TWENTIETH ANNUAL MEETING. 221 



Prof. W. A. Hexrv : If this society is meddling when 

 it tries to help right the affairs of this country, it seems to, 

 me that Connecticut and this society are in a strange con- 

 dition. Here is a proposition to let in all the agricultural 

 products of Canada free, and only let into Canada a few of 

 our things. 



Now I am a free trader, but I don't want all the free 

 trading put on my side of the house at once and without anj' 

 excuse at this time. I want to offer a warning. If the people 

 of Connecticut want to suft'er from this one-sided arrange- 

 ment, all right. Air. Taft said he wanted a tariff commission, 

 he wanted to have $400,000, in order to have a proper tariff. 

 Now he says : "■A\^e want free trade with Canada for the 

 country." You remember the McKinley bill put $4 a ton on 

 hay. 75 cents a barrel on apples, 25 cents a bushel on potatoes, 

 and it has been kept there. Now Mr. Taft proposes to oblit- 

 erate that without a single investigation of our producers. He 

 has not asked the farmer in the state of Connecticut anything, 

 he has not said: "What is the cost of production?'" but he 

 says : "We want free pulp and lumber." We give up all 

 these agricultural products because they are not manufac- 

 tured, and you go on buying your plows and your machiner}' 

 at the high prices you now pay, and still have the Canadian 

 farmers buy their machinery in this country, and at a lower 

 price. 



We can stand it on my farm because we are peach 

 growers. If 1 was a hay grower, an apple grower or a po- 

 tato raiser, I wouldn't want that 25 cents taken oft'. They 

 will be shipping millions of bushels of potatoes here. They 

 shipped three million bushels year before last from England. 

 Now if you want to go into this, go into it with your eyes 

 open. And when you get stung, don't squeal. (Applause.) 



Mr. Robertson : There is no question but wtiat has two 

 sides to it. A year ago this fall I sold my potatoes for a 

 dollar a bushel, 15 or 20 bushels in a lot. The ATaine people 

 had potatoes, and the merchants here sent up and tried to 

 buy their potatoes at reasonable prices, which was 10 or 15 



