Grey River Argus and Blackball News PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, APRIL 22nd, 1911.

Grey River Argus, 22 April 1911, Page 4

Grey Rive r Arg us and Blackball News PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, APRIL 22nd, 1911.

Until the Reciprocity Bill is piloted t'Kroug-h the United States Senate the trade relations with Canada must remain as they. are. A late cable from Washington states that ex-Speaker Cannon bitterly attacked the Bill. That could foe no surprise, as Mr Cannons has long- 'been the fighting leader of the "Old Guard" of the Republican Part 3% which for the last quarter of a century at least has 'been more representative of .the manufacturing and moneyed interests than of • the people of America. Although some surprise was occasioned by a Democrat representative also attacking the Bill, it must be remembered that the Democratic party has a large admixture of the capitalistic element that has iso long controlled the politics of America. This Reciprocity Bill really represents a struggle between the organised power of capital in all its forms, on the one hand, and the .people of America arid Canada on the other. The people on both sides of the boundary line feel that they have been creating a millionaire class too long. They Have at last come to realise that it is about time that they ceased to paj 1 - toll to a small class that has never done anything for them or for the country. Public opinion appears to have at length discovered the selfish hollow- ' ness of high' protection, and are moving rapidly in the direction of freer trade; and there is some prospect that the hightarifß wall that has prevented natural trade 'between the two will either be greatly lowered or pulled down atogether. Although all who receive a direct benefit' from tne Canadian tariff are making' a great noise against the Bill, its passage through both • branches of the Legislature is regarded as quite safe. For. the' last 50 years or more the people of Canada have sighed for freer. tr.ade with the United States. , At last they Have come within measurable distance of; the object in r view, and the ; pppor-. tunity is not to foe \ lost. : T,he last hope of the Republican Party -Is in the packed Senate," ,which' has always

smothered eveiy attempt at anything that savoured ot greater freedom of trade. It is significant to note that, if Protection is so good for a country it is very strange that all the high protection countries of the world have an injured, feeling: if .other countries retaliate by shutting- out their groods. Germany was .very. sore over Canada's preference^ to British, goods, and tried to retaliate , and punish her; but in vain,- as . she had 1 ultimately to come to terms with. the. Canadians, who possessed, the natural products that 'Germany.^wanted and could not do without. The system of, protection in Germany as v in Canada and the United States, works out mainly for the benefit ot certain interests other than those" of the people, and the people in -each case are beginning to be alive, to the fact, and are disposed to alter it. 'For instance, nothingcould be more glaring, than the way that meat is f taxed on the Continent for the benefit of the landed gentry who produce cattle. To enrich them . the cheap meat of ..Australasia and the Argentine is shut put by a cruelly high tariff. The benefits of the proposed agreement between Canada and Ame'rife may be gathered from the fact that ' the" principal " schedule refers to "free goods"— goods on which no duty is levied. These consist mainly of articles that enter into the daily life of the;, people on 'both sides of .the boundary line, such as natural, products', including . grkin, vegetables in their natural state, fresh fruits, fresh dairy products, seeds of various kinds, horses, cattle, fish and fish oil, certain minerals, mineral \vaters, natural, not in ' bottles or jugs, timber, hewn,.. sided' or squared, sawn boards and planks, pavingposts, railway ties, and wooden staves of all kinds. Another schedule provides for equal duties on both sides ; but on. the majority of articles the American tariff is reduced by. 15 per cent, to 25 per. cent. On the Canadiar. side the" reduction is only from 2-3- per cent, to 5 per' cent. Looking over the list it would seem that each party tb the agreement has..endeavoured to do the best that was possible to meet, the views of the mass of the people. It : was for their relief that the reciprocity sciienie was introduced, nof'ior the class who have been for so long actuated by interested motives in maintaining-' trade barriers to obstruct the Stream of commerce that should freely 'flow over the border line 'between the .two countries. 'But) another side to the question is presented toy the Toronto correspondent of the Lyttleton Times, /who says:— "Our history has" shown us one striking illustration of the fact that our .loyalty ■ to Great Britain does "not depend on -trade relations, and that from a time when Imperial ties were not nearly so strong as- they a*e to-day. ■ Before tree trade was introduced in Britain, Canada had been granted a substantial preference in the British , tariff. She immediately laid extensive .plans for .the trade with Britain, and enormous sums were spent on docks and other facilities for transportation. When things were beginning to look •, prosperous, Britain with one fell swoop broke down all. tariff barriers and opened her mar-' kets without "distinction, to' the whole world. If Canadian loyalty could stand such a blow as that, surely now, with a much, sounder foundation, we shall. remain as good British subjects as ever." " " '