The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-12

 | Canada.
 l The President explained it was thought | wiser on behalf of both the governments not to make formal treaty but to make | an agreement between the executives by which each exercising his constitutional | power in his government should submit | the agreement in a form of a statute to | be enacted and to go into force on con dition that a similar statute was passed | by the legislature of the other country" | He said in part:
 Countries Can Withdraw
 This form of agreement between the two countries makes it one from which either country can withdraw St will by | simply changing the statute by new legiS- lation. But if the identical statute Is | adopted in both countries as long as 1t re- | mains unamended in either the agreement | is in force. "I am protectionist. That | is. I believe there are certain industries | in this country which need the encourag- ing effect of tariff legislation upon inn | ports from foreign countries to enable | them to pay good wages and furnish a reasonable profit to those who engage Tn | them. The difference in conditions which ] generally make this tariff necessary IS the | lower price of labor in the foreign coun- try as compared with the price of labor in our own. The country has been on rrotection basis nearly all the time since 1Se1 and the tremendous strides in in- dustrial progress which it has made seems to me to vindicate the wisdom of the policy.
 s.There was a time when leading re- publicans thought there was no danger of having a tariff higher than necessary to protect any industry. It was thought that if the country was made dependent on manufactures behind the tariff wall the competition between the members would stimulate the reduction in the cost of production and thus reduct the prlce But the temptation to combine by Wnich the price could be controlled and thus the excessive tariff taken advantage or led Ito a modification of the protection theory and declaration that the pro lection of any industry ought not to exceed in the tariff imposed more than the difference between the cost of pro duction abroad and the cost of produc- ton here and enough to give fa1r profit to the domestic producer or man. ufacturer This limitation of the pro- lection theory necessarily took away any grounds for a tariff between this coun- try and any country in which the con United States and Canada are supstan- = tally the same. The conditions of pro- auctions and of manufacture in the United States and Canda are substan- Odlly the same. wages may diiACi iii o'AS part of Canada from another part just as wages differ in different states in this country, but the character of the laborers. their intelligence and their skill and the price paid them per unit of work are not substantially less in Canada than they are in this country.
 Leads to Free Trade
 ''In other words, the plank in the plat 1p Ina lo ct convention carried to dts logicaI conclusion would lead to substantial free trade with Can- ada.
 iti- -',@t n view stil adhering totally and sincerely to the principles of protection where it is needed to maintain cur important industries, ' did not hes itate to give the widest latitude to the secretary of the state and the commits sioners who represented this country in offering to Canada a reduction in duties of goods and products coming into this country from Canada in consideration of the establishment of the same duty or freedom of duty on similar goods go- ing into Canada. I say this for the purpose of having it understood that in many cases where the agreement has been criticised for making greater con- sideraton we could not secure because in the judgment of our Canadian friends the trade or industry which they desired to foster would suffer by a greater res duction. This with respect to meatss we would have been glad to put them on the free list. Canada objected and We obtained the best figures we could "A reciprocity agreement is give and take. and my impression that when you examine closely this agreement you will congratulate ourselves that we were able to make that cover so wide range of subjects"
 The President declared the criticism that reductions had been avoided pur- pose1y on manufactured articles was | wholly unfounded and that a reciproc- | ity agreement between the United States and Canada must of necessity relate more to agricultural products than to manufactures. "The sugges- | ton of the opening of our markets to Canadian wheat and other cereals, continued the President. will reduce the price of land in Ohio, Illinois, In | diana and Iowa. is refuted by every table of statistics and presents the comparative increase of land in those states under the influence of the open ing of the wheat fields of the states further west
 Effect Upon Wheat
 ITO let the wheat of the northwest come down to Minneapolis and Chi cago will steady the price of wheat, will prevent It's fluctuations, will make much more difficult speculations and will furnish us greater insurance against short crops and high prices. | But that 1t will in the end substantially reduce the price of wheat which Is fixed for the world in Liverpool, no one ia miliar with the conditions will assert. | "It will give to the United States must greater control of the wheat mar + at ba ha hoI hof will enable its milling plants to turn Canadian wheat into flour and send abroad the finished product and it will | stimr,ate the sale of manufactures and other thugs that we have to sell to | Canada" ff
 | The President further asserted in re- moving the artificial barriers between | the United States and Canada the agreement would result in the bring l ing over of live cattle to feed on the corn of the American farmer. He added that the rapid increase of population in the United States required a source of food supply like Canada, right at our doors. ,fs We shall be blind, indeed" said the l President. If we reject this golden oppor- tunity to add to the strength and vitali- l ty of our country by thus increasing our selves supporting capacity. We do not annex Canada particularly, but she and we do become united commercially in such way as to add great strength to | both"
 | The President asserted that no step