Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-02-08
WHY WE SHOULD
HAVE RECIPROCITY
WITH CANADA.

St. Paul. Mimi. Feb. 3. 1911.
To the Editor Of Willmar Tribune:
An impression prevails in some
quarters that about the only serious
opposition that will be raised to the
Canadian Reciprocity Agreement
will come from the farmers. This
impression is probably due to the
fact that the agreement is largely
concerned with natural products.
| have given a great deal Of con-
sideration to this subject and am
absolutely convinced that the agree
ment will be of no harm to our
farmers and of much benefit both
direct and indirect.
1t is in regard to the probable
effect Of the agreement on the price
Of wheat that we hear the most ap-
Drehension expressed. Let us con-
slider the point. At present the
duty on wheat is twenty five cents
a bushel but the difference in
price between Minneapolis and
Winnipeg is only about five
cents a bushel, so it is evident that
at the outside only a small part of
the twenty-five cents is protective,
but on the other hand we find that
the MINNEAPOLIS market is about
Eve cents higher than the Chicago
market. In other words. Chicago
and Winnipeg are about the same al
though theoretically Chicago ought
to be a good deal higher. There
have been times when there was
more difference between Winnipeg
and Minneapolis and other times
when thew were the same.
The fact is that prime, hard
spring wheat is getting so scarce
that the millers have difficulty in
getting enough to take care of their
home demands and have had to
abandon their export trade. That
is why the Minneapolis market is
higher than Chicago and it is also
why it is higher than the Winni-
peg market. which is entirely de-
pendent on the export-the Liver
pool market. Now. the price
effect Of taking off the tariff on
wheat would be to bring the Win
nipeg market under the influence
Of the Minneapolis bidding for best
hard wheat. The Liverpool import.
ers would have to bid against tie
Minneapolis millers to retain Cana
dian wheat. Canadian exporters
would try to keep their share Of it
and the Canadian railways would
exert themselves to secure every
bushel they could for haulage on
their transportation systems, and
their large terminal, storage eleva-
tors. The result would be that
comparatively little of the Canadian
wheat would come to MINNEAPOLIS
and what did come would be paid
for at prices on a par with what
Minneapolis has been paying in the
past for Minnesota and Dakota
wheat.
No one need fear any flooding of
the United States with Canadian
wheat. There is too much demand
Tor that high grade wheat in Eng
land, in other foreign countries and
by the Canadian millers for our mil
'ers to get any more of it than they
are willing to pay premium for.
Having the advantage of the
American milling market. which is
to some degree competitive will,
Liverpool, the Canadian farmer
would no longer offer this export
wheat at the present scale Of prices,
with the result that Liverpool would
be unable to play Canadian wheat
against the American wheat and
would to some extent lose it's grin
on wheat prices on this entire con.
tinent, which would be an all
around benefit to the wheat grower,
whether in Canada or in the United
States.
The next result of taking the
tariff off wheat will be to give the
Canadian grower a better price. no,
to give the American grower {
lower price. Is anyone so selfish
as to find fault with that consum
matOn
The wheat that will be brought il
from Canada to be ground in oul
mills will add to the output of by
products suitable for stock feeding
In other words. free wheat mean
free feed stuffs and probably will
Tho Salt In tho Sea.
l The thag0reanS held that the ses