The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1911-10-07
IMPORTERS fight
ING LEMON DUTY
Especial to the Silver State.)

Especial to the Silver State.)
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7.-tsIn the
interest of decency and fair play"
remarked a big hotel man, apropos the
tariff fight on farmers products, "it
might well be asked why there is any
ground for complaint over the price Of
lemons, when almost every other fruit
that can be named sells for more
money in the local market
Here was a friend arising for the
farmer where not expected-in the
consuming class. The boniface con-
tinued
"All summer good lemons have been
selling on the city streets for to 20
cents per dozen, seldom reaching 30
cents in the stores-less than bananas
average and far less than good table
apples which can seldom be had under
5 cents each and which often bring s
and 10 cents. In fact, we have been
unable to get good West Virginia ap-
pies this season for cooking purposes,
as cheap as lemons from Sicily and
California. The tariff on lemons does
not bother us and the public has
shown no interest in the price they
bring, or in the duty on them, except
when alleged sentiment has been
worked up by the foreign importers. -
That is the way it looks to one con-
sumer. There is another aspect that
appeals to the domestic producer. The
situation briefly, is just this: Ameri-
can rgowers, chiefly in aClifornia,
have succeeded after many years in
producing lemons which equal the i'm
ported, and enough of them are raised
to supply SO per cent of the American
trade. The advent of the California
lemon brought down the price of the
Italian lemon, which sometimes sold as
high as $40 or $10.50 per box, when
it had the monopoly Of the market.
Congress, believing it to be good
lpolicy to encourage further production
in this country, increased the duty
one-half cent per pound-about one
eighth cent per lemon-and thereby
stimulated the planting of lemon
groves in California. As it takes about
eight years for a lemon tree to reach
stage of profitable bearing the or
chardists are relying on congress not
to alter the conditions under which the
increased planting was undertaken.
But what effect did the increase of
duty have on the market, the consum
er and on the government revenuesf
| The latter were increased during the
first year the Payne-Aldrich tariff was
| in effect, 1891 ,76899, and the quantity
of lemons imported increased from
1876, ,175,888 pounds in 1909 to 160, ,542,
434 pounds in 1910, clearly indicating
that the added one-half cent duty did
not check importations, which grew
larger in spite of the new tariff.
Now, the absurdity of the conten-
tion made by the handful of lemon i'm
porters in New York that the lemon
tariff is an ubiquitous and "bur
densome' tax on the American peo-
pie can be summarily disposed of by
merely referring to the fact that the
increased duty on lemons in 1910,
namely, 1891 ,76S.99, amounted to less
than one cent each for the 93,000,000
people of the United States. One cent
for a whole year! Would any consid-
erable number of people in the United
States vote to embarass, perhaps ruin,
an important industry in order to save
one cent each in year by so doingY
| But there is no proof that the ad
ded tariff costs the people even one
cent each in year. The fact that
the tendency of lemon prices has been
downward ever since lemon growing
was made a success in this country
goes to prove that competition keeps
the greed of the importers in check.
Should the importers, Ito which this
one cent per head per annum, which
the American people are said to pay
as result of the Payne-Aldrich bill
would be a nice plump succeed in gain
ing a monopoly of the eastern market
by the removal of the lemon tariff,
does anyone suppose that they would
relinquish any part of their profits
voluntarilya They would then We able
to keep California lemons out of the
New York market, because they would
have the benefit of the government
subsidy which enables them to sell
cheaper than the Californians and still
clear a profit.
The importers absolutely control the
sale of foreign lemons in this country.
They regulate the shipments and so
limit the supply, and keep prices up.
Should the aClifornia growers, seeing
lemons high in New York, try to sell
a carload of fruit in that market, the
importers would flood the market with
foreign lemons, break the price and
cause the intruders to sell their ship
ment at loss. Having driven out the
Californians, the importers would
shove up the price. This is the recog-
nized method. 1t has often been done.
With no competition, therefore, the
limoprters would absolutely control the
situation.
In order to keep down the importa-
ton for the last fiscal year and make
a showing for the benefit of congress
anxious to revise the tariff downward,
the importers held back lemons in
June, creating an artificial scarcity and
forcing up prices, thereby providing
an additional argument in their behalf
that the tariff reduced importations
and enhanced prices. Being obliged to
dispose of these withheld shipments
they allowed them to come sn in July