Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1911-08-03
LEMONS AND THE TARIFF.
Fruit growers are supposed 70 ha

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an easy time but they have their
troubles. Take a concrete case. In
Florida and California the climate
was found to be suitable for growing
oranges and lemons Enterprisins
pioneers in both states took up the
new lines with enthusiasm. They
met with many discouragements and
setbacks There were insect pests
tfrosts, droughts, scarcity and high
cost Of labor, unknown problems to
solve, years to wait for returns, and
competition from foreign lands when
other problems had all been reduced
and success achieved. Orange grow
ling reached a stage where the home
growers controlled the market and
competition was little feared. Lemon
growing continued to be hard fight
although the problem Of producing
a better lemon than the imported had
been solved and SO per cent Of the
home market was supplied by home
grown lemons. The extension Of the
market was checked because the i'm
porters, with cheap home labor and
cheap ocean freights, could, and did,
keep the American fruit from reach
ling the seaboard whenever they
wished to do so. Congress wanted
to give the American growers an even
break, and added one-half cent per
pound to the tariff on lemons, or
one-eighth of cent on each lemon.
During the hottest portion Of the
summer lemons sold in Washington
at 10 and 20 cents a dozen. No one
found any complaint with this ex-
|cept the Italian importers In New
York City. They started in at once
to raise a slush fund to fight the
tariff. The growers in Sicily and
Italy agreed to pay from 5 to 10
cents on each box of lemons imported
into the United States to help fight
the tariff. They began a campaign
to arouse the American public to a
belief that 1t was being wronged, and
to influence congress to remove the
tariff on lemons. Congressman were
appealed to by the agents Of the i'm
porters, the pushcart men and the
retail fruit dealers. Untruthful Pc
titions were circulated so untruth-
full that their mendacity was evident
at a glance. One form OF petition
refers to the "burdensome duty on
lemons" alleged to be "for the pur-
pose of doubling the wealth of ten
or a dozen millionaires of California,
and also for the purpose of paying
the wages of tens Of thousands OF
japanese soldiers who exclusively
monopolize the labor Of the Califor-
mia lemon orchards, thus depriving
American laborers of opportunity Of
labor and wages" This Is very abb
surd, as well as false. To patronize
the foreign lemon growers and steam
ship companies would be better, the
importers think, than to patronize
American railroads, American or
chardists and American labor. Jap
anese are employed to a very small
extent where lemons grow. If there
were enough white labor they would
not be employed at all. Moreover,
oranges and lemons are now grown
in Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Mississ-
ippi and Georgia.
Such petitions as those just re-
ferred to have been circulated at At
lantic coast summer resorts by bark
ers," such as those who attract at
tention to the shows at seaside
amusement parks, and many small
boys signed them. Posters have also
been displayed by these Sicilian
agents charging the "high cost Of
living on the lemon tariff, which
would not cost the average person
one cent In a year, If anything at
all, for lemons have actually been
cheaper this year than they were be-
fore the duty was increased, SO that
the dealers (who are really at the
mercy Of the importers,) are prom
Using a great deal II they promise
to reduce the cost of lemons in case
the present tariff is repealed.
The fact Is that the duty was not
a serious burden to the importers
until very recently because the execu-
ton of the customs regulations per-
mitted them to claim, and to OBJ
tain, rebate for alleged rotten fruit,
amounting sometimes to fifty per
cent of the cargo. which they were
clever enough to sell afterwards as
rst-class, sound fruit. This has
been stopped. A close observer in
Washington said recently:
"what the government has lost