Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-02-13

furnish a reasonable profit to those
who engage in them. The difference
In condition which generally makes
this tariff necessary is the lower price
of labor in the foreign country as
compared with the price of labor in
our own. The country has been on a
protection basis nearly all the time
since 1861, and the tremendous strides
in industrial progress which ii has
made seem to me to yindicate the wis
dom of the policy.
There was a time when leading
Republicans thought that there was no
danger of having a tariff higher than
necessary to protect any industry. 1t
was thought that if the country was
made dependent ON manufactures be-
hind the tariff wall the competition
between the manufacturers would
stimulate the reduction in the cost of
production and thus reduce the price.
But the temptation to combine by
which the price could be controlled
and thus the excessive tariff taken adj
vantage of, led to q modification of the
protection theory and to a declaration
that the protection of any industry
ought not to exceed in the tariff i'm
posed more than the difference be-
tween the cost of production abroad,
the cost of production here and
enough to give fair profit to the do
nestle producer or manufacturer.
: This limitation of the protection
theory necessarily took away any
grounds for tariff between this
country and any country in which the
conditions of production We're sub
stantiaIly the same. The conditions
OF production and of manufacture in
the United States and in Canada are
substantially the same. Wages may
differ in one part Of Canada from
another part. just as wages differ in
different states in this country, but,
taken by and large, the character of
the laborers. their intelligence and
their skill, and the price paid them
per unit of work are not substantially
less In Canada than they are in this
country.
In other words, the plank in the
platform of the last Republican con-
vention. carried to its logical eonclu-
sion, would lead to substantial free
trade with Canada.
With that in view, still adhering
Loyalty and sincerely to the principles
Of protection where it is needed to
maintain our important industries. I
did not hesitate to give the widest
latitude to the Secretary of State and
the commissioners who represented
this country, in Offering to Canada a
reduction of duties on goods and
products coming into this country
from Canada in consideration of the
establishment of the same duty. or
freedom fro IN duty, Oh similar goods
going into Canada. | say this for the
purpose Of having it understood that
IN many cases where the agreement
has been criticised for not making re-
ductionS. we could not secure them
because in the judgment of our Cana
dian friends the trade or industry
which they desired to foster would
suffer by greater reduction. Thus
with respect TO meats, we would have
been glad To put them on the free list.
Canada obj ectcd and we obtained the
best figures We could.
y reciprocity agreement il give and
take, and my impression is that when
you examine closely this agreement
You will congratulate yourselves that
we were able to make one that COW
cred SO wide range of subjects"
The President declared the criti-
Cism that reductions had been avoided
on manufactured articles
wholly unfounded and that a reciproc-
ity agreement between the United
States and Canada must of necessity
relate more to agricultural products
than to manufactures.
The suggestion that the opening of
our markets to Canadian wheat and
other cereals" continued the Presi-
dent. will reduce the price of land in
Ohio. Illinois. Indiana and Iowa, is
refuted by every table OF statistics
and presents the comparative increas-
es' of land in those states under the
influence of the opening OF the wheat
fields of the states further west.
ITO let the wheat OF the Northwest
come down to Minneapolis and
Chicago will steady the price of
Will make much more difficult specu-
lation and will furnish us greater in
Surancc against short crops and high
prices. But that it will in the end
substantially reduce the price of
wheat, which is fixed Tor the world in
Liverpool. no one familiar with the
will assert.
1T will give to the United States
much greater control OF the wheat
market than it has ever had before.
1t will enable its milling plants to turn
Canadian wheat into flour and send
abroad the finished product. and it will
stimulate the sale of manufactures
and other things that we have TO sell
to Canada
The President further asserted that
in removing the artificial barriers be-
tween the Northwestern part of the
United States and the Canadian
provinces, the agreement would re-
suit in the bringing over of live cattle
to feed on the corn OF the American
farmer. He added that the rapid in
crease of population i'll the United
States required IA source OF food sup
ply like Canada. right at our DOORS.
we shall be blind indeed" said the
President "if we reject this golden
opportunity 10 add to the strength and
virility of our country by thus in
creasing our supporting capacity.
We do not annex Canada politically,
but she and we do become united