The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-01-06
street car is evidence that the young
men who did the press work for the
worlds fair are back in harness again.
WHAT FOOLS THESE MoRTALs BE

The reputation of the people Of the
United States for hard, sound sense is
severely jeopardized by discussions in
congress and outside as reported in
special advices relating to the tariff on
wheat and other Canadian products.
Indeed. our Canadian friends them
selves, according to the latest news are
smitten with the same madness. We
have ceased to believe in black and
white magic, and no man can swindle
another by pretending that with a few
passes of the hand he can change bar
of iron into a bar Of gold. An exactly
equivalent proposition when put for
ward under the label of a protective
duty meets with enthusiastic approval.
First comes the ingenious little de-
vice of the millers and their friends to
offset their demand for an extension of
the drawback privilege, such as will per-
NIT them to use all the Canadian wheat
they want without payment of duty.
They have shrewdly started an agita-
ton for the importation Of Canadian
wheat for seed purposes. Last years
wheat crop In the Northwest, as is well
known, was In many sections of in
ferior quality. The grain was small,
somewhat shriveled and light weight.
Now you can find in most Of the met
ropolitan and not a few of the country
papers articles advising the farmers
that Canadian wheat is far superior
for seed purposes to any that they could
obtain on this side Of the line. They
are urged to consent on their own be-
half to some relaxation Of the duty on
wheat, it being intended to use this as
counter weight to the millers' PROPOSE.
ton We are even introduced to the
fantastic idea that wheat may be
brought in free of duty when used for
seed on the same ruling that admits
cattle imported for breeding purposes.
Surely idiocy could no further go.
, AT the same time we find the people
of the Canadian provinces deeply
welded to their own folly and becom-
ing more and more imbued with the
hope Of raising themselves by their
own boot straps. They are DESTROYS of
raising duties levied on American prod
ucts as high as possible, and the new
settlers in the western part of the
country are to be the sufferers. It is
striking lesson in human folly to read
the arguments advanced. For several
decades the United States has levied
a big duty ON Canadian lumber, which
we still retain. The theory was that we
from the competition Of a cheap Cana
dian product. The fact was that the
lumber barons wanted entire control of
the domestic field and free hand in
putting up prices. This they received.
The result was the rapid destruction
Of our forests, the enrichment of few
men and the necessity Of resorting to
distant fields. like the pine forests of
the far South and the fir regions of the
Pacific coast, for lumber supply for
the whole prairie region of the West.
The new settler in Canada, occupying
the vast plains OF the Northwest, is
similarly situated to the inhabitants of
Our own prairies. He must buy lumber.
The owners OF timber lands and of mills
in Canada see a good thing, just as the
same men in this country saw it. They
are demanding big tariff duty to keep
out the pauper lumber Of the United
States. Thus on each side of the line
greed and monopoly raises the same
deceptive cry, and the people are fooled
to the top of their bent.
In both of these cases, of course, the
duty ought to be absolutely wiped out
The tariff on wheat cannot help a sin
gle human being. It afflicts the miller
who wants raw material and the farm
aer who wants to buy seed wheat where
he pleases, without one penny of cor
responding benefit anywhere. 1t is an
utter and self-confessed fraud. Yet
those who are most anxious to get rid
of it are not honest enough to confess
the fact, but want to leave the law on
our books and explain it away by
strained interpretations and arbitrary
rulings
The tariff on lumber has always been
-an unconditional iniquity. 1t is one Of
the most criminal of all our prohibitory
duties. taxing the poor mans means Of
shelter, his home and every building
upon his land for the benefit of rich
and powerful interest. Yet there will
be no repeal Of the lumber tariff and
Canadian farmers will sweat on the
pretense that Canada must shut out
the cheap lumber of the United States,
while the farmers of the United States
sweat on the pretense that we must
keep out the cheap lumber of Canada.
Our tariff system has always been or
gained robbery, but only Of late has 1t