Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1916-11-02

| the present tariff law the most i'm
portant agricultural products of the
South are heavily protected while
those of the North are practically
on the free list.
Within the past two weeks, approx
j imately million bushels of Argen-
tine corn have reached the United
States, duty free, most of it COM
ing to our sister corn state of Illi-
nois. Just now immense new ware
houses are being completed in New
j Orleans to handle the future ship
ments of free corn from the Argen-
tine. Thus the farmers of Audubon
\ County, who are producing corn on
high priced land with high-priced
labor must compete in the future
with the farmers of the Argentine
who have both cheap land and
cheap labor. The same is true of
all other northern products; but cot
ton and sugar, the leading pro-
ducts of the South are so heavily
| protected that the farmers of that
section need fear no competition
of anyone else whatever. We may
4 be willing to- see southern demo-
Gratis at the head of every impor-
tant committee but one in the
house of representatives at Wash
ington as they actually are; but
who in Audubon County can de-
fend and approve this high-handed
discrimination between the farmers
Of the South and those of the
North? Why northern farmers
should have been treated as they
have is not just clear; but the
fact that they have been so treated
is perfectly clear 1t is undisputable
and it seems high time that the
men who have put the unjust pro-
gram through should themselves
be brought to justice.
WHAT Is COMING?
The Journal holds that it is the
part OF good judgment and plain
common sense at astime like this
to look ahead little. The future
will soon become the present. What
is it to be? What does it hold for
us who dwell in Audubon Coun-
ty?
Our country now has more gold
than all of the warning nations of
Europe combined. The end of the
war is to find US the richest and
most prosperous nation of the
Earth. Likewise our markets will
be the best in the world for those
who have things to sell.
! Turning to Europe, we know that
she will be nearly bankrupt with
no way of getting her feet save to
sell manufactured products to the
nations that have the money. Her
goods are coming here, of course,
4 if we will let them in; and then
our manufacturers must meet the
competition of European cheap La
Dor in our home markets.
The present tariff law does not
protect American industries. 1t was
| designed "for revenue only" More
over, President Wilson stated only
last week that there is nothing to
fear from European competition af-
kter the war, which we may take
to mean that nothing will be done
to protect ourselves from it.
Despite what he says, every
sign indicates that Europe will try
to flood our markets with goods
made by cheap labor and by women
after the war is over. Our manu-
facturers can not meet this sort
of competitions with American labor
so high priced. They must close
down just as they have several
times in the past when low tariff
laws have compelled them to COM
pete with cheap foreign labor.
Then must follow, of course, un-
employment of American laborers
and no market for farm products.
Journal readers may figure all
of this out to suit themselves.
They may agree with the above
view or not; but the point is that
now is the time to think about it
and that we should recognize the
facts for what they really mean
rather than to disregard them or
to- color them to suit our own
tastes or fancies or political be-
liefs. Our prosperity depends upon