THE INFLUENCE OF THE TARIFF 141 



Influence of the Tariff on Farm Prosperity 



Much has been claimed for the great tariff acts 

 of recent times. There are those who claim that 

 the Dingley, the Payne- Aldrich, and the more re- 

 cently enacted Fordney-McCumber tariff acts, each 

 a strong protective measure, resulted in direct bene- 

 fit to the farmers of the country. This claim merits 

 analysis. 



It is true that the prices of protected farm prod- 

 ucts have risen in many cases as a result of tariff 

 legislation. This is notably true of wool, sugar, and 

 vegetable oils. In recent years enormous quantities 

 of vegetable oils have been shipped into the United 

 States from Manchuria, Korea, and the Tropics. 

 These oils have come into direct competition with 

 cottonseed and peanut oils. The seriousness of this 

 competition is indicated by the fact that previous to 

 1920, the quantity of imported vegetable oils almost 

 equalled the entire cottonseed oil production of this 

 country. The United States Tariff Commission, 

 after a thorough investigation of this situation, re- 

 ported that soya beans and peanuts could be pro- 

 duced in Oriental countries in almost unlimited 

 quantities at prices that would destroy the vegetable 

 oil industry in the United States. It was shown 

 also that there were 28,500,000 acres in cocoanuts in 

 the tropics, which would provide a source of supply 

 for oils interchangeable in the manufacture of oleo- 

 margarine, lard substitutes, and soap. The Ford- 



