The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-04-12
Protection for All,
Or Give It to None

/ Does anyone believe that the people
a of the cities will get their milk 2 cent:
per gallon less than the present price,
What is true of milk is true of prac
tically all other farm products. | am
: told by State Master Godfrey of the
| New York State Grange that in his
section of the state potatoes are sell
ing at 80 cents per barrel or less. In
:, New York potatoes are selling at
from 80 cents to 81 per bushel at re
tail. 1t is absurd to claim that this
great difference is in any way due Ia
the tariff
; After having proved to their own
satisfaction that reciprocity will re-
duce the cost of living, the advocates
OF this proposition, particularly Score
tary of Agriculture Wilson and James
). Hill, turn around and assert that Il
Will not in any way decrease the pro-
hts of our farmers. Unfortunately for
these distinguished gentlemen, the
facts are against them The mere in.
PRODUCTION of this bill has already
forced down the price of wheat six or
seven cents per bushel, owing to the
existence in Canada of immense stocks
OF wheat, which, if this bill is enacted.
can be rushed into this country. 1t is
useless to tell us that reciprocity will
not reduce the price of wheat, when
the mere introduction of this bill has
already had this effect.
And here let me point out that the
price OF wheat has fallen 80 cents per
bushel since year ago. Has the price
OF bread to the consumers of our cit
les fallen % per cent? You know that
1t has not, and if as the result of re-.
ciprocity the price of wheat is forced
still lower, 1t will not benefit the coli
sumner, for flour is still taxed 30 cents
per barrel.
1t is impossible in the brief time al
iotted me to go into details showing
how the farmers will be injured by the
provisions of this bill, but l will take
as an illustration the manufacture OF
cheese. In the state of New York this
is most important branch of agricul-
ture the total production being about
125,O00,000 pounds. With the tariff OF
cents per pound our dairymen are
! just able to make living profit, and
most of them have only existed be-
cause they have been taking more
and more each year from the fertilit,
of their soil. The Canadian cheese
producer has cheaper land, cheaper
labor, cheaper supplies. cheaper ma
chinery, cheaper feed for COWS, and Il
richer soil. The Province of Ontario.
just across from New York. exported
in 1909, 164,000,000 pounds of cheese.
How could our cheese makers com
pete with those of Ontario, when the
latter have so clear an advantage in
the cost of production?
But we are told that while it is
true that this bill deprives the farmer
of the very moderate protection, aver
aging less than % per cent, now Civ
en- him by our tariff laws. he receives
compensation in the form of reduc.
tons of duties on manufactured ar.
ticles. This is not true. The reduc.
tons made by this bill will not in the
least decrease the cost of mafiufac.
lures the farmer buys, since Can
ada is not to any extent a manufac
turing country. Thus we have the
Hon. Secretary of Agriculture stating
that free barbed wire fencing will be
boon to our farmers AS matter
of fact this provision will not benefit
one farmer to the amount of one cent. |
We exported to Canada last year 100. /
0uO,e09 pounds of wire, and imported
practically none. The removal of this /
duty is fraud, pure and simple, in
tended to fool the farmers.
II this was an honest reciprocity
measure, intended to encourage trad,
with countries which admit our pro-
ducts on favorable terms, it would
provide for the free admission of all
articles manufactured in Great Brit /
ain. That country has for many years
allowed all our products to be import I
ed free of duty. and it would seem
only appropriate that we should recip- /
rocate by admitting her products to
our markets.
1t is claimed by the distinguished !
dotoNdle6 VI reciprocity L0dL the ADOLF +
ton of the duties on Canadian farm
products is necessary in order to saw,
the protective system, There could
not be graver mistake. Do these gem /
tlemen really believe, that COCO ,0Oo .
farmers will sit idly by, after The tri- |
fling protection now afforded them has
been abolished. and permit the con
tinuance of system under which all
the manufactured articles they buy are
taxed from 45 to 60 per cent? They
should know better. We are here to I
serve notice that the farmers are
united on this question, and are deter
mined that If the duties on farm pro
ducts are reduced, the duties on mar
ufactures must follow This is not a
threat 1t is simple statement of /
fact. 1t was said long ago by one of |
the greatest men this country or the I
world has ever Observation-Disclosures I
Lincoln: Our nation can not long
continue half slave and n a 1f frao VIZ !