The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-08-09
Manufacturers Leaving the Country.

| WdnuIaClureTS Leaving lne JOunuY.
 The failure of Reciprocity is leading to decisive action on the part of the leading export manufacturers. They are moving their plants to Canada, where decent opportunities for an ex- port trade can be obtained-where beet sugar and the trusts do not die tate Legislation. The Westinghouse company of Philadelphia has moved much of it's plant to Russia; the Ingersoll-Sergean Drill company of New York, the Port Huron Threshing Machine company of Port Huron, Mich; the Deering Harvester company of Chicago, and the Minneapolis Thrashing Machine company of Min neapolis, have transferred or are about to transfer substantial share of their productive facilities to Canada. It is said the Mccormick Harvesting com pany, the John Deere Flow company, the Stakeholder Wagon and Carriage company, and about thirty other con- cerns of equal importance are prepar- ing to follow suit A letter written by the president of the Minneapolis Thrashing company explains this sit uation. He says:
 ] We are not at all interested in the work of your league; we do not desire reciprocity, and are perfectly indifferent l as to whether the duties are raised or lowered on goods coming into this coun- try We have felt 1t to be much more. | to our interest to stand on our own bottom in this and collateral questions, rather than to wait the slow movement and whimsical fancies of the low grade talent we send to Washington to make laws for us. It is high time that the bus mess people repudiated the law-making power as an adjunct to their business We have recently purchased large plant at Toronto which we have started up for the manufacture of our line of goods to be sold in Canada. It is our purpose to greatly enlarge this plant to accommodate our export trade, as we can export goods from Canadian ports on much better terms than we can from the United States ports, particularly for the Russian trade. In the opinion of the writer, 1t Is only question of time when other manufacturing concerns in our line will be compelled to manufac- ture their goods In Canada, in order to place themselves on an equal footing in the general trade. I do not think that people who remain in the United States to manufacture will be able to get any relief from existing conditions until such time as we find ourselves face to face with a large product and no sale for it.
 The beet sugar ring induced Secre- tary Gage to levy a prohibitiye duty upon Russian beet sugar, and Russia very promptly answered the challenge with a prohibitiye duty upon American agricultural machinery. The Russian action was wholly natural and wholly just. The sacred tariff crowd has also 1 defeated a reciprocity treaty with France, which buys $120,Oo0,0 900 worth of manufactured goods a year, which Is the third wheat country in the world, and which has very little coal or other cheap fuel. The hoggishness l of the trusts and of the Dingleyites In general is setting the whole world against us, and prudent manufactur CTS on a large scale, who desire an export trade, do not propose to stay here and be crushed by the trusts that work the senate in order to retain their privilege of exploiting the home trade up to Dingley rates.