The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1911-08-10
BITTER FIGHT OVER
DUTY ON LEMONS

farmer ana Irultgrower is likely to
feel that he is too often Disseminated
against by the railroads, by the tariff,
by the commission men, by almost ev.
eryone with whom he comes into con-
tact. He has SO long been pictured as
"rube' who readily buvs Ueen
goods and gold bricks that he is tempt.
ed to think, at times, that even Uncle
Sam looks on him in that light. For
years the farmers have been asking
Tor the same measure Of protection in
the tariff that has been accorded free
ly to the laboring man and the manu-
facturer. Has he got itf Not always,
Occasionally the man who tills the
soil has got something but it has been
hard won, and no sooner did he get
it than powerful forces were arrayed
to snatch it away from him.
Take concrete case. In Florida
and California the climate was found
to be suitable for growing oranges
and lemons. Enterprising pioneers in
both states took un the new lines
with enthusiasm. They met with
many discouragements and setbacks.
There were insect pests, frosts,
droughts, scarcity and high cost of
labor, unknown problems to solve,
years to wait for returns, and compe-
tition from foreign lands when other
problems had all been reduced and sue
cess achieved. Orange growing reach
ed state where the home growers
controlled the market and competition
was little feared. Lemon growing con-
tinued to be hard fight although the
problem Of producing q better lemon
than the imported had been solved and
so per cent Of the home market was
supplied by homegrown lemons. The
extension of the market was checked
because the importers, with cheap
home labor and cheap ocean freights,
could, and did, keep the American
fruit from reaching the seaboard
whenever they wished to do so. Con-
gress wanted to give the American
growers an even break, and added
one-half cent per pound to the tariff
on lemons, or about one and one-third
cents a dozen, one-eighth Of cent ON
each lemon. During the hottest por-
tion of the summer lemons sold in
Washington at 10 and 20 cents a doz-
en-. No one found any complaint with
this except the italian importers in
New York City. They started in at
once to raise a slush fund to tight 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 be-
lief that it was being wronged, and to
influence congress to remove the tar
if on lemons. Congressman were an
pealed to by the agents of the import
ers, the pushcart men and the retail
| fruit dealers. Untruthful petitions
were circulated, so untruthful that
their mendacity was evident at q
glance. One form of petition refers
to the "burdensome duty on lemons, /"
| alleged to be "for the purpose Of
doubling the wealth OF ten or dozen
millionaires of California, and also
for the purpose Of paying the wages
of tens Of thousands Of Japanese SOL
diers who exclusively monopolize the
labor of the California lemon orchards,
thus depriving American laborers Of
opportunity Of labor and wages
This is very absurd, as well as false.
To patronize the foreign lemon grow
ers and steamship companies would be
better, the importers think than to
patronize American railroads, Ameri.
can orchardists and American labor
Japanes are employed to a very small
extent in the region 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
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and
Georgia.
Such petitions as those just referred
to have been circulated at Atlantic
coast summer resorts by "barkers,' -
such as those who attract attention To
the shows at seaside amusement parks
Posters have also been displayed by
these Sicilian agents charging the
"hight cost Of living' on the lemon
tariff, which would not cost the aver.
age person one cent in year, If any
thing at all, for lemons have actually
been cheaper this year than they were
before the duty was increased, 30 that
the dealers (who are really at the
mercy of the importers), are promi,
ing a great deal If they promise to re-
duce the cost Of lemons in case the
present tariff is repealed.
The fact 10 that the duty was not q
serious burden to the importers until
very recently because the execution
Of the customs regulations permitted
them to claim, and to obtain, rebate
for alleged rotten fruit, amounting
sometimes to fifty per cent Of the
cargo, which they were clever enough
to sell afterwards as frst-class, second
fruit. This has been stopped. A close
observer in Washington said re-
Gently:
"What the government has lost in
customs frauds will never be known,
but as Collector VIM. Loeb, Jr., has
shown at New York alone, the sum
must reach many millions of dollars.
Importers have shown the greatest
cunning as well as unscrupulousness.
They have had to refund millions of
dollars to the treasury department.
Some of the italian importers were