The Glasgow courier., 1916-11-03
THE TARIFF AND WHEAT

1t would be we'll for Montana grain
farmers now enjoying fat times to
look back just trife to the lean
years. While they are basking in
the sunshine of prosperity shed from
war ridden Europe, let them consider
the past and the future.
The two shipping seasons before
the outbreak of the European war
found wheat in Montana ranging
around 60 to 65 cents bushel. There
was general concurrence of opinion
among the growers of grain and the
buyers in the spring preceding the
war and Immediately following the
placing Of farm products on the free
list by the Underwood bill that Mon
tana was facing the certain prospect
of the lowest prices for farm products
known to the history of the state.
Fifty cent wheat was certainty, but
for events that followed
| The summer preceding the out
break Of the war there was a hear
ing before the Railroad Commission
of this state, which, as a basis for an
action before the Interstate Com
merce Commission, asked for a re-
duction on grain transportation rates
to terminal points. At this hearing
d number of experienced grain grow
ers in the state testified to the cost
Of wheat production. This testimony
showed that the cost of producing a
bushel of wheat in the state of Mon
tana ranges about Is to 80 cents per
bushel, so that the farmer under free
trade previous to European hostilities
could not raise a bushel Of wheat at a
profit.
In 1912 Canada imported to the
United States only 100000 bushels of
oats. At Minneapolis and other ter
minals Canada was laying down oats
at 85c, while the Montana ranchers
were holding theirs at $1OO. Fol
lowing the passage of the Democratic
Free Trade Legislation, the imports
of Canadian oats increased to 13,OOO,-
900 bushels. The injection of even
100000 bushels into the Minneapolis
and Chicago markets, was sufficient to
fix the price of Montana oats, and did
so.
The fall of price in wheat between
the passage of the pernicious Under.
wood Bill and the outbreak of the
war, when England closed down Can
adian exports to the United States
was more than 15c a bushel. The
difference in average prcie between
the period of 1913 and 1914 and the
period of four years preceding is il
excess of 15c a bushel. The reduc
tion Of the tariff in the Underwood
Bill was 25c per bushel for those
countries that receive our wheat free
and 15c bushel for the product o,
countries which do not admit ou
wheat free.
The importation Of wheat for thu
first eight months of the Underwood
law increased 357 per cent over those
of the corresponding period one yeal
before.
1t would have been bold statement
in the light of all these facts for the
Democratic party to have declared il
favor of placing farm products gener
ally on the free list, yet fair dealing
with the producers of the country re.
quired such platform statement il
legislation, such as was afterwards
enacted in the Underwood law, hao
then been contemplated. To do less
was bad faith.
Yet nowhere in the Democratic plat.
form of 1912 was there hint, to say
nothing about an open statement, that
the large feature of Democracy's tar
if policy, which was given first place
in the National platform, and in the
tariff law, and which was given first
place in the Democratic Legislative
program, was to be the removal Of
duty from nearly all farm products
produced in the north and drastic re-
duction of others belonging to tina
section.
| With continuance of the Wilson
administration and the Underwood
law, there is not the slightest doub
when the war ends that wheat price:
will revert to the low level reachet
| before the outbreak of hostilities
means the Montana farmers will b'
unable to raise their wheat at a pro
fit.