The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-05-03
The New Tariff.

helping to drub the Republican party
find special food for reflection in the
free wool feature of the second Will
son tariff bill
With reciprocity our sheep breed
ers would have had only Canada as
a competitor and reciprocal advant-
ages would have compensated them,
If they experienced any loss as re-
suit of that trade agreement with
the Dominion.
Our democratic friends are open
ing our markets to the wool of the
world, and we are getting no conces
sion from any country under the sun
to remunerate us for the exploiting
of our markets by foreign produc-
erS.
AS matter of fact the new tariff
bill puts no duty whatever on wool,
skins or mutton, although there is
slight duty on live sheep.
The oat crop is also found by so
good a democrat as Publisher Will
liam Randolph Hearst of the New
York and other Americans TO be my
steriously treated in the Underwood
bill. He wonders why the new
tariff bill should make a free gift to
Canada of our oatmeal and rolled
oats business.
Mr.. Hearst is also mystified by
the discovery that -four is made free
and wheat slightly dutiable, which
will tend to destroy our -four mills or
drive them into Canada. Under
these circumstances "the Canadian
price for this wheat would fix the
price for the American crop, and it
would be a serious handicap as well
as loss to the farmers of the United
States as a whole.
Mr.. Hearst says, Taken all in all
the new tariff bill proposes to give
Canadian farming and manufacturing
enterprises a tremendous boom-at
the expense of the industries of the
United States" He finds something
satirical as well as grotesque in
the complete one-sidedness OF this
tariff plan, and Its Unreasonable
| advantages to the Canadian over the
plan for Canadian reciprocity that was
wrecked two years ago"
1t is true that the Underwood peo-
pie hold out kind of reciprocity as
a sop to the gullible portion of the
American public, but as a matter of
fact the farmers of the second Will
son tariff have put so many things on
the free list and forced the duties on
other products so low that they have
practically nothing left with which
to trade.
In this respect the Wilson admins
tration is affording a striking con-
/ trast to the example of the lamented
I Mckinley, who built up a large trade
/ for our American products through
the use of reciprocity. The McKin-
ley tariff authorized the president OF
the United States by proclamation to
make special concessions in the way
of reduced duties on sugar, molasses,
hides, tea and coffee, a large part of
| which commodities we import, in re-
turn for special favors in the way OF
trade from countries exporting such
articles of commerce.
Under the Mckinley tariff Presi-
dent Harrison's administration enter
ed into reciprocity agreements with
Germany, France, Spain, Austria
Hungary, Brazil, the British West In
dies, Nicaragua, Salvador, Guatemala
Honduras and other countries, but
the first Wilson tariff which the dem
ocrats passed in 1894 automatically
terminated these agreements without
even the courtesy of a notification
from the Cleveland administration.
The second Wilson tariff authoriz.
es the making of reciprocity agree
ments but it leaves nothing for Uncle
Sam to throw into the scale as an in.
ducement for other countries 10
grant us particular trade conces
sions
1t may be profitable for the people
| of Vermont and neighboring sections
to note how the foreign press views
the new Wilson tariff. The British
newspapers are regarding the pros
pect with great complacency and
there is a tremendous demand for
| copies of the new measure so that
English manufacturers may be pre-
pared to take advantage of the new
field our democratic friends propose
to open to their products.
We have already quoted the utter
ances of a Quebec journal on this
subject. This morning we turn to
| lut Adnduidn HOTlH-WeSl ana repro
duce a striking paragraph from an
editorial by the Victoria Times,
showing how the Wilson tariff is
viewed in British. Columbia. 1t says:
THE indications are that Canada
will benefit considerably from the
tariff changes. Free -four will help
our millers, and the hog raisers will
be able to sell in competitive mar
ket. thus treading on the tender toes
of the Canadian packers monopoly.
I'VE are unable to predict to what
extent the reduction of the duties on
grain will assist the western farmers,
but no doubt they will derive some
benefit British Columbia certainly
will be large beneficiary. Free fish
will give one of our greatest indus
tries a immense impetus, affording
the products of the deep sea fisher
les access to the best market in the
world.
Free lumber and shingles should
be of substantial advantage to our
lumber industry and free pulp and
paper should result in the marked ex.
tension of the paper-making industry
in this province. Altogether British
Columbia has every reason to con