The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-02-11
Before Members of Illinois
Legislature Today He Ex-
plains Its Advantage to the
Country.
BOTH COUNTRIES TO
RECEIVE BENEFITS
Thirty Thousand Greet the
Presidential Train at Ur-
bana, Ill.,, and Give Taft an
Ovation.
{Amer.can News SerNicel

tAmerscan NEWS SsENltN1
Springfield. H.. Feb. 1t--President
Taft struck another sledge hammer
blow for reciprocity here today in
speech before the members OF the
legislature. IT is estimated thirty
thousand people gave him greeting
at Urbana enroute here early this
morning The students at the Unit
versity of Illinois and large crowd
of citizens met the train. President
Taft in his address here today said in
part:
Presidents Address.
Il thank you for this opportunity to
address you. | am honored by your
invitation and hope shall not viol-
ate the proprieties of the occasion il
ask your attention to explain a mat
ter now pending in the congress of tho
United States, which l regard of ma
tion wide and most critical import
ancc. l refer to the so-called Cana
dian reciprocity agreement.
The Payne tariff law contained
what is known as the maximum and
minimum tariff clause by which the
president was authorized and direct
ed to investigate into tariff duties and
trade restrictions imposed by each
country with which the United States
had dealings, in order to determine
these tariff duties or trade restric-
tions were discriminating against the
United States and her imports and
trade. as compared with the trade re-
strictions imposed against other coun-
x,.,1 lnI rl~ l. .,t.,
department and with the assistance
of Secretary Knox and experts whom
he summoned, TO an investigations OF
the tariff duties of Canada and tho
negotiations thus brought about were
carried to successful conclusion by
the assurance on our part that We
would be glad to take up further ne
gOtiations looking to further reduc-
tions Of duties on both sides in the
form OF reciprocity treaty.
Is a Protectionist.
II am protectionist. That is. be-
| lieve that there are certain indus
tries in this country that need the en-
couraging effect OF a tariff upon Inn
ports from foreign countries to en-
able them to pay good wages and fur
nish a reasonable profit to those who
| engage in them.
"There was a time when leading Re
publicans thought there was no dam
ger OF having tariff higher than ne
cessary to protect any industry. But
the temptation to combine by which
the price could be controlled and thus
the excessive tariff taken advantage
of. led to a modification of the protec-
ton theory and to a declaration that
the protection of any industry ought
| not to exceed in the tariff imposed
more than the difference between the
cost of production abroad, the cost OF
production here and enough to give
manufacturer.
"This limitation of the protection
theory necessarily took away any
grounds for tariff between this coun-
try and any country in which the con-
ditions of productions were substan-
TALLY the same.
THE conditions of production and
of manufacture in the United States
and in Canada are substantially the
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 intelli-
gence and their skill and the prices
paid them per unit of work, are not
substantially less in Canada than they
lare in this country.
Is Platform Plank.
"In other words, the plank in the
platform of the last Republican con-
vention carried to it's logical conclu-
sion would lead TO substantial free
trade with Canada.
"A reciprocity agreement is give
and take and my impression is that
when you examine closely this agree
lGent you viii congratulate yourselves
that We were able to make one that
covered so wide a range of subjects.
THE criticism that 1T is q manufac-
turers' agreement was called out by
The suggestion that We arc prompted
by manufacturers to avoid reduction
on any of their goods and is wholly
unfoundeG. The criticism in SO far
as ii POINTS to a limited scope of the
| agreement with reference TO reduc-
tions on manufactured goods is due to
the fact already stated that Canada
has herself better system OF pro-
| lection, that she fears the competf-
ton of our larger and better organ
ized industries and that she could not
| hope to secure a confirmation of the
| agreement by the parliament il the re
duction in duties on manufactured
goods was made any wider.
| "The truth is, as between Canada
| and ourselves reciprocity agreement