Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-28
CRISIS FOR THE PACT
Reciprocity Now or Perhaps
Never, Says Taft.
.SCOFFS AT ANNEXATION
Addresses Associated Press and
Newspaper Publishers.
AGREEMENT WITH CANADA
Declares That It Can Be Repealed at
SC0FFS AT ANNEXATION
AGREEMENT WITH CANADA
Declares That It Can Be Repealed at
Any Time, and Appeals for a
Test Of the Arrangement.

NEW YORK. April 2s.-In his address
at the fourth annual joint banquet Of the
Associated Press and the American
Newspaper Publishers Association at the
Waldorf-Astoria last night President Taft
declared that reciprocity with Canada
must be adopted now or perhaps never.
Talk Of annexation the President char
acterizes as ''bosh." The United States,
he further asserted. has at present all the
territory that 1t cares to govern. The
Presidents words drew q storm Of ap-
plause from the immense assemblage that
listened to his address In the grand ball
room.
The Presidents Address.
The President said:
"As the agreement is commercial one
and affects the duties upon imports from
each country into the other. it is difficult
to say that a detailed discussion Of tarif
schedules Is not relevant and important
in considering its wisdom But the gen
eral commercial, economic and social ar
guments in its favor are so convincing
that may be pardOned II do not dwell
on specific rates.
"The treaty provides for free trade in
all agricultural products and In rough
lumber down to the point Of planning. 1t
reduces the duties on secondary food
products by very substantial percent
age and it makes such reductions on a
number of manufactured articles that
those engaged in making them have as
sured us that the reductions will sub
stantially increase the already large Ca
madam demand for them.
Free Trade Refused by Canada.
eve rendered to the Canadian commits
sioners absolute free trade in all products
Of either country, manufactured or nat
ural, but the Canadian commissioners did
not feel justified in going 50 far. 1t Is
reasonable to infer that they felt that
the profitable price at which such arti-
cles could be sold by our manufacturers
in Canada was less than the price at
which their manufacturers could afford
to sell the same, either to their own peo-
pie or to u.s.
ut follows that their refusal to agree
to free trade is the strongest kind Of evil
dence that If we should take off the ex-
listing duty from such articles coming
into the United States 1t would not affect
in the slightest degree the prices at which
these articles could be furnished to the
public here. 1t would not lower the price
to the consumer here.
They declined free trade in meats and
flour for fear we would undersell them in
their own market. If that be true. how
would 1t help our consumer or lower the
price Of meat or -four II we let their
products in free while they retained du-
ties against ours?
Yet gentlemen insist that the farmer
has been unjustly treated. because we
haven't put Canadian meat and flour on
the free list. And it is proposed to satisfy
the supposed grievance by now doing so
without any compromising concessions
from Canada This proposal would be
legislation passed for political platform
uses, without accomplishing any real
good.