Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1907 — HILL’S RECIPROCITY PLEA. [ARTICLE]

HILL’S RECIPROCITY PLEA.

Help to Make Hta Canadian Investments Profitable. Perhaps a truer estimate may be formed of tlie'vfllue of James J. Hill’s advocacy of reciprocity with Canada if his personal Interest in the matter is taken account of. ijr. Hill and his associates have been engaged fop soma time in the extension of his American railroads Into the Canadian west, where they necessarily come Into competition witllWHhe lines of the Canadian Pacific and other Canadian railroads. The Canadian roads have been In one way and another subsidized by the Canadian government, and It has been Mr. Hill’s boast that Ills own lines, built without governmenti aid, would Comof li4s Canadian rivhlg. “Hie would, however, be surer that his words would come true if American markets were opened to Canadian products and the business of his transportation lines thereby aided. Mr. Hill has his own axe to grind, is grinding it and cannot divert attention or drown the sound of the grinding by making a noise like an appeal for the national welfare. A number of American manufacturers, including the Westinghouse interests of Our own city, have been compelled by the Canadian protective tariffs to erect works in Canada to hold their Canadian trade. We hear nothing from them in advocacy of opening American markets to Canada, and If we did we should be inclined to wonder at it. They, however, are better situated than Mr. Hill, for they did not build in advance of their market and are in receipt of all the benefits that accrue to the Canadian manufacturer under Dominion tariffs. The railroad man did not ask and has not, could not, have received benefits such as his

competitors who opened the country obtained for doing so, and he may have discovered by this time that his enterprise has given Western Canada railroad facilities In advance of present need. The one apparent way to remedy such a situation in advance of the growth of Canada Is by reduction of American tariffs for the encouragement of Canadian Imports. In short, Isn’t Mr. Hill asking the American people to make his Canadian Investments profitable by making sacrifices In his behalf?—Pittsburg Chronicle. Presidents Panama Trip. President Roosevelt’s special message to Congress on the Panama ship canal based on what he saw and felt during his short tour of Inspection Is notable for Its optimism. He found conditions, we may well believe from his account, much better than he expected. Improvement in sanitary conditions has been phenomenal. Yankee genius has conquired yellow fever, and whet 1 * before disease stalked like a specter, healthfulness abounds. The President demonstrates that he made good use of his time. It seems almost incredible that he could have assimilated so much knowledge In so brief a period, but no doubt his plans were carefully made beforehand and he followed his program with fidelity. He took careful note of the climate, of the food furnished the workingmen, of the sanitation of Colon, Panama and Christobal, and finally he surveyed the route of the canal and the progress of the work. He suggests better pay for the American laborers. Naturally the govern-

ment must look to them to encourage the negroes and the Spaniards to greater effort and they should be paid according to the value of their services. The President endeavors to mollify organized labor by showing It that there Is nothing on the Panama labor situation Inimical to Its Interests. While every consideration is being given the American workingman to maintain the standard of wages and living, the nature of the work requires the employment of Imported labor and to this end arrangements have been made whereby several thousand Chinese will be given a trial. The government bav-' ing assumed responsibility for digging the canal, nothing chimerical should stand in the way of accomplishing the result. While the message Is directed to Congress, It Is more a communication to the people, a notation on the progress of the project to which they tire committed. It Is likewise an appeal to patriotism that captious criticism or scandal niongering may not be permitted to delay this great national undertaking. The President may not have seen everything that Is going on In the zone, he may be over-optlmlstlc, but no, one can question his faith or his earnestness. —Toledo Blndp.

Tariff Not Responsible. If you are obliged to pay more for your sh’oes, harness, etc., than formerly, do not let our friend, the enemy, make you believe that the protective tariff Is responsible for the raise; It Is the Increasing demand of the manufactures that must be held resismslhle. The extensive use made of leather other than footwear w#»- not anticipated a few years ago, nor do we believe that the new Uses are realized by many who anxiously await a return to former values. The price lists In free trade England show that leather had advanced In that country fuljy as much as In the United States.—Van Wert (Ohio) Republican. •