The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-02-28
Making Monkeys Of the
Twin City Business Men
K Kngman in Recent Letter Shows That Loss Of Money
Through Reciprocity in North Dakota and Mime
sofa Viii Be Felt IN Twin Cities.

not the merchant or wholesaler of st
| Paul or Minneapolis fool himself for {
minute by figuring that he can sell In
Canadian territory groceries, dry
goods, harness, hardware, clothing OF
a1y Of the vast number of articles
manufactured in the United States as
cheaply as the Winnipeg jobber car
sell like articles bought in the open
free trade market.
| Does not this dispose of the posi-
biltty that trade from Canada is goina
to increase the volume of their busi-
ness in any material degree? This
proposition which they unthinkingly
seem to approve is going to rob their
| customers In their immediate territory
OF $S5,O00,000 per annum at least, with
the probability that it will be more,
and they are expecting to offset this
| by a gain in profit from Canadian
trade on which practically every ar
ticle Of general consumption which
| they can sell there still retains a duty
precluding beyond question their COM
peting with Winnipeg. The few ar
ticles on which there is no duty are
manufactured and handled by the big
trusts who will sell to Canadian trade
through their own selling agents direct
which will leave no dollars within the
grasp Of either the twin cities or Du-
luth.
1t is possible that the business in
terests of the northwestern business
centers have failed to study and know
the exact conditions of this agreement
Have they accpeted Mr.. Hills plausible
statements as covering the whole ques-
ton, letting it go at that? If so, before
many months shall have passed they
will, in my opinion, awaken to the fact
that they have simply been made mon
keys of. 1t would seem incredible that
with all their interests, intelligence and
the numerous avenues to them to Sc
cure exact knowledge as to the facts
that these conditions have not been
brought to teir attention.
Eliminating the fact that the inter-
ests of Minneapolis, st. Paul and Du-
luth owe to the farmers of North Da-
kota something; considering for the
moment only their own selfish inter-
ests, let me ask them il it were not
better that they expend a portion of
that money, effort and expense which
they will have to expend in competi-
ton with their Canadian competitors
in the helping of the farmers within
their own immediate territory. where
no competition shall exist to farm his
farm in better ways. aiding and urging
him to the adoption of more scieatiffc
and up to date methods, which, accord
ing to all the precedents of the past
will double. il not treble the produc-
ton of our owl. farms. bringing to
and Duluth 400 instead of
200 million bushels of wheat, and all
raised in these United States, main
tanning not only the present purchasing
power of our people. but increasing it
twofold. Without this Canadian COM
petition this will double the population
and the bank deposits of the entire
northwest within the next decade, If
not within the next ten years, at the
same time maintaining the pleasant re-
lations that have existed for the last
thirty years, and cementing for all
time the friendship which now exists
between the producer and the distribu-
tor in this, our own territory, yours
and ours, under one flag of the free.
which waves over the greatest nation
on earth. and which would, without
doubt make us the greatest of all ma.
tons for centuries to come. We owe
nothing to any foreign flag. Ours
alone stands today for the embodiment
Of freedom and equal and exact JUS
tice to all.
Should not prudence dictate a con-
tinuation of those policies so largely
responsible for our successes in the
past. which heretofore have stood for
our own home markets, for our own
home producerf Yours very truly,
(Sigaed) r. T. Kingman.