The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-10-22

the difference Of cost in production
at home and abroad is the fair mea-
sure of protection needed, when
they come into power they proceed
to frame tariff law by the method
of hit or miss. In other words,
those industries in the sections from
which the majority come are favored
over all others. This is inevitable
unless some principle appiyin g
equally and uniformly over all sec
tions and without discrimination as
to all the products Of the field, the
factory and the mine, is employed.
To illustrate, under the Underwood
bill the duty on butter was reduced
from six cents to two and one half
cents pound. At the same time
a duty, for the first time believe,
was levied upon peanut butter,
largely product Of that section
from which the majority came. Now,
what would be our standing if we
had to go before a Democratic Tar
if Board administering the Under
wood Tariff law? We would be told
that the doctrine Of difference of
cost in production at home and
abroad was defunct. If we urged
that the American dairy farmer
could not survive competition with
the dairy products Of Europe and
Australia, the Commission would no
doubt express its sympathy but con-
fess it's impotency to afford relief.
The Underwood rate of two and one
half cents a pound would stand, and
under present conditions, the prices
Of dairy products of America would
decline somewhere from fifteen to
twenty per cent below the present
price.
Relation to Other Products
IL have discussed the protective
tariff in its relation to the dairy in
dustry more fully because of my
greater familiarity with that indus
try. What have said, however, as
to the need of protection for dairy
products applies equally to nearly
all the products of the farm. Every
one knows what has happened to
the wool industry and the sugar
beet industry under Democratic
tariff. Producers of live stock, look
ing to the future, are filled with
fear when they think of their in
dustry without protective tariff.
For the increasing importations of
cheap meats of all kinds, from South
America and Australia particularly,
are constant menace to the live
stock interests Of the country. Un-
der the Underwood Tariff law pro-
ducers of corn i'm this country saw
price decline Of several cents
bushel upon importations from the
Argentine. The great citrus fruit
industry under free trade would
suffer greatly. Indeed, looking to
the future l can now think of but
one important farm product which
does not now need or will not in the
near future ned a protective tariff,
and that product is cotton. Even
in the case of cotton, with the rapid
increase of America manufacture of
that staple, it is only question of
time, in my opinion, when America
will manufacture the greater part
of our entire production in Amer
lean mills.
- Conditions Serious :.
"Farm conditions are serious in
deed, more serious l think than the
people of our country generally have
been aware. | want, however, to ut
ter word Of warning to the farm
ers of America, and that is that a
of our difficulties. 1t is true that
with some of our products, as wheat
for instance, the price in the export
market is permitted to have an al
together undue effect upon the do
nestle price. We raise wheat prim-
arily to feed out own people, and
it is we'll that we do. We are one
of the chief wheat producing coun-
tries in the world and one of the
very few that have surplus to sell
abroad. If we were to refuse to
produce wheat for single year and
to depend upon the foreign market
for our supply, the increased de-
mand coming from America doubt
less would raise the price of wheat
sky-high-higher than we have ever
known it in normal times. This
would be a national calamity. 1t is
therefore desirable that we should
continue to raise at least enough of
wheat to feed our own people. In
fact, the great bulk of the wheat
we produce is consumed at home.
Only a small percentage of our total
production goes into the markets of