Evening star., 1901-10-25
kAssoN ON RECIPROCITY
ADDRESS BEFORE THE ILLINOIS
MANUFACTURERs' ASSOCIATIONS.
The Noted TariR Expert Goes Into
the Subject In Great
DETAIL

| Six hundred business firms were repre-
sented at the annual banquet of the Illinois
| Manufacturers Association in Chicago last
evening at the Grand Pacific Hotel. There
was only one set speech on the program for
| the evening, and that was by John A Kas-
| son of Iowa. the diplomat and tariff expert,
| who spoke Reciprocity" his remarks
calling out hearty applause.
Martin B. Madden of Chicago president
/ of the club, was toastmaster, A number of
| informal speeches were made after Mr.
| Kasson's address was finished
Mr.. Kassons s address was devoted entirely
| to the subject of reciprocity, which he
| viewed from every standpoint devoting his
| attention particularly to an exposition of
the legal soundness of the practice of reci-
procity as demonstrated by the Constitution
and judicial decisions. He also entered at
length into the history of reciprocity; but
| perhaps the most important section of the
! speech dealt with the practical results to
De expected from the treaties pending be-
| fore the Senate. the special benefits to be
realized by each section of the United
| states being clearly indicated.
he began with definition of reciprocity
| Wn1ch, he said, was not new, and was SIM
| ply an exchange of rights or privileges be-
| tween individuals or nations. He held that
| this was perfectly natural, and pointed 10
| sive policy, as practced among European
| nations. He cited Spain and Portugal par
| tlculany as countries Impoverished by their
| adherence to the exclusive policy France
also mad materially injured her colonies
| without profiting herself by adopting that
| policy in their case. He held England up
| as country which had learned by bitter
! experienced, involving the loss of her Amer
| lcan colonies, the evils of exclusion. As an
! indication of the leaning of the founders
| OF government toward reciprocity Mr.. Kas-
| son quoted from the annals of the First
Congress, first session, from Thomas JEFF
fersen statement which he said foreshad-
owed exactly the reciprocity of today, in
which Jefferson declares that there can be
no doubt that of the two Enthusiastically
arrangements with nations or retaliation
! the friendly arrangement Is the most elgi-
BILE. Following this line of thought Mr.
haSSon pointed out that reciprocity had de-
Veioped IN two ways-reciprocity in favors
and reciprocity in burdens and prohibitions
The first was accomplished by mutual
agreements in the form of treaties; the lat
ter by legislative retaliation. Mr.. Kasson
especially directed attention to the upbuld-
Ing of Canada. resulting from the efforts
OF the United States to exclude trade with
tnat country, beginning with the denuncia-
tion OF the reciprocity treaty of 1854. He
heid that by our action We forced Canada
10 subsidize steamship lines, build railroad
lines independent of New England or New
YORK, construct deep-water canals and thus
divert large portion of our own trade to
|
their commissions. American capital was
ofaWn IN large amounts into Canada and
the American farmer, who thought to gain
by the exclusion of Canadian competition at
home, now found himself met by the same
competition in the British markets where
our own surplus goes
Presidents Right to Make Treaties.
MT. kasson next entered into an exposi-
ton OF the continental aspect of reciprocity
treaties, and he insisted that, being clothed
with treaty-making power the President
was authorized to make such treaties. and
that the power to regulate commerce was
not vested exclusively in Congress He
pointed out that treaties entered into and
embraced foreign Jurisdictions where con-
gressionai laws cannot operate; hence such
relations must be regulated by treaty. He
pointed out the fact that treaties regulating
commerce and declaring against discrimi-
nation nave been signed by John Jay with
england, Oliver Ellsworth with France,
/ Livingston and Monroe with France and
John Quincy Adams with Prussia. In dis
missing this phase of the subject he cited
supreme Court decisions and Judge Cooley
TO chnch the proposition that reciprocal
commercial conventions, duly ratified NAV
make concessions of duties, as well as of
other commercial favors and privileges.
and that they will remain in force until
repealed by Congress.
I Mr.. Kasson strongly defended the racf-
proclty treaties of 1890 and 1897 quoting
from the Presidents messages to show
that they had resulted in considerable in
crease in our export trade, and he deprecat-
ed their termination through political
changes. He argued that the time had come
When We must secure markets for our pro-
ducts at home or suffer from plethora with
Its consequent losses and disaster t. both
capital and labor. Coming down to more
recent tests, the speaker proceeded to in
dicate some of the benefits that have re-
suited from the few reciprocal arrange
mentS already made upder ha ird
fourth sections of the Dingley act He
pointed out how France had, by our ac-
ceding to her reasonable desires in the
form or an arrangement, withdrawn the
hard retaliatory blow struck at our meat
products. while Portugal had also been in
duced to modify her discrimination against
our oils and other countries had relaxed
their restrictions on our cereals and ma
chinery. Under the French treaty alone
an increase of 7la per cent was achieved
In our exports as result of the reciprocal
arrangement, while France received in re-
turn only about per cent increase on her
exports to the United States.
Treaties Now Pending.
Turning next to the treaties now pending
before the Senate, Mr.. Kasson proceeded to
point out just what concessions had been
obtained by the United States and the
counter-concessions involved beginning
with the British colonial treaties. He said
there was objection to any of these
treaties except In the case of Jamaica,
where California objected to the 90 per
cent reduction on oranges. This was most
unjust, he said.- because the Diagley duty
on oranges was three times higher than
ever before, and the duty under the treaty
would be twice as high, and, in addition,
the Jamaica crop did not compete with the
California product, being marketed at a G:f-
ferent season. In connection with these
pending conventions Mr.. KasSon specially
directed attention to the advantages to be
expected in the matter of coal exports and
navigation, for In all the treaties special
efforts had been made to improve these.
and the duty on coal had been reduced one
fourth. particularly interesting chapter
dealt with the French reciprocity treaty
now pending, and it was shown that the
United States secured reduction fac In ex-
cess of those granted to France. The United
States concessions were really only about 8
per cent Of the present duty, while TIE con-
average reduction of 46 per cent on AMIR
ican imports.