of manu-
factured goods had fallen off 500, 000, 900 in
nine months Of this year by comparison
with the corresponding period of last year,
and boldly predicted that they would fall
off another $20,OOOOOO next year unless
some concessions were made. This was
answered by Pennsylvania delegate, who
said the falling off had been due to the
lowering of the price of three great arti-
cles and not to the decline in the volume
of exports. This lowering of price was
largely due to Industrial depression in
Germany which had affected the foreign
markets.
w. w. Jermane