The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-14

wise statesnanship of President Taft. There seems at this time every pros
 pect that the Reciprocity agreement will receive at an early day the sane tion of Congress, and it is hoped that similar approval by the Canadian Par hament may shortly follow.
 It is true that the present reciprocity
 treaty does not give complete freedom of trade between the two countries; but it is a long step in that direction, and with public experience of the ben efits of such commercial exchange,
 there is little doubt that popular sent1-
 ment will in no long time favor the tearing away of the rest of the tariff barriers
 There is no more reason to doubt that the United States as well as Can- ada would benefit by such an exten- sion of the field of trade than there
 is to doubt that it Is benefit to have no tariff barrier to obstruct trade be- | tween New England and the Middle States, or between Illinois and Iowa or between the cotton growers of the South and the textile mills of the | North.
 We are aware that the Reciprocity treaty is opposed by some of the Ca l nadian manufac cturers in Ontario and elsewhere on similar grounds to those 1 long used to bolster up the protective system in the United States. It is | said that Canada ought to develop it's own manufacturing industries, and not rely upon the United States for man | ufactured goods.
 But there is reason to believe that | if all artificial barriers to trade be- tween the two countries were removed, Canadian manufacturing industry | might find even greater prosperity | than at present. A manufacturing g
 plant in Canada could find markets south of the border and not be linn l ited as now to @ comparatively mar i row market
 1 The spread of manufacturing indus try in the United States during the past half century, through the opera. | tiOn of natural economic laws is a proof of the fact that manufacturing
 plants will grow up in prosperous new sections of the country in defiance of l competition from the older sections. Up to the middle of the last century the bulk of the manufacturing indus try of the United States was concen- trated in New England. Today States | like Ohio and Indiana and Illinois, which were purely agricultural States at that time, are among the leaders in manufacturing industry. The value | of goods produced by Illinois factories in 1909 was $1.91s. .0O0, ,O0O. according to l U. S. Census figures just made public. The spread of manufacturing in the l South and the far West has taken
 place with no artificial stimulus. | Doubtless. there may be cases of temporary individual hardship to Ca | nadian manufacturing enterprises i which have been established under the protection of the Canadian tariff; but | in the long run manufactures will de- | velop in Canada to a vast extent, even | if absolute free trade is established ed with the United Sta tes. Under mod ern conditions, manufacturing industry | goes where cheap and reliable labor supply is obtainable, where climatic conditions are favorable, where raw
 materials are convenient of access, where transportation facilities are good. Canada's enormous water pow CT, it's advanta ges of water transpor- tation by the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, it's wealth of natural
 resources in forests, minerals and az ricultural products, and it's supply of intelligent labor ensure a great future
 for, the Canadian manufacturing in- l dustry, regardless of United States comp mpetition
 It may not be Inappropriate to add that in the after-dinner speech above 1 referred to, the idea was emphasized | that commercial union between the l two countries ought not to be opposed | through any fear that it might be an
 entering wedge for political union. | Canada can govern itself, and solve
 its own political problems great deal | better than the United States can solve | them for it. The United States has all the political problems of it's own | that it cares for or can we'll deal with. | Political union of the two countries
 would be a disaster to both
 | One of the great object-lessons | which the United States has taught
 the world is the advantage of local | self-government. Just as the separ- ate States of the Union can solve each its own problems for itself better than | they can be solved for it at Washing ton, so Canada can handle her own
 internal affairs great deal better
 than they could be handled for her
 eithed by the National Congress at Washington or by an Imperial Parlia- ment at Westminster