Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-17
The SeIfishness of 1.-THE Hard Wheat
Belt"


| publication that boasts of being 1.-The
| only weekly farm paper in the hard
wheat belt" in which he very earn
! estly advocates the putting of lumber
| upon the free list. We have never
seen in his publication any advocacy
Of the free list for any of the articles
produced in the hard wheat belt,' and
! his strenuous efforts for free lumber
| constitute a shining example of the
| by those who favor the free list for
| other peoples products.
The people of Maine are not in "the
hard wheat belt A good portion of
| their flour is bought from Minneapolis
| They are, however, vitality interested
in the lumber industry, which, next to
agriculture, and a close second to it, is
| the great industry in our State. AS
| far back as 1890 the allied lumber
wood pulp and paper industry in oul
State amounted to $27,00O,00O employ
| ing about $4,000 men and expending
| nearly $1O,000,O0O annually for labor
| Facts like these mean very little to
Mr.. Collins. the lion of the hard
wheat belt but they are of vital I'M
portance to the State of Maine, and he
may rest assured that the citizens of
this "a 10 io,t Of y, ~
| fact when they read the literature
| which he is broadcasting through the
mails. Mr.. Collins brand of patriot
| ism reminds us very much of that of
| Artemus Ward who was quite willing
| that all of his wife's relations should
be sent to the war. Hands off,
| shouts Mr. Collins, so far as the hard
| wheat belt is concerned, but Sic
| em." is his cry for those portions of
/ the country producing products that
are not raised in the hard wheat
belt"
Now, we venture the prediction that
Congress will not feel constrained to
| legislate solely for the hard wheat
belt" but that it will legislate for the
| American people as whole, not
| merely for those sections of .he
country which are long on cereals and
short on lumber but also for those
other sections of the country which
are long on lumber and short on
cereals. Mr.. Collins would regard it
as Il great misfortune to the hard
wheat belt" if the citizens of Maine
and other states which furnish such a
| magnificent market for it's flour should
| cease to buy its products at fair and
| reasonable market price, but he is
into great industry elsewhere in the
country which enables thousands of
| people to earn an honest livelihood.
Any tariff law which is fair must con-
slider not one section of the country,
but all sections of the country. 1t
must include fair consideration not
only to the interests of the hard
wheat belt" but to every other square
mile of territory within the confines OF
the republic. 1t must proceed upon
the theory that we are a country of
many and diversified interests and
mate interests is the problem before
the Ways and Means committee, and
not the selfish interests of any one
section
However much Mr.. Collins may send
out his literature and make the welk:n
ring with his demands for free lum-
Der, we venture the prediction that
Congress as Il whole will take far
broader view of the subject than he is
disposed to- tariff law which fairly
represents the whole country con-
siders it's interests in their entirety.
1t does not give protection to one Sec
ton and deny it to another, but it
sees that every industry employing
<htiltii Nhlt it'b'i, I'S ms ZIG 1hiiiNi ~ 81
scale of wages and producing Ameri-
can products, is given that fair protec-
ton which will enable it to maintain
itself against competition in the
countries where the wage scale is
lower and the standard of living in
ferior to that in our own country. An
adequate tariff law is, and has always
been. a matter of mutual concession.
1t takes the country as a whole, as it
properly should. and does not allow
the interests of one section to profit at
the expense of the interests of another
section. The sooner Mr.. Collins en-
larges his views to a conception OF the
fact that Congress is not legislating
solely for "the hard wheat belt" but
for the American nation in its en-
tirety. the sooner he will be in position
to recognize the fact that the lumber
producing sections of this country
have just as good claim to considera-
ton in the preparation of a tariff bill
as has the hard wheat belt