The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-03-30
FRANK E. HOWE, Editor and Pub
DlLLlNeHAM's VIEWS

Al meeting or the Montpelier ,
board of trade Tuesday night Sena-
tor Dillingham; delivered an address
in which he comes out strongly
against President Tafts proposed
reciprocity agreement with Canada.
The Banner today prints an abstract
of Senator Dillinghams remarks, but
is not able to print the entire address
which would fill sixteen to eighteen
columns of The Banner.
The chief points of his argument
are that the agreement is not what it
claims to be, for the reason that its
provisions are much more favorable
to Canada than to the United States,
and that the arrangement would in
jure American farmers without CIV
ing them any compensating advant-
ages.
While The Banner does not agree
with Senator Dillingham; in his views
on reciprocity any more than it did
with his vote in favor of Senator Lor-
liner and against the election of
United States senators by popular
vote, we do believe In his honesty and
sincerity on this and all other ques-
tons. Senator Dillingham's charac-
ter and integrity are above reproach
or suspicion For twenty-five years
prominent in public life he is today as
poor as he was twenty-five years
ago. He is a man OF whom every
Vermonter may be proud Whether
we agree with him or not on public
questions. we admire him for his
christian character, his personal puri.
ty and his devotion to what he be-
lieves to be right The Banner has
often criticised Senator Dillingham's
acts in the Senate and probably will
again but we have never even sus-
pected him of an Interior motive or
selfish or dishonest purpose.
Senator Dlllingham's mistakes are.
we believe. due to his readiness to be-
lieve his friends and associates to be
as sincere and unselflsh as he himself
is. Senator Dillingham; is the son of
a former governor OF Vermont. He
was brought up in home OF at least
moderate luxury His friends and as
sociates through life have been in the
main men of means. men of standing
land social position, men OF culture
and mental activity A lifetime Of
this kind Of associates has made it
harder and harder for him to under
stand the attitude OF the great rank
and file Of the people.
He is not and we doubt IL he ever
was good mixer. He never knew
what 1t was to try to bring up fam
lily on ten or twelve dollars a week
and now as great crisis of the ma
tons history is approaching he fails
to appreciate the growing hardships
OF the millions OF toilers on whom the
safety and progress OF the republic
depends. Year by year the dividendi
OF the rich are being piled up-yeal
by year the earning capacity OF tn,
poor mans dollar is growing less.
Senator Dillingham's friends ar,
largely of the leisure class. They Sc,
che situation through the eyes OF tn,
protected manufactures. the banker
the investor, the stakeholder OF cor
l porate interests. the conseryatlv,
men who fear any change from IN,
existing order OF things. They ar,
strongly even bitterly opposed to an,
break in the high tariff wall bull
around their dividend producinI
plants. They see in reciprocity
breach in the wall. wherefore the,
are opposed to reciprocity.
And they asking the farmers L
pull their chestnuts out OF the FIRE
knowing that the farmer. next to tn
banker, is the most easily scared In
dividual whom the sun shines upon
They do not tell the farmer that III
only cheap lands left In Canada ar
the grain lands and that the grail
market is a world market and not
market in any way In the control O
the United States. tariff or no tariff
They do not tell the farmer that ov
Ing to the advantages OF latitude an
climate the general advantage Is a
with the farmers OF the states. The
do not tell the farmers that the avail
able surplus OF farm labor In Canad
! Is so small that II they worked fc
nothing they could not notIceabl
affect the price Of farm product
They do not tell the farmers that n
average price OF farm products
Canada is as high as In the Stat,
and therefore II does not stand to re
son that they will undersoll America
farmers on this side Of tho lin
They do not tell the farmers IN
even now Vermont milk il bell
shipped into Montreal every day al
= paying duty showing as II does IN
i Canada has not surplus OF dairy pi
ducts to send here They do not I,
the farmers that since Senator Pag,
letter asking for opinions was pril
ed protected manufacturers are ms
Ing an Organized effort thron,b =,