THE INFLUENCE OF THE TARIFF 151 



legislation that will do for the farmer what the 

 tariff has done for the manufacturer." 



The defenders of the protective tariff balance the 

 accounts of agriculture and industry quite differ- 

 ently from those who oppose this policy. An article 

 by Congressman Will R. Wood in the Nebraska 

 Farmer, issue of June, 1926, discusses the benefits 

 of a protective tariff to farm producers. He calls 

 attention to the fact that exports of farm products 

 have declined from 15.38% of our total exports in 

 1921 to 6.6% in 1925. This is a decrease in valua- 

 tion of $356,000,000.00. When we turn from exports 

 to imports attention is called to the fact that the 

 aggregate value in 1925 was $3,610,000,000.00. Of 

 this total $2,080,000,000.00 or 57% was admitted to 

 this country duty free. Of the $1,530,000,000.00 

 worth of goods on which a duty was paid, $780,000,- 

 000.00 or 50% were agricultural products on which 

 a duty was charged to protect the farmers of this 

 country. This left $750,000,000.00 worth of imports 

 other than agricultural products on which a duty 

 was paid but of this amount $250,000,000.00 repre- 

 sented such luxuries as mahogany, cut glass, and 

 diamonds. The farmers' prosperity is not affected 

 by the tariff on these luxuries. 



The advocates of protection contend that the 

 policy is as necessary to agriculture as to industry. 

 Foreign competition is growing rapidly in the pro- 

 duction of farm products. The wheat area of Can- 

 ada, Australia, and the Argentine is being extended 



