Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1909-1915, 1911-05-26


THE oRTHERN & FARMER AND
\ EclPRoc GIT
B III spite of the strenuous efforts that
have been put forth to persuade the
northwestern farmer that the passage
Of the Canadian recipro city bill VIII in
jure him, the average farmer in this
section refuses to become excited over
the prospect, and as the subj lis stud
led in its broader aspect it becomes
more and more plain that instead of
being Injured he will be benefited, in
common with the general po pulation of
the country. This Is. true OF every,
great forward movement, ana II Is true
of this one. :. Y ~ 4.
It has been shown that the duty on
wheat imports into this country is,
year in and year out, Of no appreciate
benefit to the northern farmer. In
any case the difference between Am
erican prices and Canadian prices Of
wheat in localities where the condi-
lions are similar is very slight, and it
has been shown conclusively that of
this differ nce, when it exists, only a
very small fraction at most can be at
tributed to the tariff. \ It has been
shown that in So far as the tariff af-
fects wheat prices, Its effect will rath-
er be to enhance the Canadian price
by increasing the facilities Of the Can.
adian farmer for marketing his crop
than to depress the price of American
wheat. This Is true of flax 1t is
true of practically all our grain crops
with the possible exception Of barley
and it is we'll known fact that bar
ley is grown in this state more; for a
cleaning or catch crop for feed than
for mailing purposes. .>5.5.ss.
What of the other and far more i'm
portant features Of northern farming.
Northwestern Canada is growing. by
leaps and bounds. It is bound to grow,
regardless of anything that we can do
1t will grow for the simple and suff-
cient reason that it offers cheap homes
to the multitude. One result of that
far western growth is to create large
cities. Winnipeg, less than half the
distance from us of Minneapolis, Is ap-
preaching the 100000 mark. Within a
very few years it will be a city with a
population of half million. Those
people must be fed. Who is to feed
them? Who feeds Winnipeg now? Not
the Canadian northwest. The north
west furnishes wheat, it is true, but
man does not live by bread alone. The
people of Winnipeg need meat and
eggs and vegetables, and all the scores
of things that come under the head OF
small farm and dairy products. And
the western homesteader does not sup
ply them. The homesteader never did,
and probably never will have, a sur
plus Of these things. He is too busy
breaking tough sod to bother with
small farming, and even If it were so,
he cannot make success of small
farming His Land is not suited for it..
1t still has the Indian in it, and it
must be tanned. He is far from rail-
roads, and his roads are bad. Those CO.
operative activities by means of which
alone the small farm can be made to
yield its best profit are impossible to
him, for his neighbors are few, and
such things as creameries and cheese
factories are with him impossible. So
Winnipeg buys most Of her food, not
from the west, but from the east. On
tario and Quebec are the sources Of
supply. Why net North Dakota and
northern Minnesota? Simply because
the tariff stands in the way. We can
not get our stuff across; the line with
out paying a tax On it. Would it mean
nothing to our farmers to have a sec
opd st. Paul and Minneapolis, with a
second Chicago in prospect within 70
miles of our state line? ~ 4.
| The Canadian northwest does. not
produce horses for sale. 1t will pro.
| duce no horses for generation or
| more. The conditions throughout, that
vast section are Identical with the
conditions in this section 80 years ago.
1t was tyears after the first homestead:
ers came here before the raising OF
horses was even thought of as a prac:
teal business enterprise. Horses were
shipped in here by the train load, and
it was almost impossible for the south.
ern horse men to meet the demand
The breaking and cultivation of new
land used up inca1cuIable quantities Oh
horsefesh. Who Is supplying the hors
es? The farmers Of Ontario, chiefly
The duty operates to shut out the Am
4 prfcan horse from that marknf !. :Tfpor