The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1869-09-24
RUSSIAN COMPETITION.


| This has been demonstrated for years
past by the Russian wheat-grower. The
grain-growing region of Russia is of sufIi-
cient extent, and rich enough in soil, and
so well favored by climate, that it could be
made the granary of the world. The Ia
borer there tolls in his skin coat and wood
en- shoes, for sixteen dollars year. And
yet could raise a bushel of wheat in Lo-
gan county, Ohio, cart it across a good
share of our continent, and then ship it
over wide ocean to LIVERPOOL and UNI
dersell the Russian wheat grower, and why
Because / would take broadcloth the Rus
sian did not wear, nor want, and silks he
had no use for, and plows, and hoes, and
harrows, and the thousand and one manu-
featured articles the Englishman had, of
the best uality at the lowest rate.
.r THE HOME MARKET.
But, says one, is it not better to have the
market at home, and save the heavy cost of
transportation, and so keep the profits
among ourselves Certainly, my Christian
friend, if tho thing were possible; but we
are trying the home market now. Our
American commerce abroad, once our pride,
has nearly disappeared. Ship building
has ceased to be an item in our statistical
returns And what is the result2 A ruin
to agriculture. We sell our wheat at
loss. There is at this moment, not single
farm in Logan county, that is not for SALE
Our young men crowd into the towns and
cities; our old men look longingly to the
far West. And why9 Because we are try
ing the experiment of home market. AS,
by the law of trade, our wheat would be
taken to Europe and return to us in the
shape of manufactured articles, law of
Congress has been passed forbidding such
exchange and forcing us to sell to, or at
least to purchase of, New England.
And what is the result? Why, while
New England has no end of manufactured
articles to sell us at very high figures, she
has no demand for our produce. New
England rases sufficient on.her rock soil to
support her population, so our wheat may
rot in our granaries or be sold at loss, to
be paid for there in manufactured articles
that are enormously dear.
And this great continent of ours, over
which the American Eagle scars and
screams, and the Star Spangled Banner
waves in triumph, and all that sort of thing
is an agricultural region. The millions
that have opened for themselves position
among the nations of the earth, have built
up from the ground. From ocean to, ocean,
from the lakes to the Gulf, we have a world
created for agriculture.
Ills land of lake and river
With prairies far between
| land OF corn and wheat that weas
Gods livery of green"
Now we do not sell to the manufacturers
of Europe. We sell to the crowded mil
lions, who are forced to look abroad for
bread. The manufacturers there make but
a small number of consumers. They are
in fact, only the brokers who purchase for
Others, and our customers use their articles
to pay for our produce. If it were posi-
BILE to have, not only the manufacturers,
but the millions of consumers, we could
have the much-desired home market, but
this is, have said before, an impossibility.
The thousands on thousands of laborers,
who renew yearly our American blood by
emigration to these shores, become agri-
culturalists as soon as they land, and add
to the population of farmers.
Machinery used in manufacturing does
not consume breadstuffs. We have now
enough running to supply us with all the
articles we need, and will tell you what
you can do, and so dispose of this humbug
of home market. Itwould give me pleas
ure to do it for you, your committee had
only shown the good taste and sound judg-
ment to invite me to speak, so that might
have prepared myself But, you turn to
the census, or any other source of correct
information, and set down the exact num-
Der of manufacturers in the United States
that are protected by tariff law Allow
five to each for family. Then take the
| curp1uc oorrinu1turol ,,rn6uoto nf two Wact-
ern States only, which you can get readily
from reports, and you will find that these
manufacturers, to consume that surplus,
will have, each man, woman and child of
Them, to eat twenty-five barrels of flour,
chew hogshead of tobacco, masticate
like quantity of pork, and eat or drink, in
the shape of bread or whiskey, no end of
corn each day of their unhappy lives
laughter Now these prohibitionists
have huge swallows, and gulp down the
largest sized fans about their system, but
doubt their capacity to do that. Loud
laughter.
For days and days past the air through
out the land has been tremulous with the
rattle of the reaper or the roar of the thrash
er. A great harvest is flowing out by rail,
canal, lake and river in search of market.
On the shores of Europe hungry millions
look anxiously for its coming; and if it
were left to the laws of trade instead ofthe
laws of Congress, it would "bless him that
gives and him that takes" and we would
be here to-day rejoicing over two dollars
bushel for our wheat.
The sooner we have done with these
bounties to trades the better it will be for
us. If there is any protection going, I want
it for the farmer. [Cries of "good good !"
and applause. I don't want to be left
with my farm produce on my hands, or to
be forced to sell it at loss, while I have
to pay an extortionate price for everything
| purchase, that others may grow rich. l
frequented the galleries of your Capitol,
during last winter, and saw every inter
est known to our country knocking at the
door and intriguing for class legislation
looking to its especial benefit, except the
agricultural interests. 1t had no ring, no
lobby there. 1t had no oily-tongued men
nor painted women. No bottles of wine
were cracked for its benefit, and scarcely a
Congressman dared lift his voice in its be-
half. And this while not only every article
you wear-eyery article into which iron or
copper enters, is heavily taxed, not to sup
port the Government Qor none of such tax