The Alaska daily empire., 1922-01-18
Abusing Protection?
(Boston News Bureau.)

News
 Speaking in what he termed "the stronghold of the protectionist party President Mitchell of the Ma tona City Bank yesterday ouspokenly deprecated before the Chamber Commerce two in stonces of what he conceived be abuse of the pro- lection principle So far the real interests of this part of the country concerned, from it's gard for the national record there need have been hesitation. New England's interests and opinions coincide with the viewpoint expressed. In these two there is nothing of the tradi- tonal tariff issue of competition from Old World countries with lower wages, costs and prces-factors greatly accentuated by exchange dislocation and currency depreciation. Here the relation is with our own Western Hemisphere neighbors Canada and Cuba. Toward each of these the close friend practically homogeneous with and the other vr- tualy ward under peculiarly close ties have adopted tariff attitude that is not only unneighbory but economically very unwise And in the of Cuba these material reasons reinforced by what amount to moral arguments.
 The grain of the and the sugar of the other have been the particular targets of our tariff sharpshooters. Damage to these neghboring indus tries not the primary motive. That lay in a desire, combined with political power, to reap a
 pecal advantage for certain home industries, an
 Xtent exaggerated even in the minds of the But the reactions neighbors-and on our selves a whole-are the less certain
 We are in effect hitting at two of our best customers,-n day when feel need for cultivating foreign sales To Canada have been selling more than billion year in goods Cuba half billion But growers of wheat and beet sugar, and their political prophets do stop or to reflect such broad facts of commerce.
 The 35cent duty on Canadian wheat threatens the disrupting of trade whereby the milling much Canadian grain has been done here, part of a needed flow of products. We antagon- iZing these northern neghbors into talk of retalia- tion. The ultimate result, seen by President Nit chell, would be their milling their grain and exporting their flour in competition with portable supply, we'll inviting English and European goods to enter their boundaries under a freedom from tariff that would practically put goods out of competition"
 The of Cuba is yet worse. The United States has monopozed the Cuban buying market under reciprocal dfferentia Now, by the 1 50 cents tariff are in the Mitchell phrase ''crucfy- ing Cuba,' whose prosperity had morally under written Commercially. sugar is synonym for Cuba All this is done favor to "uneconomc' beet industry home, that is called domestic but in nature is largely exotic.
 The eventual outcome, seen by MT. Mtchell,- in addition to the extra burden American sugar consumers- is the driving of Cuba to demand either annexation complete trade divorce from us. perhaps again instruction and the need for armed intervention.
 But neither do these prospects interest the beet sugar lobby the farm bloc Chairman Fordney has only sneers for Cuba. And the beet sugar spokesmen threaten duty if Cuba doesn't eurtail her
 And thought at all for American manufacturers of wares that Canadians Cubans might buy or for American consumers of sugar.