Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-11-12
The Canadian Tariff
By Frederic j. Haskin

The Canadian parliament which meets
at Ottawa today will consider at its
present session matters of great impor-
lance affecting the trade relations be-
tween Canada and the United States. A
tariff war between the tive countries
is imminent, and it is probable that the
business men of the United States will
manifest greater interest in this session
of the Canadian parliament than they
have in any of its predecessors. 1t is
the usual thing for Americans to COM
plain of British '1nsularity." But if the
signs do not fail the time is upon us
when Americans must themselves repent
their own provincial self-sufficiency.
The Dominion of Gambia is a great self
governing nation which forms an impor-
tant part of the British Empire-the
mightiest political power of earth. Can
ada and the United States possess
more than three thousand miles of COM
mon boundary lines, and 1t must be said
to the everlasting credit of England and
America that 1t is the longest boundary
line on earth guiltless of frowning fort
ress or menacing man OF war. The two
nations years ago agreed to limit their
naval equipment in the Great Lakes to
one ship each, and not to build and gar
rison forts along the land boundaries.
The two countries are too close akin
to build forts to menace each other.
There are no soldiers and sailors to strut
in defiance on the two sides of the line,
but there are men in uniform who sit at
the seat Of customs. And now 1t ap-
pears that there is likelihood Of war OF
trade and taxes between these two peace
full nations in which the custom houses
will play large part. Unfortunately,
from the point of view Of those who live
south of the line, tariff wars are not
always easy to win, even when ma
ton outnumbers its opponents in popula-
ton and wealth many times. At this
particular stage of the game Canada ap-
pears to have the whip-hand. .
Perhaps the chief trouble south of the
boundary line, and practically all of the
trouble is south of the line, is that the
Americans know too little about their
northern neighbors. The American news
papers, except those published In the
northern tier of states, have less news
from Canada than from Bulgaria. 1t
has been the custom to ignore Canada
and it's aspirations, and it has been too
too much the fashion to look across the
border only with the CLINT of an Anglo
Saxon land-greed in the eye. In the
meantime Canada has been forging
ahead, utterly indifferent to the indiffer-
ence of the Yankees.
Canada has built great trans-continen-
tai railroads and is so regulating them
that American roads find it increasingly
difficult to compete with them. Canada
has encouraged shipping, and now plans
the construction Of a ship canal which
will take the great outflow OF commerce
from the great lakes through British
channels to Europe. rather than through
American ports. Canada has thrown
open its western country to settlement.
and 1t has tempted many thousands of
good Americans to move over the line.
This is the first considerable American
emigration, and that it is a good thing for
Canada is indicated by the fact that the
10000 Americans who crossed over the
boundary last year carried with them
$50 900. 900, an average of a thousand dol
lars each. Did even the United States
have that kind of immigration to make it
grow?
And now Canada, 1t seems, is about to
apply some practical national wisdom to
it's tariff problem, a problem to the solu-
ton of which much wisdom is devoted is
not always national in scope. The result
will be that the United States will have
to sit up and take notice. It may not be
charged that Canada is taking any unfair
advantage, for as a matter of fact the
Canadians for years have been willing to
enter into treaties which practically
would reduce the custom houses along
the international border to the innoc-
uous desuetude of the two obsolete war
vessels which patrol the great lakes and
the st. Lawrence. Perhaps the greater
interests of the Americans made such
treaties inexpedient. At any rate they do
not exist.
Now comes the question of a tariff war
The Payne-Aldrich tariff bill, passed last
summer, inaugurated a new feature so
far as American tariffs are concerned
1t is the maximum and minimum tariff
provision, and there is some evidence that
the powers that be in Washington are
all at sea concerning it's powers for good
or evil. By the provisions of that clause.
all customs duties will be increased auto
matically 25 per cent on March 81 next
unless the president, before that time. by
proclamation shall otherwise decree. The
president, under the law, is expected to
issue the proclamation of exemption from
the maximum duties IN FAVOR of all cOun-
tries which do not, IN their own tariffs.
unduly discriminate against the United
States. On that word "unduly" depends
all the law and the prophets
Canada has triple tariff, consisting of
the general, the intermediate and the
British preferential tariff The preferen-
tial tariff discriminates in favor of the
mother country, just as the Philippines
tariff discriminates in favor of the Uni
ted States 1t is hardly to be expected
that any president would consider such
discrimination to be undue" The gen.
eral tariff is In effect against all ma
tons outside the British empire, with the
exception Of Germany. Canada charges
a surtax Of SO 1-2 per cent above its gen
eral tariff on German products, this sur
tax being imposed in retaliation for Ger
man anti-Canadian discrimination. It is
within Canada's power to impose such I
surtax on any or all American imports.
Canada has a flexible and elastic tariff
system. The intermediate tariff is abso-
lutely inflexible and non-elastic. The
president must impose either the maxi
mum duty of % per cent above the reg
ular duties, or he must permit the reg
Mar ScheduIe RI stand -Tbara L. ~ -,