Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-06-09
Addresses The Cotton Seed
CrusherS Convention.
Gives His Views on That In
dusiIy and Reciprocity.
An interesting Exposition from the
Presidents Viewpoint.

| New York. June s.-The bill, the
whole bill and nothing but the bill.
Thus President Taft summed up an
earnest plea for the unamended pas
sage by the Senate of the Canadian
reciprocity agreement before repre-
sentative assemble of Southern men
today. The occasion was a banquet
| rendered by the New York Produce
| Exchange to the Interstate Cotton Seed
| Crushers Association at the Hotel
Aston. The big banquet hall resound-
ed with a roaring welcome for the
President. when he entered the room
| shortly after 10 o'clock.
The Chief Executive pointed out to
| the Southerners the advantages which
| their section would derive from the
enactment of the agreement with Can
ada. But he did not neglect his broad
| er argument for the bill, namely that
of general national interest, which he
has made familiar in his other speeches
on the subject. There was no ques-
tioning the sympathy of the big bulk
of his auditors with the President
views. From the start every mention
of the word Reciprocity was greeted
with cheers and the President at times
had difficulty in proceeding. He voiced
decided objection to amendment of the
bill in the way of the farmers free list
bill because such a course. he said,
would drive from support of the reci-
procity agreement enough votes to de-
feat it.
At the banquet of the Interstate Cot
ton Seed Crushers' Association here to-
night at the Hotel Aston. President
Taft spoke as follows:
Gentlemen of the Cotton Seed in
dustry
II shall not detain you long this eve
| ming. My message is short. You repre-
sent a branch of the farming indus
try of this country in which we have
a practical monopoly. Cotton is grown
in Egypt and in India and in some 9TH
er parts of the world-but the great
| crop which determines the price in tho
world each year is the cotton crop of
the Southern states of the United
States. Your branch of that industry.
to wit: The collecting and treatment
of the cotton seed and it's expression
| into oil, and the sale of the oil. is COM
paratively new. For years and years
| the cotton seed was thrown away and
| it's value to the producer of cotton and
to the public in general was not I'M
derstood. Now the cotton seed product
| figures in every calculation made with
respect to the cultivation of cotton: and
| there has been added by the proper
| treatment of the cotton seed a new
source of food supply and d gainfui
occupation. that needs, and can find,
| a market the world over. Cotton seed
| oil is one of the best of the edible oils.
| 1t is competitor of live oil and of
peanut oil. and the question of its sale
| is much affected by trade agreements
and the tariffs of countries with which
we do business. it,
'It has been the good fortune of our
government within the last few years.
and especially during this administra-
ton to enlarge the market for cotton
seed oil and the Canadian import duty
| upon cotton seed OIL which was 20
per cent. before the passage of tho
Payne tariff BILL is reduced, under the
| maximum and minimum clause, to 17E
| per cent, that is, a reduction of one
eighth of the duty. In the, negotiation
| of the reciprocity treaty, however, We
secured the admission of cotton seed
oil into Canada without duty. The
growth of the trade is as follows:
In 1905 the value of the cotton seed
oil introduced into Canada from the
| United States was $4,000: in 1906,
| $S10,000 in 1907, $376000: in 1908, $685.
| o06: in 1903, 100000; in 1910, sS07 900 and
| in 1911. s1,0i7, 0oo-each year ending
| March 81. This means a total export to
Canada of more than 2,O50,000 gallons OF
| this oil.
with the complete removal of the
duty, We may expect the trade great
~ to increase, not only because II
will become less expensive in Canada
but because it will thus give cotton
seed oil an advantage over its com
petitors-olive oil and peanut oil
L have gone into detail with refer
| ence to the effect of the reciprocity
agreement in order to arouse your
selfish interests, and to give point tc
an appeal to you to aid, through
your senator's and representatives in
congress, the passage of the reciproc-
ity Canadian agreement But there
are other selfish reasons for men who
have the business interests of the
South at heart that ought to add to
your efforts in Behalf of the reciproc-
ity agreement. Under the treaty vege-
tables and fruits of all kinds enter
Canada free. One of the greatest
branches of the farming industry In
the south today is truck farming and
the bringing of early vegetables to the
North The same thing is true of
fruits and berries. With the intro
duction of these free into Canada. you
Continued on Page Two.)