Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-18
CANADIAN PREMIER
CARRIES OUT PLANS
FOR TARIFF WALLS
Bennett Works Sixteen Hours
a Day to Make Good His
Election Promises.
BUSINESS CONDITIONS
ARE DECLARED WORSE
Dislocation of Trade Machinery
Laid to Policies of New
Regime.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

OTTAWA, Ont, January 17-This
snow-covered capital of Canada is
thinking things over. The morning
AFTER has come, and business looks
gray. untnviting and even bleak.
Inc new Conservative government In
IN the saddle. In fact, there is only
one man who speaks with authority
II. n Bennett, the former Calgary
4aWyer, rich. go years old and a BACH
elor who succeeded another bachelor
Mackenzie King as premier.
premier Bennett rules with an iron
nand. He makes the decisions, and
ms caolnet carries out his instructions
MOI since war time has Canada been
ruled by man of such determination
and vigor.
He returned only recently from
LONDON, where his fearless champion
ship OF Canadian high protection at
tracted general attention. The British
regarded him as more nearly IMPLYING
super-salesman for the United States
than as prime minister of one of their
dom1nlons, but he made his point zHd
told the British that Canada was going
TO be for the Canadians in the future.
Election Promises.
Now he is back in Ottawa, and what
job he has to make good on his
election promises! But he has started
In earnest and is working 16 hours a
day to fulfill his pledges.
One promise, for example. was that
II elected he would put up tariff walls
nigh enough to prevent foreign goods
from being dumped into Canada, and
thus modify, If not abolish entirely,,
unemployment. He said he would
compel every foreign company that
desires to share in Canadian business
to establish factory in Canada and
employ Canadians.
The people put him in power. They
gave his majority in Parliament, and
he lost no time in. getting started. He
selected his cabinet-all except that of
finance minister, which position he took
over In addition to being premier. I'M
mediately he put up tariff walls by
one stroke Of his pen. Such things are
done in Canada. He worked fast-he
| cut red tape and went after matters
with hammer and tongs. He played
no favorites. Courage is his middle
name Even his old friends complain
that he has ignored their pleas and has
decided his course of action without
help or advice from any quarter.
And what has happened? Mr. Ben
nett may not be to blame II the facts
are that business conditions are worse
now than when he took charge of the
Government, but they are. Bank clear
1ngs are lower; wheat prices are at q
record low; pulp and paper exports are
down; factories are working less men
and the number of unemployed is
larger than it has been in 10 years.
Not only that, but the people have
learned that getting new factories into
Canada does not always work out to
advantage. Take the case Of one large
American soup company. After the
Bennett high tariff was slapped on, this
company decided to come into Canada
and manufacture its own products.
Because the company is so well known
and its product so well advertised, the
Canadian canneries are up in arms.
Ihey' believe sch competition will
seriously injure cneir own business, for
this American company has advertised
extensively throughout the Dominion
during the last 20 years.
Typical Case Cited.
Or take the case of famous British
chocolate manufacturer who has made
Arrangements to open large chocolate
Factory In Canada to manufacture his
OWN products. So anxious and wor-
RED. have the Canadian companies be.
come that they have appealed to the
government to do something about it or
the real Canadian companies viii be
destroyed.
A high tariff wall does not always
succeed in only keeping goods out of
the country. 1t oftentlmes dislocates
the machinery OF trade to point where
1t destroys its effectiveness. The
United States has certainly learned this
lesson in the last year. Canada, too, is
learning the same lesson. A tariff wall
Is IKE a tWo-edged sword; it is lust as
sharp on one SIDE as on the other.
Crop Diversification.
Mr.. Western Farmer, diversity. This
is The advice of Sir John Aird, presl-
dent OF the Canadian Bank of Com
merce, to the hard-preSsed, worried and
harassed farmers in the Western
provinces of the Dominion.
Sir John believes Russia will be a
pig export wheat factor from now on.
that European countries, under mod
ern methods, will raise more of their
own wheat than ever and that Man
churla and Northern China will be-
come major sources of supply of for
eign wheat for Japan, China and the
Far East. So he wants the Western
farmers to look such facts in the face
ana plan their future accordingly. He
thinks the wiser OF them will begin i'm
mediately to make the change. lust as
the farmers in Minnesota have done
IN the last 20 years. It's their one
big opportunity.
Plan Not So Easy.
But it is not $50 easy to diversity,
Western Canada, on the whole, has no
such fertile land, abundant moisture
or rich markets as the farmers Of
Minnesota. Besides a very large per-
centage of Canadian Western farms are
already heavily mortgaged, taxes are
high and the farmers themselves have
little or no credit with which to change
from one line into another
1t is an admirable suggestion ana
safe one for banker to make But
it will take money and 20 years under
favorable conditions to make it effec-
tive. Half of Western Canada could
starve to death in the meantime.
The Toronto Financial Post takes
issue with Sir John on the main issue
and announces that after an exhaustive
survey of the wheat situation it finds
that the West can compete against
all nations in growing wheat" Why?
Because, the Post says, Canals caN
raise wheat cheaper and prodnce y
finer quality than any other ration.
Canada, with a population OF lO=
100000, raises about 400, 900 900 bushels
annually and exports 100000, 900. The
United States, with a population OF
l20.000.000, raises s00,000,00O bushels
CONTINUED ON Second PaRa.J