The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1921-02-10
Those Foreign Potatoes.

Those Foreign Potatoes.
"A striking illustration Of the in,me-
date need Of a tariff on agricultural
imports is furnished by situation in
Philadelphia. According to the Phila-
delphia papers more than 10000 sacks
containing 100000 pounds Of pota-
toes from Denmark have been un-
loaded on the Queen street pier, Phila-
delphia, from a Danish vessel. It is
said that these are only part of
huge shipments of potatoes that are
being brought into this country from
Denmark and which, according to
produce dealers and potato growers,
are bringing financial ruin to the
American potato growing industry.
The shipment to Philadelphia was con-
signed to the P. S. Scott company, WHO
act as American distributing agents
for the Denmark Potato Shippers as
ISOLATION. In reply to a general pro-
test against the potatoes being un-
loaded and marketed, representative
of the P. S. Scott company said:
eve are merely the selling agents
for the Danish association. We know
there has been protest to Washing
ton about these importations, and we
understand that Washington auti.ori-
ties at first contemplated refusing
permits for the unloading. When the
potatoes arrived in Philadelphia sew
eral agents from the bureau of mar
kets of the department of agriculture
came to this city and took back to
Washington several samples of the
potatoes before the shipment was un-
loaded. However, they found nothing
wrong with the potatoes and told us to
go ahead and unload them and sell
them" -
All told the United States depart
ment of agriculture has issued 18 per-
1nits to the Danish Associations per-
hitting them to unload millions Of
bushels of potatoes in the American
market. The cost of ocean transpor-
tation is so low that the Danish Pota-
to Shippers association can lay the
potatoes down in Philadelphia at a
cost of 10 cents per bushel for trans
portation. Michigan potato growers
must pay 80 cents a bushel freight for
transportation of their product to the
Philadelphia market and other potato
growers pay in like proportion.
The result of the importation of mil
lions of bushels of potatoes into the
Philadelphia and other eastern mar
kets at price which American potato
growers cannot meet has practically
stopped the sale of American potatoes.
It is stated that potatoes from Maine
and other New England states, as we'll
as those from Michigan and states in
the middle west which have found an
eastern market heretofore, have been
driven out of the market by tthe Dan
ish importations. The department Of
agriculture, when asked why it issued
permits for the unloading Of the pota-
toes, stated that it had no other
course provided they were found to be
free from potato disease ard pests.
The department states that the reason
there are such large importations from
Europe is due to the fact that the
tariff has been taken off foreign po-
tatoes.
Potato growers throughout the coun-
try are organized to demand not only
the restoration of the tariff on pota-
toes to protect the American producer,
but they are insisting that an imme-
date embargo be placed upon further
importations at the present time so
that the 1920 American potato crop
can find a market. There is great
deal Of criticism of the federal author
tiles and all those interested in Euro
pean relief work. It is pointed out
at the time the country is being asked
to subscribe great sums of money to
relieve starvation in all parts of Eu-
rope that millions of bushels of pota-
toes, which are a staple food, are be-
ing shipped directly from European
countries to America and brought into
destructive competition with the large
supply of domestic potatoes.
/ q A.