Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1922-03-02
TARIFF REDUCES
farm MARKETS
With Factories Closed Consumers
Cannot Purchase.
Cannot Export Produce Unless Other
Countries Can Sell Us.
BY n. E. MILES,
Chairman Of the Fair rariff League

Chairman Of the Fair Tariff Leauue.
In a small town In an agricultural
section Of the United States, not far
from the Canadian border, there Is a
glove factory. This concern has been
Tor years selling a large part Of its
product annually in Canada. Con-
gress In the Emergency Tariff Act
placed on goods imported from Canada
a tariff so high that 1t made 1t unprofit-
able for the Canadians longer to sell
their goods in the American market.
The small town glove factory, among
many others, lost Its Canadian mar
ket and had to shut down.
1t Is an economic law that a nation
buys where 1t sells. 1t must do this
In order to have money to pay its
bills in the country where the bills
are contracted.
Canada being unable to sell her
goods In this country was forced to
sell her surplus elsewhere Naturally.
then, she supplied her needs in other
markets. But this particular glove
factory Is important because Of its
effect on the prosperity Of the nearby
farmers.
The plight Of this factory Is ga ex-
ample Of how the prosperity of every
interest In this country Is depeEdent
upon the prosperity Of practically ev-
cry other interest. This glove factory
Is the mainstay Of the town. Prac-
ticaTly all the wage earners work
there. When their means of livelihood
was cut or their ability to purchase
was gone.
The smaller farmers who had a
ready market at their very doors for
their butter and eggs and other farm
products found It necessary to seek
other and less satisfactory markets
out Of town. But when they got out
into the world market they found that
something was happening.
Everything they tried to sell was sold
ut q greatly reduced price, but every
ching that they attempted to buy they
found was reduced only slightly In
price or not reduced at all.
The Farmer WhIpsawed
Many complicated factors enter into
q situation Of this kind, but one Of the
most important factors is the tariff.
have shown in a previous article that
in at least two commodities, those Of
sugar and wool, the tariff protection
accorded by the increased rates on
these tive commodities does not reach
the farmer, but stops with and en- {
riches the manufacturer.
Inere Is a chemical plant In the
state Of New Jersey which makes fer
tilizer product for the Cuban market
Cuba's sugar industry has been prac-
fically ruined by a go per cent increase
in the tariff on raw sugar. Cuba Is
unable to buy the product Of this chem
icAl factory. One thousand men are
out Of work. The families Of those
one thousand men would use at least
q thousand dozen Of eggs a week and
not less than a thousand pounds Of
butter and certainly not less than
three thousand pounds Of meat, all
products Of the American farmer.
But In the case Of Cuba there is even
q more direct loss Of market to the
farmer.
A glance at the trade reports shows
that Cuba Is one Of the American
farmers most important customers. In
1920 Cuba purchased Of US more than
so per cent Of all our exports Of hogs,
lard compounds, canned sausage, rice,
potatoes, beans and onions. She rank
ed second among the nations In the
purchase Of our cattle, horses, mules,
picked pork, sausage other than can
ned, poultry, cheese, sweetened con-
densed milk, cocoa and prepared choco-
late and corn. She ranked third In the
purchase Of hams and shoulders, mis-
cellane0us canned meat products, hay
and -four. Cuba bought from us during
1919 and 1920 over $S5, ,0OO, 900 worth
of truck gardening and farm products,
ever $4,000, 900 worth Of live stock,
over $15,OO0,O00 worth Of dairy prod
ucts, over S6O,OOO,0OO worth Of meat
products, over $63,OOOOOO worth of
cotton cloth and over $50 1000 600 worth
of manufactures Of cotton.
Farmer Needs Cuban Market
II is pretty evident, then, that the
American farmer needs his Cuban mar
.ket. 1t Is further quite clear that If
this enormous quantity Of surplus agri-
cultural goods were dumped on the
home market his prices would slump
still more.
Now. where does Cuba get the money
with which to purchase our goods7
The answer is sugar" Cuba produces
100000 tons of sugar annually. This
enormous crop Is the mainstay Of Gu
ban prosperity. II it falls her, she must
90 bankrupt. About one-half Of her
output Of sugar she sells in the United
States.
II an increased tariff makes 1t i'm
possible for Cuba to sell her sugar in
this country her power to buy goods
here is going to be cut off.
We sold Cuba $515, 100000 worth Of
goods in 1920, and a large part Of
these sales were manufactured prod
uctS.
Az In the case Of the little town that
was dependent upon the glove factory
for It's existence and could not buy Its
supplies from the surrounding farmers
when the factory shut down, SO in gen.
eral. II American manufacturers are
seriously injured by losing such an i'm
,portant market as Cuba, It is going to
curtaIl the wages paid to labor and In
urn win curtail the farmers domestic
. arkst.