The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-03-26
Germany and England in
Big Rush for Trade
Now Theirs.
UNITED STATES TO
BE CROWDED OUT
Exports from This Country
Last Year Amounted to
$157, 900, 900.
(By Clyde H. Tayenner.) }

(By Clyde H. Tavenner)
WASHINGTON, March 26.-Who
will be benefited by a tariff war be-
tween the United States and Canada,
which will be on in earnest after
March 81 unless President Taft shall
be able to certify before that time
that there is no undue discrimination
against American goods in the oper-
alton of the Canadian tariffs?
The best answer to this query are
the reports being received in Wash
ington from Canadian commercial
centers. These reports are to the eff
feet that manufacturers and jobbers
of Great Britain and Germany are
rushing their statesmen and reprecen-
tatives into Canada for the purpose
of soliciting the business that has
heretofore been handled by American
manufacturers but which we can not
hope to retain after the tariff war
opens
The exports from the United States
to Canada in 1908 exceeded $157, ,000,-
900. The chief items were agricu-
tural implements, animals, books,
brass, breadstuffs, cars and carriages,
patent medicines, coal, raw cotton,
cordage, fruits, electrical appliances,
manufactures of iron and steel, ma
chinery, boots and shoes. meats, writ
ing paper. tin, tobacco, manufactures
of wool and manufactures of wood
If we put our 25 per cent. ad valOrem
duty in effect against Canadian i'm
ports, Canada is prepared to immedi
ately put into effect against imports
from the United States a surtax equi-
valent to one-third of the regular du-
ties. This will deprive the United
States of probably 80 per cent. of her
Canadian business. Will anybody in
the United States be advantaged by
a tariff war that curtails the export
to Canada of the $157, 900 worth of
articles enumerated above? If so,
who?
Not only will the United States lose
the greater part of this business dur
ing the life of the tariff war, but we
will lose a certain large proportion
of the business forever. because while
the tariff war is on, English and Ger
man firms will have an opportunity to
build up large clientele in Canada
very considerable proportion of
which they will naturally be able to
retain.
When the Dingley law was framed
in 1896 the exercise of little fore
sightedness on the part of American
statesmen would have made of Can
ada an economic dependency of the
United States. At that time the Can
adian leaders We're eager and willing
to establish free trade between Can
ada and the United States. Such
move would have laid open the tre
mendOuS sources of raw material in
Canada to the manufacturers of the
United States, and would have made
of Canada an immense buyer of Unit
ed States manufactures. The Ameri-
can statesmen, however, proceeded on
a grab it all and nothing back
policy which has made of Canada an
Independent commercial nation.
Canada'S brOad-minded offers of
1896 having been turned down by the
United States, she has since repeated
ly refused to consider reciprocal COM
mercial concessions with us. In 1897,
one year after the Dingley law was
enacted, Canada took a slap at the
United States by granting to Great
Britain and most of the British col
onies a preferential reduction of 12R
per cent in it's tariff rates. In 1898
the reduction was increased to 25 per
cent. and in 1900 to 33 13 per cent,
and it now averages 80 per cent and
applies uniformly on all articles. 1t
is because of preferential rates to
France. that the American Canadian
commercial struggle wi begin.
Back in 1896 Canada was not a
manufacturing nation in the sense that
is could hope to supply it's own needs
in manufactured goods. 1t has not
even yet approximated such a condi-
ton. but a tariff war at this time with
the United States will go a long way
toward making Canada Independent
of our markets
The result of our refusal to be lib
eral to Canada in the Dingley law was
that there were established in Canada
during the succeeding 10 years not
less than $50 important industries
One-half of the iron and steel indus
try and one-fifth of the lumber and
wood working establishments of the
entire dominion were thus established.
Continued On Page Five)