The Washington times., 1911-02-04
SENATE INSURGENTS
AGAINST TRADE PACT
Oppose Canadian Agreement
on Ground 1t Aids Spe-
cial Interests.

Trouble for the reciprocity arrange,
ment with Canada is beginning to loon
up in the Senate on account OF the at
titude of the Senate insurgents.
While the Republican insurgents have
not yet announced what they will dc
as to reciprocity, whether they will be
for it or against 1t, there is strong
reason to believe they will come out
against 1t.
Conferences are being held among the
Republican insurgent Senators and q
program doubtless Will be made known
in a short time. One reason why a def
mite policy has not been made known
before this is that Senator La Toilette
has been out of the city. He has been
in Wisconsin, where the Legislature
lately reelected him, and has just re-
turned to Washington.
The Republican insurgents in the Sen
ate are working pretty closely together
these days. They are generally found
operating in concert. 1t is to be ex-
pected they will take this course as to
reciprocity.
Beveridge for Pact.
Senator Beveridge already has come
but it does not follow from this that
his insurgent colleagues will do so.
Senator Beveridge spoke out for reci-
procity in the Indiana campaign last
fall and so when the President an
nounced the terms of the agreement
Senator Beveridge at once came out in
support of the measure.
On the other hand, there are substan-
tial reasons for thinking the insur-
gents will band together to oppose the
reciprocity arrangement, at least in the
form in which it now is. This is likely
10 be done on the ground that the agree
ment is one that will work out to the
benefit of great special interests rather
than the public generally.
OF course, it will not be charged that
President Taft is responsible for these
alleged deficiencies in the agreement.
But it will be charged that somehow
or other the agreement is going to
work out to the advantage of the trusts.
Steel Trust to Benefit.
Thus, It will be urged that one of
the chief concerns that gets its products
into Canada at lower duties under the
arrangement is the United States Steel
Corporation. Another thing that will be
objected to is that the agreement does
not provide for free lumber, but only
for free rough lumber, which is not
what the public is engaged in consum-
ing. Another objection Is that while
food animals are planned to be ad-
mitted free, the duties are not taken
off, though they are lowered on meat
products.
May Cry Inconsistency.
It may be anticipated that the insur-
gents will have little to say about the
agreement providing for free trade for
the farmer. Most of them are estopped
from saying much on this score because
they have been talking about the duties
on agricultural articles not doing the
farmer any good. Rather, they will
take the position that if a reciprocal
arrangement is desired which will cut
down prices for the consumer, then
there should be free admission, or ad-
mission at very low rates, of articles in
the form in which the public uses them.
1t may be expected that if the Senate
insurgents take this attitude they will
be assailed right and left for incon-
sistency. They will reply to this tina
because lIle administration arrange
ment is called a reciprocity compact,
this compact cannot be accepted on ac-
count of its name and without inquir-
ing whether it is the sort of reciprocity
the insurgents have been advocating
No surprise need be felt If it is found
in a short time that Senators La Fol-
lette, CUmminS, Clapp. Borah, Bristow,
and Gronna are lined up in substan-
TALLY the position which has here been
indicated.
If the views held by some of the in
surgent Senators are adopted, it will
doubtless be made to appear that the
agreement has been sent to Congress in
ill-adVised fashion and rather with the
object of putting the insurgents in a
hole than to get reciprocity measure
passed. The fact of the matter is that
most of the insurgent Senators have
farming constituencies, and, whether
they admit 1t or not, they are convinced
the farmers will resent the agreement.