The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1918-04-26
Washington Letter.


the question in the minds of many as
to whether this marks an intention on
the part of the South American neutral
to get even with this country for plac-
ing an embargo on Argentine corn.
1t was reported some time ago that
Mr.. Hoover had secured an embargo
on Argentine corn with the hope of
encouraging exports of wheat from
that country to the United States, but
inasmuch as the Argentine shippers
were receiving more for their corn
that the grain importers in this coun-
try could pay them for their wheat,
they did not look kindly upon this corn
embargo. Wheat, they said, would
keep, while corn carried over is apt to
spoil. The imposition of an export
duty on wheat, if it does not curtail
shipments will certainly increase the
price of the Argentine product.
On the other hand, it. may be that
this export duty is laid for the pur-
pose of encouraging the milling of
the product in the Argentine. 1t is
said that at present the Argentine
flour mills employ about 5000 opera
tives and workmen, while if it were
possible for the milling industry to
work at its maximum capacity, this
number could easily be trebled, en-
ployed at an average daily wage of
$165. This capacity operation would
give the added advantage in that they
could use $7,000,000 worth of fuel an
nually, the benefit Of which would re-
main in the country itself. In 1916
Argentine flour exports reached a
high figure, when $4,000 tons were
exported, of which the French Gov
ernment took 10000 tons. A year
ago the executive power decreed the
immediate closure of the ports of the
Republic against the expectation of
wheat and flour, but the "Camara
Gremial' eventually obtained permis-
sion. to export certain shipments of
flour to total of about 100000 tons.
We began to import corn apprecia-
bly, from Argentina soon after the
passage of the Democratic tariff law,
which free-listed that COMMODITY. In
1913 Fiscal year, we imported $4,000
bushels from that country, which grew
to 100000 bushels the following .fs-
cal year, ended June 81, 1914. 1t
fell to 100000 in 1915, and 4,75O,OO0
bushels the following year. During
the calendar year 1917, corn imports
from Argentina were under 100000
bushels. Save for the calendar year
1915, imports of wheat and wheat
flour from that country have at no
time made an appreciable showing. In
that year We imported 100000 bushels
of wheat from Argentina.
If Argentina is taking side-swipe
at us with her export tax on wheat,
because of our treatment of her corn,
she can scarcely be blamed. 1t was,
and is, a mistaken policy just at this
period of worldwide scarcity of all
food grains. Nor can can she be
blamed much if she chooses to do her
own milling of her wheat, for which
she is remarkably well prepared. To
quote from an article appearing in
"The Review of the River Plate" pub
lished in Argentina: Gall countries,
with very few exceptions, protect their
milling industries, because they realize
that in doing so they assure the bene-
fits of it's preparation, in all it's as
poets to the country itself. They give
employment to workmen, contribute
thus to the general well-being; they
yield by-products which in other coun-
tries are utilized as first-class feed for
cattle and swine" One of the excep-
tions to which the paper refers is the
United States, under the Democratic
tariff policy, bidding for foreign COM
petition.
George Creel was not "too proud to
fight" No, he was proud that we
were unprepared to fight.
***
In his letter to the assembled DEM
ocrats of New Jersey, President Will
son spoke of the men now in the
trenches having been "freed from the
economic serfdom" to which some of
them have been accustomed. Like his
earlier utterance, in discussing peace
terms, when he said that the treaty
of peace must include "the removal as
far as possible of all economic bar
riers and the establishment of an
quality of trade among all nations"
this was a studied thrust at the Re-
publican policy of protective tariff.
"Freed from economic serfdom."
Indeed! And when did this freeing
from service occur? The only time in
very recent years when any consid-
cradle number of American citizens
have been set free from service was
in 1884, after the enactment of the
Wilson Underwood tariff law, when
some 100000 men and women wage
earners lost their jobs because work.
shops and factories closed down, and
other lines of industry curtailed their
operations because indirectly affect
ed by the disaster to American manu-
facturers. Set free? Yes, indeed.
Instead of working eight, nine, or ten
hours day, as they had been doing,
the workers found themselves working
no hours day. They had free sleep
...<~ Il