The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-05-09
They Make Concerted Attack
on Reciprocity
A LARGE DELEGATION
Before Senate Finance committee-Their
Guns Are Loaded for the Presi-
dent-They Declared He Has Sc
lected Them for Slaughter.

Washington May 9As plain as
shaking fists could make it, the farmers
Of the country have served notice on
President Taft, the United States SEN
ate and the Republican party IN gem
eral that If the Canadian reciprocity
bin i passed they will vote for Demo
Gratis and universal trade IN retaila.
ton Fourteen states were represented
at the hearing before tie Senate com
mttee on finance yesterday morning
including New England, the Western
border states and as far south as Mis-
souri. The speakers ignored, except IN
peneralties, any specifications as 20 m
auires that might be expected from the
operation Of the treaty New England
fears an inundation Of Canadian wheat,
nthat win cut down. the producer with
out benefitting the consumer ana the
West Is fearful that wheat VIII drop,
but points like these were made only
in passing and usually in reply 70
questions The farmers--all delegates
from the state oranges waived eeono-
nlic questions Some of them SAID, IN
fact. that they were not certain that
Canadian competition would hurt them
appreciably Their point was the
broader one that the farmers had been
singled out by the president for slaugh-
ter and the farmer would hold respon-
sible at the polls every senator and
representative who voted for reciproc-
hy
The thread that ran through the
speeches was hat if farm products are
made free everything must be made
free For xample, w n Giles, secre-
tary of the New York state grange,
was speaking "The farmers have been
thinking on this subject and are with
ing under the injustice as never before
in the history of the country" said
Mr.. Giles. "fThey are going to hold
somebody responsible )"
"That will be the President of the
United States, won't it," inquired Sen
ator Bailey
81 don't know" responded Mr.. Giles,
"But," he added significantly, Il don't
think I'd like to be a United States
senator and go back to my constituents
Il | voted for this treaty
The farmers were especially ineensed
against the suggestion emanating from
the White House at the time the Lori
mer case was boiling, that a majority
Of the farmers favored reciprocity and
that protests against it were inspired
by individual interests and did not rep
resent genuine farmer sentiment Elk
Governor Nahum J Bachelor of New
Hampshire. master of the national
grange, made the Presidents utterances
the text OF an address, and from the
rare with which this address was pre-
pared in manuscript and the pains
taken to give it circulation, it was OBJ
yiously a plain notice served upon the
administration and the high protec-
tionists in Congress that they must
expect the farmer to vote for general
free trade if the agreement was rati-
fed
"The national grange has no apologies
TO make for its action in this matter,
said the ex-governor. When it is in
timated, as by members Of the House,
that the opposition of the farmers was
initiated to denounce the charge as
without the slightest foundation. Why
should the manufacturers be entitled
to an investigation by the tariff board
before their tariff rates are reduced
while the farmers are tried, convicted
and sentenced to have their products
put ON the free list, without any con-
sderation of their claims to equal pro-
lection along with the manufacturing
interests" The Canadian agreement he
denounced as violating both the Repuh-
lean and the Democratic national plat
forms. He read long list of compare
tive duties showing that the Canadian
farmer was taxed by the tariff from Is
TO IS per cent less than the American.
Then the farmer is taxed too much,
isn't he2" suggested John Sharp Will
liams Several times the Mississippi
senator interrupted the speakers in this
way, inquiring whether they would
rather tax the American to equal the
other fellow or take the taxes off both.
From Robert Eaton. master OF the Him