The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-12-27
CANADIAN FARMERS
ARE FRIGHTENED
Fear Effect of the United
States Embargo Against
Canadian Products
WILL SHUT OFF
MARKET FOR CATTLE
Millions of Dollars Worth Sold to the
United States Each Year - Embar-
go Would Help Canadian Consumers
and Pinch Them i'm United States.

and Pinch Them in United States.
TORONTO, Dee 27-The threat.
ened embargo by the United States
against Canadian agricultural products
is producing here, as its scope becomes
clearer, a reaction quite distinct from
anything observed when it was first dis
| cussed. The new note contains an un.
mistakable element of hostility and re-
| sentiment.
Canadian high proteetionists, OF
course, welcome the embargo They may
| express resentment against it, and will
certainly fan such resentment whenever
it appears, for the purpose of securing
retaliatory embargOes in the form of in
| creased duties against American manu-
featured products. Their task will be
UNNECESSARILY lightened if the Washing
ton embargo against Canadian agricuI-
ture goes into effect
But the great mass of Canadian mod
crate protectiOnists, to say nothing OF
| the Farmers party and free traders
don't want anything in the nature of a
tariff war With the United States. They
perhaps did not take seriously the first
reports of protective tariff action, and
now view with uucOnccaled alarm the
active preparations for hOstilities which
nave been proceeding SO rapidly at
Washington.
Farmers are not. trying to deceive
themselves as to what the effect of the
closing of the United States market will
| be on them. Some say it will be- almost
a calamity. The effect on live stock
and some vegetables will be greater than
| III grains because these come on the
market at definite seasons and are in q
sense more peTiShabIe commodities than
grain. Last year So, 00OOOO worth OF
cattle alone were shipped into the
states from Canada. an outlet which
was undoubtedly a great boon TO Can
adIan growers, particularly i'm view of
| the TACT that Britain, despite long con-
| tinued protests, maintains an embargo
against Canadian live stock I'm the
West, owing to climatic conditions and
the distance from any large market cx-
cept the United States centerS. raising
of live stock has been precarious bust
ness. 1t is predicted the proposed Amer
lean duties Will knock the whole west
ern cattle business on the head.
Potatoes are a commodity i'm which
there Is often q considerable interna-
tonal trade. They can be shipped long
distances, "and aften the Canadian mar
ket has hden, swept almost clean. by. buy
erS from some PARKWAY American point
"AIEAE tutit II It shortage DluQlU@ up the
price.
Farmers claim, however. that in all
these items of food produce. it is not
the largeness of the exports to the
states that has. benefited them 80 much
as it has been the conception afforded
by having two markets available When
Americans bid the price up the Cana
dian price has to follow suit, and as the
Canadian market requires most of the
available supply the main result is that
the Canadian consumer pays more and
the Canadian farmer gets more
From this it is evident that the pro-
posed embargo is going to benefit the
Canadian consumer and, by the same
token will squeeze the American con-
sumner. AS r. w. Burnaby. president
of the United Farmers of Ontario. points
out, the eastern American cities are i'm
porting $1,O00,000,0O0 worth of food
stuffS a year.
The hope of Canadians opposed to a
tariff war lies for the present in Presi-
dent Wilson. The Toronto Globe puts
it this way:
president Wilson is inclined some
times to answer Il fool according to his
folly. He will unquestionably veto any
measure of this nature"