Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-18
Farmers of Country Not Salts
fled With House Program.
VIEWS OF N. ]. BACHELOR
Head of National Grange in Search
of Information.
OBJECTS TO RECIPROCITY BILL
Demands Reduction in Duties on
Manufactures to Rates Fixed
by Canadian Tariff.

The free list bill which the democrats
of the House propose to pass in an eff
fort to reconcile the farmers to the
Canadian reciprocity measure is not go
ing to reconcile them.
That is the opinion of " J. Bachelor,
master of the National Grange and for
mer Governor of New Hampshire, eX-
pressed today. Mr.. Bachelor is in town
to learn what prospects there are for the
passage of the reciprocity measure, and
he has announced that the farmers are
still against II, despite the farmers free
list"
The so-called farmers free list bill.
which has been introduced in Congress
as a professed measure Of compensation
to the farmers for the removal of the
duties on their D. oducts by the Canadian
reciprocity BILL" Mr.. Bachelor said to-
day. will not satisfy the farmers of the
country. nor will it cause them to relax
their fight against the reciprocity scheme.
No Benefit in Northwest.
The farmers of the northern and north
western states will receive little, if any,
benefit from the free list BILL which does
not reduce the high tariff taxes on the
articles generally purchased by them. The
democratic leaders In the House are
greatly mistaken II they imagine that
the farmers will consent to have free
trade in everything they produce, if
lew unimportant manufactured articles
are put on the free list. The position
aiken by the farmers is free trade for
me. free trade for all, and they demand
nat in any tariff legislation the duties
all manufactures must be reduced to
~. same rate imposed on farm products
If the democrats wish to put the
lmerican farmers on an equality with
The Canadian farmers, In so far as the
cost of the articles they buy is concerned,
they should reduce our tariff on manu-
factures to the rates fixed by the Cana
dian tariff.
What the Schedules Show.
An examination Of the tariff schedules
of the two countries shows that the
american farmer pays tariff taxes rum
ling from 20 to 35 per cent higher than
are paid by the Canadian farmer. In
spite of this fact President Taft and
other advocates of reciprocity say that
our farmers need no tariff against Cana
dian farm products, because conditions
are equal on both sides of the boundary
line. How conditions can be equal, when
the CdnaCldn farmer mas cheaper idnO,
cheaper farm labor and lower cost of his
manufactured articles, no one has yet
tried TO explain, and until these facts
can be explained away, the farmers of
this country are unalterably opposed to
the one-sided. unjust proposition mis-
called reciprocity"
Legislation Of Sectional Nature.
The sectional nature Of the tariff leg
islation favored by the democratic major
ity in the House is shown by the fact that
while favorAg Canadian reciprocity,
which puts all the staple farm crops of
the northern states ON the free list, the
democrats have not reduced in any degree
the tariff rates on sugar. rice, oranges.
pineapples. lemons. hemp, peanuts and
other agricultural products of the south.
II have no desire to raise the sectional
iSsue in this matter, but it should be I'M
derStoOd that if northern farm products
are to be free there will be no protection
for the southern farmer or fruit grower"