The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-03-27

ne allies WOULD nave Deen successful
but for the action of the president,
who used every source of power at his
command to defeat the object of the
coalition of progressives and Demo
Gratis. The presidents reason for pro-
tecting Uncle Joe" and the old rules,
as given to visitors at the White
House, was that he president Taft
believed that change of speakers to-
gether with new rules would operate
against the passage of tariff bill
such as was promised in the Repub-
lican platform.
Taft Disapproves.
| Ever since that time it has been
Well known in Washington that Presi-
dent Taft would disapprove of any at
tempt to change either rules or speak
er. Republican members of congress
were led to believe that should they
attempt to do either of these things,
| they would Immediately fall into disre-
pute at the White House. The presi-
dents attitude undoubtedly caused
many a Republican who disapproved
of the speaker and rules to keep his
own counsel and to tolerate a condi-
ton that in his own heart he felt to
be little short of Infamous.
| Viewing the recent fight in the light
of these facts, it becomes apparent
that those republicans who voted with
the Democrats in support of the Nor
| riS resolution did so irrespective of
the position of President Taft. This
indicates that the presidents control
of Republican members of congress is
on the wane
That the administration was back
| ing the old rules side of the argument
made plain by the fact that the
so-called regulars or those who &C
cept the leadership of the president,
opposed the Norris resolution provid-
| ing for the improvement of the rules.
In the approaching congressional
| elections, therefore, the regulars will
have to defend their antagonism to
the fair and much-needed reform of
the house rules, along with the Payne
Aldrich-Smoot tariff law, extravaganza,
and all the rest of their political sins.
Who Will be Benefited.
Who will be benefited by a tariff
war between 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 discrifhi-
nation against American goods in the
operation of the Canadian tariffs?
The best answer to this query are
the reports being received in Wash |
ington from Canadian commercial CEN
tiers. These reports are to the effect
that manufacturers and jobbers of
Great Britain and Germany are rush |
ing their statesmen and representatives |
into Canada for the purpose of solicit |
ing the business that has heretofore |
been handled by American manufac- |
turers. but which we can not hope to |
retain after the tariff war opens.
The exports from the United States |
to Canada in 1908 exceeded S151 ,O00,- |
0O0 The chief tie msrewMoingqqS |
900. The chief items were agricul- |
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,
writing paper, tin, tobacco, manufac-
lures of wood and manufactures OF
wool.
If we put our Is per cent ad valorem
duty in effect against Canadian i'm
ports, Canada is prepared to imme-
diately put into effect against imports
from the United States a surtax
equivalent to one-third of the regular |
duties. This Will deprive the United |
States of probably 80 per cent of our
Canadian business. viii anybody in
the United States be advantaged by |
tariff war that curtails the exports to
Canada of the $157O00,000 worth of
articles enumerated above? Ii 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 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 a, large clientele in Canada, a |
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
sfghtedness on the part of American |
statesmen would have made of Canada
an economic dependency of the United !
States. At that time the Canadian
leaders were eager and willing to
establish free trade between Canada
and the United States. Such move |
would have laid open the tremendous
sources of raw material in Canada to
the manufacturers of the United
States, and would have made of Can
ada an immense buyer of United |
States manufactures. The American
statesmen, however, proceeded on a
grab-it- all-and-g ive-nothing-back policy
which has made of Canada an indie.
pendent commercial nation.
Canada's Iroad-minded offers of 1896
having been turned down by the Unit
ed States, she has since repeatedly re-
fused to consider reciprocal CONNER
cial concessions with us. In 1897 one
year after the Dingley law was enact
ed. Canada took a slap at the United
States by granting to Great Britain
and most of the British colonies
prefential reduction of II IL per cent.
in its tariff rates. In 1898 the reduc-
ton was increased to % per cent, and
in 1900 to SO Is per cent, and it now
averages 80 per cent and applies
uniformly on all articles. 1t is be-
cause of prefential rates, to France,
that the American-Canadian CONNER
cial struggle will begin.
Back in 1895 Canada was not a
manufacturing nation in the sense that |
it could hope to supply its own needs
in manufactured goods. 1t has not |
even yet Appropriated such a condi-
-