The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1911-02-11
Trade Agreement with Cana
da TO Be of Great Bene-
fl President Says.

IAiifslpe'. 0s,ii Feb 11.-Reei.
procity with Canada. win benefit The
entire Unstedb States, farmer. raani,..
facturer, railroad company. middle
man, warehouse man. This was the
declaration made by President Taft
in his address here at the Nsationaf
Corn Exposition. Il Il ~ 81
"All will be the gamer ne said.
While his speech was devoted e.
peeially TO showing that the farmer
had nothing to fear, hut much 10 gain.
he attempted to prove also that an
the other interests Of the country
would DE benefited by the proposed
reciprocity. @
We have with pioneer energy
pushed on to the Racific,p the Pres
ident said, and taken up all the good
land. We are now spending millions
to regain the arid and semi-arId
lands of the great western desert.
Should We not by taking down a use.
less and unnecessary tariff wall, bring
within orr agricultural resources the
great plains of the Northwest when
they can bring to us what we need
and that without hurting any Of our
own people?"
The President expressed the opinion
that in addressing corn exposition
audience 1t would be particularly APP
propriate for ham to answer the crit
icism which had been made of the,
agreement, las an attack upon the
farmer by depriving him Of protec-
ton"
ut is said to be manufacturers
agreement" he continued, that is,
in the interest of the manufacturing
classes and adverse to the farmer.
II am Republican and the Repub-
llcan party has always advocated and
pursued policy of protection to
American products and manufactures.
For a long time the policy had little
or no limitation: 1t was thought that
tariffs on protected products could
not be too high, that If all foreign
products were excluded competition
would stimulate production and re-
duce its cost and its price. The temp
tation to destroy competition by COM
binations became so great, however,
that the party in its platform modified
its policy and imposed. the limitation
that the tariff should be limited for
purposes OF protection to the differ
ence between the cost Of production
in this country and the cost OF pro-
duction abroad with an allowance
for reasonable profit to the Amert-
can producer.
1.-The principle OF production thus
stated takes away the Justification for
any tariff whatever by way Of protec-
ton on articles imported from coun-
try where the conditions as to labor
and other circumstances are the same
as in ours and thus makes the cost Of
production substantially the same.
Canada is our neighbor on the
north for three thousand miles. Her
population is English, Scotch and
French. Her soil is like ours. Her
traditions are the same as ours. Her
language is ours. Her climate is tenn
perate like ours, except that her
growing seasons are shorter and she
cannot raise corn in any great guam
titles. She has a free popular govern
ment with wage earning class as in
telligent and as well paid as ours. I'll
is difficult to see in what respect her
farmers have any advantage over our
own except a virgin soil in the far
northwest.
How Is the farmer to be hurt?"
he asked. He then took up the effect
it would have on corn and wheat
prices, on the value of farm lands in
this country and on the milling indus
try in this country.
He declared that "in respect to corn
the American farmer is king and will
remain so, reciprocity or no reciproc-
!ty."
As to wheat he said the domestic
price is governed by the world price
and that the sending Of any part Of
Canada's surplus through our coun-
try instead of through Canada to be
milled or to be exported without mill
ing will not perceptIbly or materially
affect the price of wheat for our far
mers."
The value of farm lands, he said,
is affected by the proximity to mar
ket more than by any other element
and he maintained that the American
farmer would still have the advan-
tage in this respect. He also pre-
dicted great increase in American
milling as result of the agreement.
at is a mere truism," said the
President, ito say that the farmers of
a country constitute the greatest
wealth producing class of the coun-
try and that 1t is of the greatest Inn
portance to conserve their welfare.
When we have had good crops, theI
wheels of all industries have moved
and wealth has been stored. Any one,
therefore, who would initiate policy
to injure the farmer has much to