Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-07-05
TAFT DEFENDS HIS
RECIPROCITY: Y: BILL
\ At INDIANAPOLIS

INDIANAPOLIS, July 4.+5President
Taft in his speech last night said:
II have had occasion elsewhere 10
say that the three subjects In which
l have recently been most greatly In
terested are not party issues. Ger"
tainly this is true of universal arbl-
tration and of the plan of the none
tary commission for the reform OF
our currency and banking systems.
With respect to reciprocity, however,
l ind the that there is q disposition
by some Republicans to dispute the
proposition that Republicans can con-
sistently support tie adoption Of the
present agreement with the Canadian
government. $>
1T is said that this kind OF; reclp'
rocity is not Republican reciprocity.
1t is said that this reciprocity covers
competitive products,of each-country,
and that the reciprocity OF former
Republican leaders was intended to
include only a lowering or abolition
of duties on products of other coun-
tries which did not compete With
products of this country. Therefore
it is said that the Canadian reciproc-
ity as now proposed is nothing but a
Democratic measure, reducing or
abolishing the tariff on goods or
products from Canada that compete
with those raised by our own people,
and that it lis especially injurious
because it is 10 drawn as prejudicial-
ly to affect the farmers of the, coun-
try as class.
"The Republican party in their last
national platform declared In favor
of tariff duties which would measure
only the difference in the cost Of pro-
duction of articles here and OF arti-
cles abroad. In other words, the
sound Republican doctrine has be-
come the imposition of duties only
where the conditions are naturally
unequal, and where duties are neces-
sary in. order to, enable our manufac-
turers and other producers to meet
on a level the competition of foreign
producers. The Canadian reciprocity
agreement squares exactly with th}s
doctrine: j. -.2to Ss ~
ssThe contention that reciprocity
was never advocated by Republican
leaders so as to include competing
products is, refute9 By TIE record Of
history. 4 Mr.. Blaine, Who Is regarded
as the father OF reciprocity, attended
to secure an amendment TO one OF the
tariff laws in which the subjects Tor
reciprocity mentioned in the amend
ment were almost all of them articles
in which the foreign countries would
compete with US in our own markets.
More than this. Mckinley, who was
the second leader as to reciprocity,
and who delivered his last speech in
it's favor just before his tragic death,
had negotiated number of reciproc'
ity treaties, IN all of which the du'
ties were reduced or abolished on
number of products which would COM
pete in our markets with those OF our
own production.
Another answer to the objection
of our Republican friends who de-
nounce Canadian reciprocity as a
heresy is that the amount of competi'
tion to take place under this agree
ment is very much less than they
would by their general statements
have you believe. In the first place,
they say that by free trade in agri-
cultural products, we are giving them
a market of 9O,0OO,OO0 people and
taking only a market of 100000. AS
a matter of fact, in the vast bulk of
our agricultural products, they can
furnish no competition whatever,
while this agreement admits all our
products free into Canada.
ut is said that this Canadian re-
ciprocity agreement is made wholly