New-York tribune., 1921-03-04
House Backs
Wilson Veto
OF Tariff Bill
CONTINUED from page ons)

(contnusd from paue one)
It's imports In the Same year If sugar
and wool, of course. greatly exceeded
its exports. 1t is obvious that for tho
commodities, except sugar and wool,
mentioned in the measure, which make
up tho greater part Of our agricul-
tural international trade, the imports
can have little or no effect IN the
Prices OF the omestic products. This
is strikingly true Of such commodities
as wheat and corn. The imports have
come mainly from Canada and Argcn-
tina and have not competed with the
domestic crop. Rather they have sup
/ r!cmentci it.
Imports for Limited Uses
"The domestic demand has been for
specific classes and qualities Of foreign
wheat to meet particular milling and
planting needs. They are small frac-
tion of our total production and Of our
wheat exports. The price. of wheat is
world price and it is a matter of
little moment whether the Canadian
wheat goes directly into the markets
OF the other countries of the world
or indirectly through this country. The
relatively small quantity of corn i'm
ported into this country has spe
claliZed use and does not come into
competition with the domestic COM
modify.
"The situation in which many Of the
farmers of the country find themselves
cannot be remedied by measure of
this sort. This is doubtless generally
understood. There is no short way out
of existing conditions, and measures Of
this sort can only have the effect of
! dcceiving the farmers and Of raising
false hopes among them.
actual relief can come only from
the adoption of constructive measures
: OF broader scope, from the restora-
tion of peace everywhere in the world.
the resumption CT normsi industria
pursuits, the recovery particularly Of
Europe, and the discovery there Of
additional credit foundations on the
basis Of which her people may arrange
to take from farmers and other pro
/ ducers of this nation greater part
of their surplus production.
Zone does not pay compliment TO
/ the American farmer who attempts to
alarm him. by dangers from foreign
competition The American farmers
are the most effective agricultural pro-
ducers in the world Their production
is several times as great for each
worker as that Of their foreign rivals.
This grows out of the intelligence of
the American farmer, the nature of his
agricultural prac tices and economy and
the fact that he has the assistance OF
scientific and practical agencies which,
in respect to variety of activity, OF
personnel and Of financial support, cx
ceed those of any other two or three
nations in the world combined. There
is little doubt that the farmers of this
nation will not only continue mainly to
supply the home demand but will be
Increasingly called upon to supply
large part of the needs of the rest Of
the world.
Foreign Markets Now Needed
"What the farmer now needs is not
only better system Of domestic mar
ketng and credit, but especially larger
foreign markets for his surplus prod
ucts. Clearly measures of this sort
will not conduce to an expansion Of the
foreign market. 1t is not little sim
gular that a measure which strikes
blow at our. foreign trade should follow
so closely upon the action Of Congress
directing the resumption OF certain ac-
tivities of the War Finance Corpora
ton, especially at the urgent insist
ence of repres sentatives of the farming
interests, who believed that its resump-
Indeed, when one surveys recent activi
ties in the foreign field, and measures
enacted affecting the foreign trade, one
cannot fail to be impressed with the
fact that there is consistency only in
their contradictions and inconsistencies.
We have been vigorously building up
a great merchant marine and providing
for improvement Of marketing in for
eign countries by the passage of an ex-
port trade law and of measures for tho
promotion of banking agencies in for
eign countries. Now it appears that we
propose to render these measures abor
tive in whole or IL part.
II imagine there is little doubt that
while this measure is temporary, it is
intended as a foundation for action Of
a s milar nature of a very general and
permanent character. 1t would seem
to be designed to pave the way for
such action. If there ever was time
when America had anything to fear
from foreign competition, that time
has passed. I cannot believe that
Amer can producers. who in most re-
spccts are the most effective in the
world, can have any dread of competi~
tion when they view the fact that their
country has come through the great
! struggle of the last few years rela-
lively speaking untouched, while their
principal competitors are in varying
degrees sadly stricken and laboring
under adverse conditions from which
! they will not recover for many years
Changes O. very radical character
have taken place. The United States
has become great creditor nation.
She has lent certain governments of
Europe more than 50 10000 10000 and
ss a result Of the enormous excess of
eXrprtC thhrp additional
mercial Indebtedness or foreign nations
to our own of perhaps not less than
$4,000 100000. There are only three
ways in which Europe can meet her
part of her Indebtedness, namely, by
the establishment of private credits,
by the sh pment of gold, or of commod-
tiles. 1t is difficult for Europe to dis
cover the requisite securities as basis
for the necessary credits. Europe is
not in position at the present time