Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-12-19
Question as to How to Pro-
teCt u. s. Potatoes.
Shall The Foreign Vegetable Be
Barred or Regulated.
Danger of Importation Of Plant Dis
ease..Trusts a Factor.

Washington, Dec. 1S.-Whether COM
mon Irish potatoes from Canada, New
foundland, Great Britain, Ireland and
continental Europe shall be barred
from the United States because of the
danger of importation of dangerous
plant diseases or shall be admitted un-
der the same restrictions as apply to
nursery stock, was the subject of a
hearing today before the Federal hor-
ticultural board at the direction of
Secretary Houston.
T. P. Gill, secretary of agriculture
for Ireland; DIR. H. T. Gussow, an ex-
pert of the Canadian department of
agriculture, and G. r. O'Halloran,
deputy minister of agriculture Of Can
ada, We're among those who spoke in
tatoes.
Representations have been made to
the American department of agricul-
ture that in view of the short domes-
tic potato crop caused by last sum-
mers dreuth the exclusion of foreign
potatoes would go far toward raising
prices in the United States
At the outset Secretary Houston said
the question under question was not
the lifting of an embargo against dis
eased potatoes. but whether a quaran-
tine should be absolute or administer
ed in such a way as to admit the en-
try of potatoes property passed upon
by the government experts.
Senators and representatives in Con-
gress from many states protested
against any policy whereby diseased
potatoes might get into the country. A
few members, however, urged that 1t
would be wise to permit the entry of
foreign potatoes in the hope Of reduc-
ing high prices of food.
Dr. Gussow declared that United
States experts had not made a suffi-
cient investigation of the potato crop
in his country upon which to base a
recommendation that the whole crop
should be barred from this country
because of disease.
Among those who urged an unre-
stricted quarantine to protect the
should it result in higher prices for
a few years, were Senators Brady of
Idaho and Johnson of Maine.
Rep. Taylor of New York declared
that the price of potatoes in the cities
was inflated by trust dealers" and
that foreign potatoes could be a po-
tential factor in reducing the cost of
living. x" s' ff5Hss es5s
The board listened to representatives
of several foreign governments and
to pathological experts of various
states It then took under advise
ment the question of enforcing the
embargo on potato importation. The
state pathological experts urged a
strict embargo for period of years,
on the ground that potato diseases are
known to exist in certain portions of
every foreign country included in the
departmet of agricultures notice on
the subject.
Lord Eustace Percy, third secretary
of the British embassy. expressed re-
gret that the United States should
have suggested the embargo on Eng
lish potatoes without cooperating
with the agricultural experts of that
country in their investigation of con-
ditions. To impose an embargo sud
denly he said, would be a disturbing
factor in the scientific work of the
nations Great Britain he added wish
ed to cooperate with the United
States and other nations in a gen
eral policy of agricultural education.