Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-05
President Answers Objections
to Reciprocity.
SPEECH AT INDIANAPOLIS
Declares the United States Needs
the Treaty.
OUTLINES THE ADVANTAGES
Proposed Agreement, He Says, Is in
Line With Views of Blaine
and Mckinley.

INDIANAPOLIS, July 5-Under a siz-
cling sun. that sent the government Their
mometer to IS. three degrees higher than
at the same hour Monday, and the
kiosh to 10 degrees, President Taft was
cheered by one of the largest crowds that
ever gathered in Indianapolis as he went
from the home of former Vice President
Fairbanks to the stand in Monument
place to review the safe and sane Fourth
of July parade.
For an hour bands. military orsaniza-
tions and floats passed before the Presi-
dent, All the flags were dipped and many
OF the marching delegations dotted their
hats to the chief executive, who returned
| their salutes with bows and smiles
Following the parade the President was
taken to the Marion Club for an informal
reception. at which he made a brief talk
| From the Marion Club he was taken at
noon to the Columbia Club for luncheon
The President also took in the athletic
| contests at the American Association ball
park.
In the evening the President was the
guest of the Marion Club at a banquet
and made one of the principal speeches of
his trip. He chose Reciprocity as his
! subject.
Discusses Canadian Treaty.
President Taft said: T have had occa-
| sion elsewhere to say that the three sub
| Jects in which | have recently been most
greatly interested are not party issues
! Certainly this Is true Of universal arbi-
tration and Of the plan of the monetary
commission for the reform of our cur
rency and banking systems. With respect
| to reciprocity. however, l find that there
| Is a. disposition by some republicans to
| dispute the proposition that republicans
| can consistently support the adoption of
the present agreement made for this pur
/ pose with the Canadian government.
| 1t IS said that this kind of reciprocity
| Is not republican reciprocity. 1t is said
| that this reciprocity covers competitive
| products of each country. and that the
| reciprocity of former republican leaders
| was intended to include only a lowering
or abolition of duties on products of other
countries which did not compete with
products of this country. Therefore, IT is
| said that the Canadian reciprocity as now
| proposed is nothing but a democratic
measure, reducing or abolshing the tariff
! on goods or products from Canada that
| compete with those raised by our own
!! people, and that II is especially injurious
| because it is So drawn as prejudcially to
| affect the farmers of the country a
/ class
THE republican party In their last ma
tional platform declared in favor of tariff
duties which would measure only the dlf-
| ference in the cost of production of arti-
cles here and of articles abroad. In other
| Words the sound republican doctrine has
become the imposition of duties only
| where the conditions are naturally I'M
equal. and where duties are necessary in
| order to enable our manufacturers and
| other producers to meet on a. level the
competition of foreign producers. The
| Canadian reciprocity agreement which
has been made squares exactly with this
| doctrine.
Refuted by the Record.
THE contention that reciprocity was
never advocated by republican leaders so
as to include competing products is re-
futed by the record of history. Mr..
Blaine, who is regarded as the father of
reciprocity. attempted to secure an
| amendment to one of the tariff laws in
which the subjects for repicrocity men,
toned i'm the amendment were almost all
of them articles in which the foreign
countries would compete with us in our
own markets. More than this, McKih-
! ley, who was the second leader as to
reciprocity, and who delivered his last
speech in it's favor just before his tragic
death. had negotiated a number of reci-
procity treaties, in all Of which the du-
| ties were reduced or abolished on a
number of products which would COM
pete in our markets with those of our
own production. The truth is. If you will
| read the last speech of Mckinley. you
will see that he speaks in this connection
| of duties which have become unneces-
| sary. and that might well be abolished
BY that he meant duties which could be
taken off of commodities, foreign COM
petition in which we could safely meet in
| our own markets.
Another answer to the objection of
| republican friends who denounce Cana
dian reciprocity as heresy is that the
| amount Of competition which is to take
place in our markets between Canadian
products and those of the United States
| under this agreement is very much less
| than they would by their general state
ments have you believe. In the first
place, they say that by free trade In
| agricultural products we are giving
them a market of 100000 people and
taking only market of S.OOO.OOO people
for the same things, and that neces-
| sarily they derive greater advantages
AS matter OF fact. in the vast bulk Of
our agricultural products they can fur
nish no competition whatever, while this
agreement admits all our products free
into Canada.
Enlarges Reservoir of Supplies.
ut is said that this Canadian reciproc-
ity agreement is made wholly at the ex-
pense Of the farmers, and only in the in
terest Of those who would have farm
products at a less price. to wit: the wage
earners of the large cities. 1t is my own
judgment that the reciprocity agreement
will not greatly reduce the cost of living,
| II at ALL It will. however, steady prices
| by charging the reservoir of supplies for
those things that are raised in both coun-
tries, and it will make more remote the
possibility of cornering commodities and
extortine excessive prices for them from
| the public.
1T is mistake to say. however. that
this agreement is not in the interest OF
the farmers. Let US examine the statis-
| tics and see. The free list is made up
almost entirely of agricultural products.
| The amounts of expectation from this
country to Canada at present in the ar
| ticles covered and affected by the reci-
procity agreement was for the fiscal year
ended March 81, 1910, $4S,OOOOOO. and tine
| duties paid on those articles was some
| thing more than $7,SO0.OOO
1.-The expectation of these same articles
| into Canada for the year ended March 81,
| 1911, was $6i.O3O.OOO, and the duties levied
and collected were $1O.5O0.OOO. The in
| crease, in other words. was about $4,000.
GOO last year. and the additional duties
| collected were about s. 100000. There
seems little doubt that for the current
year the United States trade covered by
reciprocity will reach $75.OOO.OOO and the
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