Evening star., 1911-06-04
Opposition In Farmers Behalf.

| 'The third class of opponents to the
bill are those who claim vociferously to
| represent the whole farming industry of
| the United States. This. of course, Is a
| much more formidable opposition than
the special interests to which I have
referred, and 1t is but natural that these
special interests should be found Coop
Grating with those who claim to repre-
| sent the farming interest in arousing
the farmer to the horrors and disasters
| that are to follow reciprocity.
THE employment of q New York city
| firm. skilled in sending circulars, Is not
the subject of proper criticism. provided
the statements made in the circulars are
reasonable and well founded. The sig
| nificance of the fact that this same New
York firm Is looking for financial as
sistance in the campaign they are car
rying on in behalf Of the farmers against
reciprocity, not only to the grangers. but
also to gentlemen interested in lumber.
in the manufacture of the print paper
and in other manufactures. cannot es-
cape the attention of the public.
How is the farmer to be affected
by Canadian reciprocity and free trade
in agricultural products? Canada is
SO far north that her agricultural prod
uctS are limited to wheat, rye, barley,
oats. potatoes. live cattle. horses and
dairy products. She cannot and does
not raise more than one-sixth of 1 per
cent of the corn crop of the United
States She raises no cotton; she raises
but few vegetables: she raises but few
hogs, because she has not the corn to
feed them with; she is at present a
great importer of all fruits, citrus and
otherwise, from the United States; she
imports large amount Of cottonseed
oil. which. by the Canadian reciprocity
treaty, is now made free: she cannot
the United States. and. therefore, it
has become profitable for farmers to
import young cattle from Canada. even
with the duty on them. and to fatten
them for the Chicago market.
''The United States imports into Cana
da a great many more horses than she ex-
ports from the Canadians. She sends
TO Canada a much larger amount OF
potatoes than she receives from her
The United States imports into Canada
dairy products as Canada imports into
the United States.
Effect on Wheat.
THE only real importation of agricultu-
raj products that we may expect from
Canada of any considerable amount will
consist of wheat. barley. rye and oats
The world price Of these four cereals is
fixed abroad, where the surplus from the
producing countries is disposed of. and
Is little affected by the place from which
the supply is derived. Canadian wheat
nets, perhaps, ten cents less bushel to
the producer than wheat grown in the
Dakotas or in Minnesota, due to the fact
| that the cost of exporting that wheat
and warehousing it and marketing it In
| the cost to the Dakota farmer of dis
| posing of his wheat to the millers OF
minneapolis sending it abroad.
| IF now the duty is to be taken off OF
Il yuh nd fha N yxyha
/ to the milers OF Minnesota and other
lplaces 1t can and will be made into -four,
because the capacity of the United States,
| mills is 33 per cent greater than Is needed
| to mill the wheat of this country. Cana
| dian wheat can be imported and ground
into flour without materially reducing
| the demand for or price of United States
wheat, and the surplus Will be sent
| abroad as flour. The pr1ce Of Canadian
| wheat doubtless will be increased a few
cents by access to the market nearer at
hand. but the access to the market nearer
| at hand will not reduce the price of nfs
| wheat to the United States farmer 10,
| the reasons stated.
Of the country. especially the stock and
cattle raisers and the dairy farmers. will
be the by-products OF bran and short.
from the flour mills likely to follow the
| free export OF wheat from Canada to
these mills. These by-products are nou,
so scarce and SO high priced that many
farmers are unable to procure them.
What Is true OF wheat is true of
the other cereals. The trade between
Canada and the United States cannot
but increase the sale of agricultural
products across the border both ways
10 nearer markets than they now reach
In many instances. The trade will be
beneficial to both the seller and the
buyer. 1t will not. In my Judgment,
reduce the price Of wheat or other
Farming products for our people in any
marked way. 1t will. however, by en-
llarging the source OF supply. prevent
Iundue fluctuations, and it will and
in the prices of farm products, which.
las they have been for the last three