The Sentinel=record., 1911-06-09

early vegetables to the north. The same thing is true Of fruits and ber ries. With the introduction of these into Canada you will secure other customers with the valuable trade that vii add greatly to the demand and that will certainly expand your industry and maintain the prices at which it can be profitably carried on
 q have discussed in this city, Chi- cago and elsewhere the general su- vantages of the reciprocity treaty and do not intend to weary you with a repetition of the reasons of a gener- al character which 1 have previously advanced, more than to say while the treaty has in it provisions particu- larily beneficial to various branches of industries farming and manufac- turing-in different sections the eff feet of the treaty as a whole Is cer- tain to be of the highest usefulness to the country at large and will rap idly increase trade that now exceeds $300,000,000 into figures double that sum.
 "The treaty has opponents, how ever, vigorous, active and vociferious, and the arguments against it and the means taken to defeat it are not al ways of direct character. The house of representatives, soon after it pass cd the bill, ef;i bod-.f the ree!ffrocc!:.. agreement, passed a bill known as the farmers free list. In my judgment it was both unfortunate and unjust that this bill should have been introduced and adopted by some on theory that it was a sop to the farmers to make up for the injustice and injury as- sumed to have been done them in the Canadian reciprocity bll, for there is no injustice done to the farmers in the Canadian reciprocity agreement. :. Whether the farmers free list is a measure which ought to be passed IS a question on the merits of that bill and is to be and ought to be determin- ed upon consideration wholly apart from the merits of Canadian recipro- city.
 T am glad to say MT. Underwood, who introduced the farmers free list repudiated any such idea, but certain 1t is that number of people have as- sumed that unless the farmers free list was passed at the same time, the Canadian reciprocity agreement would be an injury and unfaid to the farming classes. Nothing could be further from the truth in my judg- ment. The Canadian reciprocity agree ment will greatly aid the farming classes. both in the north and in the south. Certainly it cannot have the slightest deleterious effect up- on the western farmers, for the south- ern farmer raises only cotton, corn and vegetables, and in respect to none of these will exports of Canada into the United States come into the slightest competition, while every thing that farmers raise except possi- bly, raw cotton will be the subject of export into Canada. The farmers free list, so-ca.led puts upon the free list number of articles used by the southern farmers only, like cotton bag ging and cotton ties. And have heard it suggested, on behalf of cer- tain senators from the southern states that they could not vote for recipro- i city unless it ranked in some way with the farmers free list.
 ''It was said for them that if they could count on having the bills come Imp in the senate in the same way that it had come up in the house, they could relieve their conscience and justify themselves to their constitn- ents by vote in favor of the far mers' free list and free cotton bag gins and cotton ties, after the reclp- rocty bill has passed. But they pre- sent the proposition that in the senate the situation is different from what it
 was in the house.
 They say that farmers free list has gone into the finance committee, a majority of which is quite unfayor- able to the farmers free list and will
 prevent it being reported out to the senate at all. They cannot, therefore
 secure vote on the farmers free | list without voting to put it onto the
 reciprocity bill about an amendment,
 'In this way they will justify them
 selves to their constituents and vindi-
 cate their conscience by voting foi the farmers free list at the same time they vote for reciprocity. The
 objection to this is, first, that tho farmers free list has no relevency al
 all to the Canadian reciprocity agree lment. because if affects imports iron
 all the world and is general tarif