The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-11-28

Speaker Clark stated yesterday
that the next political campaign
would be fought on the tariff issue.
That means that the session of con-
gress which next Monday
will he devoted, so far as the Demo-
Gratis are concerned, to making CAM
paign material for use on the hust-
ings. The major portion of this ma
terial will he along free trade lines,
tho real policy and tariff history Of
the Democratic party.
Just to show the shams Of the DEM
ocrats in this line, the Times sug-
gests that the party reduce the tariff
on Yice. This is a southern agricul-
tural crop. and many Of the Demo-
cratic states are as much interested
in its growth as the west is in wheat.
In the Payne-Aldrich tariff law. the
duty on both cleaned and uncleaned
rice IL two cents q pound, while on
broken rico it is and a fourth
cents. 1t was the II under the
Dingley law. Now. rice is an article
Of food and finds a place on the
table Of nearly as many families as
any other cereal barring bread. If
the Democrats are sincere in their
pretensions OF giving the people
cheaper food; II their claims that the
tariff enhances the price Of the food
product in IN amount equal to the
tariff thereon: and II they r the
patriots they pretend to be-seeking
the public good regardless OF any
injury to themselves. Here is a splen-
did opportunity to demonstrate all
three propositions. Tho ad valorem
duty on cleaned rice is sixty-three
per cent; on uncleaned 1t is seventy
nine per cent. and on broken rice It
it flfty-eight per cent. During the
fiscal year ending June 80. 1907. We
imported SS60,370 worth Of cleaned
rice; s756,916 worth of u%ncleaned
rice, and s~2.754,397 worth of broken
rice. The total value Of the import
ed product was s~4,371.6s3. During
the same year we produced in this
country s16,296,916 worth Of rice. So
that W. import one-fourth the guam
tity consumed. Clearly We do not
produce enough to supply the con-
sumption. Therefore. according to
Democratic logic in Canadian reci-
procity, rice should be placed on the
free list. Not only this, but the DEM
ocrats assert that removing the tariff
on an article not only lowers the cost
of the imported article but the one
produced at home must be sold at the
same price as the imported one. This
is sensible-about the only thing in
Democratic tariff arguments that is.
Consequently the price which the
southern grower will receive for his
rice will be reduced from nearly fifty
to nearly eighty per cent. and the
consumers of rice will be the benefc.
iaries.
But the southern rice growers will
protest. They can not grow rice if
they do not have enough protection
on the imported article to keep the
home price up to a profit point. The
Republican party. with one single ex-
ception. claims that this protection
against import competition Is right,
II Democratic party, except when
the shoe pinches a Democratic con-
s%tituency. says 1t is wrong. What
meets 1t. however, If the Democrats
are honest in their ~pretensions of
tariff REFORM" who is hurt? What
meets 1t if the rice growers Of the
out are bankrupt and ruined? Let
the Democrats prove their honesty or
quit preaching a sham and a lie.
The housewife need not withhold
her order for rice III the hope that
the Democratic party will emove the
duty thereon. They won't do 1t. Yet
every Democratic speaker next year
from Governor Burke up will tell the
people how they have labored for
their good and been kept in check by
the Republicans. They will not tell
what they know. that If rice were put
on h free list by the Democrats
there would not be a Democratic con-
gresham elected from a rice growing
state-hide-bound as the southern
Democrats are.
The Times believes in a tariff on
rice just as 1t believes in a tariff on
every farm produced commodity in
the country-just as 1t believes in a
duty on wheat and barley and fax
and hoge and cattle and wool and
sheep. The farmer is the foundation
OF the protective wealth Of the ma
tion and he is entitled to protection
against the cheaper-produced farm
products of foreign countries whether
he is producing rice in Texas or wheat
in North Dakota. The Democrats do
not believe in this protection but they
90 not dare try their theories on the
Of the stronghold of Dcmoc-
rac%.