The Connecticut labor news., 1922-03-24
TARIFF REDUCES
FARM MARKETS:
KEEPS MANY IDLE
With Factories Closed Consumers
Cannot Purchase Goods
They Need.
BY n. 6. MILES,
Chairman Of the Fair Tariff LeaQue


In a small town in an agricultural
section of the United States, not far
from the Canadian border, there is
glove factory. This concern has been
for 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 it made it 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 nation
buys where it sells. It 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 it's
effect on the prosperity of the nearby
farmers.
The plight Of this factory is an ex-
ample Of how the prosperity Of every
interest in this country is dependent
upon the prosperity of practically ev-
cry other interest. This glove factory
is the mainstay of the town. Prac-
tically all the wage earners work
there. When their means of livelihood
was cut off their ability to purchase
was gone.
The smaller farmers who had
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
at a greatly reduced price, but every
Thing 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
a 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 two commodities does not reach
the farmer. hut stops with and en-
riches the manufacturer.
There 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-
tically ruined by Il 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
thousand dozen of eggs a week and
not less than 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
a more direct loss of market to the
farmer.
a glance at the trade reports shows
chat Cuba is one Of the American
farmers most important customers. In
1920 Cuba purchased of US more than
50 per cent of all our exports of hogs,
lard compounds. canned sausage, rice,
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-
cellaneous canned meat products, hay
ard flour. Cuba bought from IL; during
1919 and 1920 over $S5,OOO,OOO worth
of truck gardening and farm products,
over $66OO,OOO worth of live stock,
over $15,OOO,OOO worth of dairy prod
ucts. over $50, 100000 worth of meat
products, over S63,OOO,O00 worth of
cotton cloth and over $4,000, 900 worth
Of manufactures of cotton.
Farmer Needs Cuban Market
It 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 goods?
The answer is sugar Cuba produces
100000 tons of sugar annually. This
enormous crop is the mainstay of Gu
ban prosperity. If it fails her, she must
go bankrupt. About one-half of her
output of sugar she sells in the United
States.
II an increased tariff makes it 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 S515, 100000 worth of
goods in 1920. and a large part of
these sales were manufactured prod
uctS.