Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-05-02
SYKES SEES MENACE
SAYS DEMOCRATIC TARIFF BILL
% DANGEROUS TO IOWA
FARM INTERESTS.
TAKING AWAY BENEFITS
JUST AS REWARDS COME
sykes Dselarss Cattle Can Not be
Produced at Profit on 500 and 500
& Land in Composition With Cheap
Canadian Land and Labor-Mueh
s. Concerned. About Future. Of Industry.

Des Noines. April sO.-The new tariff
law as 1t is being framed by the dem
ocrats is q menace to the agricultural
Interests of the country. according to
A. Sykes. president OF the. Corn Belt
Meat Producers Association. Mr.. Sykes
| pointed out that just as consumption
| Of meat in America has caught up with
| Production and the farmers are in Il
fair way to make little profit on their
stock the reduction OF the tariff
threatens to place them in competition
4 with lands where production is cheap
! er than here. The farmers of The coun-
! try are not being considered by con-
4 gress, because they are not organized
| to resist tariff legislation, Mr.. Sykes
| believes.
Committee to Washington.
= The committee, consisting of Mr..
| sykes. Charles Goodenow, treasurer,
! and ]. F. Eisele, member of the eNecu-
| tive committee Of the Corn Belt Meat
Producers Association, left for Wash
! ington to make a vigorous protest to
| congress against the provisions of .he
! tariff bill affecting dressed meats. live
| stock and agricultural products.
| Iowa is essentially an agricultural
| state" Mr.. Sykes said, land we feel
| chat the farmers and meat producers
are not getting n square deal In the
Bill as it is framed.
"The facts are that until very re-
Gently the tariff has been farce, SO
far as it benefited the farmers ana
stock men. 1t was merely paper tar
III. This was due to the fact that we
we're producing a large surplus OF al
most everything and had to export
rouch of our livestock, dressed meats
end AGRICULTURAL products. and our
markets at home were governed oy the
export market. And now, just as con
sumption has about caught up VIII
production, so that we have nome
market for almost everything tnat we
produce, and the farmer and STOCK man
have a fair profit in their business
congress proposes to take down .he
bars and place US in direct competl'loh
With the countries where land, LABOR
And food stuffs are cheap, and where
the cost Of producing meat 1000 am,
mails is indeed very small compared
with what it IL here in the corn oelt.
tI.It goes without saying that we
farmers can not produce livestock on
land worth from 800 to $500 per acrs
aattle and meats produced in Canada,
Mexico and the South American coun-
tries. So the Corn Belt Meat Produc-
ers' Association is sending a commit
tee to Washington to speak for the
fSrmers and stockmen OF the corn belt
and to secure, if possible, amendments
to the bill that will tend to foster and
encourage livestock production in this
country.
Concerned About industry.
1.-The fact is l am very much con-
cerned about the future of the direct
effect such tariff will have on the Ia
dustry itself. but on account OF its
indirect effect upon the future conser-
walton Of our soils. 1t is an esta blished
fact that livestock farming and sou
conservation go hand in hand, and
believe that the tariff should be
framed 80 as to encourage rather than
discourage livestock farming in the
corn belt so that our soils may be pre-
served in the best possible way to pro-
duce food stuffs for future genera
tons. If this is not done, the time Will
be short until we will be importing
large quantities of the necessaries OF
life to feed our home people.