Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-13
M'CLEARY ON TARIFF
DECLARES CONCESSIONS TO GER
MANY ARE UNNECESSARY.

That the United States need not lower the
tariff on products now imported from Ger
many for fear that our export trade to that
country will be ruined If such tariff reduc-
ton is not made was the contention of Rep
resentatfve James McCleary of Minnesota
at the Lincoln dinner of the New York Re-
publican Club In New York city last night.
Responding to the toast, Shall the re-
public continue to make its own laws?"
Mr.. McCleary said first that the new Ger
man tariff law, which goes into effect next
month, was a revision of German tariffs
made necessary by the expiration of COM
mercial treaties which Germany made over
ten years ago. He added that it was a
perfectly natural revision, and he called :;
an insult to the German empire to claim
that this new tariff law was made for the
purpose of getting even" with the United
States on account of our tariff laws.
Ten thousand circulars the speaker
continued ARE being sent out from Chicago
every day by an organization whose object
is to stir up the American farmers, especial
ly those of the central west, against our
present tariff law.
"One of the cries of this organization Is.
Germany. our second best customer, will be
lost to US If we do not make concessions to
her. Let us examine that proposition. Dur
ing the fiscal year 1905 we sold to Germany
goods to the value of $212, COG, 800. 1t would
be too bad to lose market like that"
Products on the Free List.
To show that this market would not be en-
tirely lost, Mr.. McCleary said American
products to the value of S120. 00O, 600 which
were exported to Germany last year would
remain on the free list of the new German
tariff law. Cotton is among these products.
Another line of articles amounting to So,
100000 of our total German exports, he said,
would pay only one rate Of duty under the
new law, giving American exporters an
equal competitive opportunity with foreign
traders for this $20,000.oO0 worth of COM
merce.
"Inasmuch as this Chicago organization
continued Mr.. McCleary, is directing its
energies toward trying to make our farmers
of the middle west feel that they are going
to suffer greatly If we do not do something
for Germany, it may not be amfss TO state
that our total sales of wheat to Germany
in 1905 amounted to only 81, 200 452, and or
wheat flour to only 1851, 347, and of all other
breadstuffs except corn to only 81, s54, 307.
or 81, CSC, 1876 In all; about our domestic sales
of single day.
to $12,tOo00o worth a year. This is only
about / per cent of our crop, and if we lost
it, we would scarcely know of the loss with
out being told.
Must Have Our Lard.
How about meat products? Aside from
something less than s15,0oO.000 worth of lard
(Which she cannot well get elsewhere any
way Germany took only 81 SIT ,405 worth of
meat from US last year. Less than S2.000,0 900.
then, measures the much-vaunted market in
Germany for our animal and meat exports.
In the last ten years our sales of cattle to
Germany have amounted in all to S10S, I4o,
or about $4,000 a year. In six years we
have sold Germany just ten hogs al S25S,
and one sheep at $50. The Chicago organi-
cation is trying to make the mouths Of our
farmers water by talking Of a market over
there for meat products to the value of
from $50 600 coo to $1O00O0.OO0 per year.
II secured table from the official reports
of Germany, which shows that during the
last five years Germany has imported from
the entire world an annual average of only
So, $50, 040 of beef of all kinds, So, 68222 OF
pork of all kinds, and $63, 600 Of mutton. So
that If we could sell Germany all the meats
that she buys from the entire world our
sales would average less than S1o.000,O00
year"