Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-08-22

and ask for the reduction of the tariff
on sugar. / studied the matter and
thought If anything ought to be free.
something that would affect every
soul in the country, it was sugar. l
found Russia was producing great
amounts of sugar, and the Islands of
the sea, and L thought that was one
thing the Democrats and the Repub-
licans might agree upon. l under
stood my Democratic friend in Stand
ish to state that the duty had been
taken off from sugar. | appeared be-
fore the committee and tried to make
the best speech l ever made in my life,
for l came from Maine where they
had been in the habit of having men
that amounted to something. 1t did
just about as much good as it would
TO ask dog out there to bark at the
moon. They reduced it 25 per cent,
and they have Disseminated against
everything raised in Maine. Every
individual in this country who has a
family, it costs him from five to fifteen
dollars, the tax on sugar. That is one
thing | felt could be reduced or
stricken out and be an advantage to
everybody. They reduced it from
1.69 to 1.25. They did not take the
duty off rice because there is an
enormous amount of rice raised in the
South. They did not take it off
peanuts; they did not take it off a
single article they raise in the South,
not off tobacco, not off molasses, figs
or raisins, and instead of peanuts free
they put on duty of one cent.
l ran through the whole list and found
that the farmers of Maine were discrim-
mated against more than any other class
of citizens in this country. We are great
raisers of potatoes. We raised 800 mil
lion bushels in 1913. We have always had
protection of Is cents per bushel on po-
tatoes. Aroostook county raises one
twelfth of the potatoes raised in the
United States, and it stands fourth of
any county. They reduced the duty and,
my friends, If 1t was not for this war |
am going to predict you would see the
lowest price you have seen in your life
time for potatoes. In the last three
months of 1872 covering October, No
vember and December and the first three
months of 1913, six months in all, there
came into the United States 10000
DuSneIS or potatoes. In the first six
months after the tariff went into effect
We brought into this country $4,000
bushels of potatoes. They are coming
today at the rate of 900 bushels per
month. 100000 bushels per year. % times
as many as were ever known in the his
tory of the country before. That is
what the farmers of Maine have to meet.
II is a question whether we wish 70 cop
tinue the policy we have had for years.
or whether we will turn right square
over and turn our business over to for
eigners.
We are great producers of dairy prod
ucts, large manufacturers of butter.
They reduced the tariff on butter from
six cents to two and a half What did
our Canadian friends do? Anticipating
that the reduction would be made under
the Democratic administration they com
menced to hold their butter and the
month the duty came off we had an in
fux of butter such as never was known
before. In 1912 we imported 100000 pounds
of butter In these few months we
brought In 4,662,oOo pounds.
How about eggs? We are great pro-
ducers of eggs Almost every housewife
has flock of hens. You have received a
high price for your eggs, and we thought