The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-07-04
Are Watching Closely Progress
 of ChamberIain's Policy
WOULD INJURE AMERICA
1t Is Not Believed In Washington That EnqIand Could Subsist Without Aid of United States Under
 Protection Tariff.
nY wArTERsoN sTEALEY.

i of the department or hsllS"i1NAS
 watching with manifest interest every oe- velopment which occurs in the progress | of the proposition recently made before inc house of commons by Premier Cham berlain that free trade in the United Kingdom be abolished and that preferen- l tial tariff rates be established in favor or l British colonies in their import trafric into England.
 Experts, here do not believe that the project will be consummated. They oe- lieve., knowing economic conditions Ill England that the English people, espe- cially the working classes, will reVoll against a wheat tax, and that turther- more the British government dare not place a barrier against American agrl- cultural products for fear of not being abIe to supply her own people with the limited resources at hand for raising food products.
 This position is assumed notwthstahu- ing reports which have just reached washington that in Canada alone It IS estimated that a surplus wheat product of over 100 OOo, 900 bushels will be produced this year. But Britains contention or as- ricultural independence Is controVerteo' and the claim is made that she must re- lv upon us for great proportion of her bread and meat.
 Would Control U. s. Agriculture.
 It is admitted, however. that should MT. Chamberlain succeed in estaphshlns his policy, and perchance 1t proves que | ouate the agricultural interests or the | limited States will be greatly Sartaheo' l The ultimate outcome of such an event. according to the department, Will pc tna' thousands of American farmers VIII ue- vote their time and energy to other pur- suits. and that farming will not be car ried on anything like this the enormous sales now practiced here. At the same fine 1t is held that should England adopt the policy planned by MT. Chamber lain a tariff war raging in it's f1erceness will be inaugurated, the principal antag- inists to be Germany, France ana tne Tinted States, and the opinion is held that the outcome of such war could only be a surrender by England or the ai- lowance of concessions upon all sides 10 the extent of creating rather liberal reel procity.
 Tn speaking of the subject to a corres- nondent of the Sun today Assistant Sec retary of Agriculture Joseph H. Brig tN''.s
 ham said:
 we have been watching the Chamber lain plan and its various developments ever since 1t was projected. We doubt its practicability and are hardly prepared to believe that 1t will be adopted at this time.
 Loss Would Be Great.
 "But the loss of the British markets to our agricultural people would be a | Cho fc otfr customer we are hers and if she should put up | tariff wall against our farmers such as | MT. Chamberlain has suggested the re- suit would be extremely injurious. In this country last year we had a surplus or agricultural products valued at sSoooUo'ooo: in round numbers And 1t IS estlmateo l that of our total exports about sixty per cent were agricultural. Most of that | nroduct went to the British people NOW 1 10 cut us off from the production Of sucn q surplus and to rob us of the great Eng- fish market as is proposed, will be hurt- full of course. The result would De that many American farmers wold be obliged to curtail their crops they would be forced into other pursuits and the net result would be of a ruinous character.
 But at the same time my opinion is that the Chamberlain scheme Is imprac- ticable do not think that Great Britain | is yet independent of us in the matter or | crops In Canada and her other colonies. Take the ease of India, for instance, when famine rages there. The United States is always obliged to come to the rescue of the people of that colony and steamship after steamship Is loaded down with wheat and other food products and sent to the stricken country. England, with all her other colonies, is never able to com pletely cope with the situation. She Is a | of her bread and meat and to shut us off l from her markets would in my judgment, | not only be hurtful to us but would raise l a howl among the English people who | would be obliged to pay the tax and even then would not be able to live as comfor- tably and as plentifully as they now do.
 u. S. Would Look Elsewhere. of Chamberlains propositions were | agreed upon and put into effect we would | be obliged to find other profitable mar kets which would in all probability not be forthcoming to the extent of these now | at our disposal But l believe the in- auguration of the plan would inspire tariff war which would sooner or later force reputable and perhaps satisfac- tory agreement to our interests and our markets in Britain would again be | opened"
 According to the figures furnished by | the bureau of statistics here immense ex- l ports of food products are shown in our relationship with the United Kingdom. | The total exports from this country to Great Britain during the fiscal year of l 1902 are shown to be valued at $54S54S, Ar. A large proportion of that value is made up of agricultural products For Instance the following figures are given: Wheat $55. 1899, 966, wheat flour $34, ,S1S, TOP. oats s1,02l.2 2sS. corn s6177.29 barley B. S37,169, other bread stuff sS,S6S,14l, apples | $t, 362 627, other fruits approximately H,- 1 60n n0n cattle S27 TIA 1h1 sheen x1 l76 1hz