Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-02
The TARIFF BOARD.
III-PAST REPORTS.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

The tariff board has heretofore made
two general reports. one dealing with
wood pulp and news print paper and the
other with articles affected by the pro-
posed reciprocity agreement with Can
ada. The latter report was made In an
swer to resolution Of the Senate call
ing for information in the possession Of
the tariff board relating to articles affect
ed by the reciprocity measure. This re-
port gave to Congress certain information
regarding wood pulp and news print
paper, farm products, including live
stock; relative farm values and farm
wages in Canada and the United States,
and current prices in Canada and the
United States of wheat, barley, meats,
poultry. eggs. dairy products. vegetables
and other commodities produced on the
farm.
The resolution of the Senate called for
information on iron ore and the products
manufactured therefrom, on coal and on
on the wool and cotton schedules. The
tariff board replied that it had no in
formation on iron ore and its manufact-
ured products in form available for
transmission. 1t also replied that it had
not investigated the coal question and
that 1t had postponed investigations into
the lumber question until the bureau of
corporations had finished it's work, SO as
to avoid expensive duplication.
The report made on the question of
pulp and news print paper, although
preliminary one. was fairly full and the
facts reported thereafter in the complete
document did not materially alter the
showing made in the preliminary report.
The investigation into all matters per-
tanning to the farm was reported to Con-
gress in forty-eight pages. while 1t re-
quired seventy-six pages to analyze the
wood pulp and news print paper.
In considering the question of farm
products the tariff board roughly divided
Canada into two
Land Value Here parts, old Canada
and in Canada Old Old e Canada A's em-
braced the entire eastern section of the
country and British Columbia on the
Pacific. New Canada embraced in its d.
vision a considerable part of Manitoba
and the provinces of Saskatchewan and
Alberta. The conditions i'm old Canada
were like unto those obtaining in the
earlier settled regions Of the United
States. One of the first lines of investi-
cation was to find the relative prices of
farm lands in the United States and
Canada. 1t was found that in the New
England border states the land values
were lower than those in the Canadian
border states adjacent thereto. In the
border states Of Michigan, Wisconsin and
Minnesota land values were higher than
those in any Of the eastern provinces with
the exception Of Ontario. where they were
81 higher per acre than in Michigan and
Minnesota. On the other hand. land
values in Wisconsin were 81 higher than
those in Ontario. In Illinois and Iowa
land values are a little more than twice
as high as in Ontario.
1t was found that occupied land in
Saskatchewan and Alberta was worth So
and $40 per acre. respectively. The In
vestigations of the tariff board revealed
the fact that farm labor wages are on the
same general level in Manitoba and Min
nesota and in Saskatchewan and North
Dakota. The wages in North Dakota
and Saskatchewan were found to be high
er than those paid in Minnesota and Man.
itoba. 1t will be seen from this that
labor conditions show no greater varia-
ton between the United States and Can
ada than between the states OF the United
States themselves. and this was taken by
many to indicate that there was no need
of the imposition of tariff duties on
Canadian products coming into the United
States.
The investigation into the price of
wheat in Canada and the United States
showed that the Minneapolis prices Of
wheat averaged some cents above Win
nipeg prices. while Minneapolis prices
also averaged about cents above Kansas
City prices. The same general results
were shown in connection with the pro-
duction of other farm crops. In the case
of live stock the prices of horses in Can
ada, except in Prince Edward Island,
Manitoba and Nova Scotia, were higher
than in any one of the United States.
Dairy cows were also much more valua-
BILE in Canada than in the United States.
Other cattle made similar showing.
The report on Canadian reciprocity SIM
ply recited facts like those here given
and gave tables Of figures presenting re-
suits of the inquiries of the tariff board.
Nowhere in the report Is there any rec
concentration to Congress as to the In
depreciation of these figures.
After the tariff board made it's supple
mental report on wood pulp and print
paper and its report
Its Investigation on farm products 1t
of Print paner later submitted a
Va "P0A complete report Of its
into the production Of print
paper. These Investigations covered 116