Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1870-03-18
now EXCESSIVE DUTIES AFFECT
WESTERN WHEAT GROW EVs.

now EXCESSIVE DUTIES AFFECT
WESTERN WHEAT GROWERS.
The price Of wheat the great commercial
staple oi this country next to cotton lis, equally
with that Of cotton, controlled by its price In
European markets. Under whatever system Of
domestic ecouomy, therefore, Il may he produced
II mus, be sold, both at home and abroad. under
conditions Of absolute and unrcsraiucd free
trude-that Is to say at price which measures
very nearly It's cost Now II we can GIT for our
own wheat only what II costs other nations to
produce theirs, and send Il 10 market. we must
be driven out Of all markets but our own, unless
we can compete With them, In lis isproduction aud
transportation, on equal terms.
The low price Of wheat now prevailing Is not
owing 10 abundant crops of our own 50 mach
as to the improved mears NJ transportation re-.
Gently introduced into the wheat growing coun.
tries of Europe, especially Russia aud Hungary,
which enables these Countries not only t0 send
forward their produce soon aher harvest, but
underSen US largely whenever we cBme in com.
tettiun with them. We have not thus only lost
the advantages which our railroads and canals
works IN the construction Of which we were,
for time, far In advance Of all other nations -
no better means Of transportation than our rivals,
the disadvantage of being compelled to bring
our grains from districts situated some 200
miles from the seabtmrd, and from distances In.
land far greater than those with which our RI
walls have 10 contend. These disadvantages are
by M means ncutralilcd by the fertility Of our
virgin soil. Tho nnly way, therefore. IN which
we can recover the ground We have lost, and
MAINTAIN the position we once enjoyed, Is by an
important reduction IN the cost oi pr0duGtiOn and
transportation. The "pauper labor oi Europe"
freed from oil burdens but eost, is too much Tor
that OF our 'armsrs, luadc1 and hnmpgred bv
charges which excessively increase the cost OF
these products without securing to them compcn-
saiing advantages in return.
Under our present tariff the farmer In this
country pays for all the implements Of agricul-
ture sun nearly twice greater than their cost.
l The cost Of the grades of steel which cnt r
! largely into the Manufacture Of pluws, rcapers
I mowers and similar instruments averages S72
per ton, gold, Or 3 20 cents per pound. The
| present duty Is 50 cents, gold, per pound, or
Z $50 40 pei ton. The other charges of impnrth-
ton equal 81 lO gold per ton, making the cx-
Cess Of price 10 us, aver cost SOL 80, or 81 per
cent. SIMILAR comparison Of the cost of iron
in this county and IN England would show equal
" to our disadvantage. In other words, the
implements 0f our agriculture cost us nearly
twice what they do our fnreighn competitors
So IN all matters OF transportation. Iron rails
cost IN this country, say S57 so per ton. Their
cost in England iSuniy s37 pertnn. The excess
of cost to us Il 80 per cent, Steel rails cost in
England SiS so; in the United States SSl, or 70
perc ut. more. The cost Of repairs oi locomotive
engines In this country equals IS per cent per
mile run; in England G cents The cost Uf main.
trnance Of way, including iron, equals, IN the
State nf New York for example, about 80 cents
per mile run; In England AZ cents. The cost Of
operating the railroads of New York for 1868
y pnun1pd a1 M tar fntla hv thp fruiuqs N
England the cost Of the same service equalled 62
cents per mile that in Now York being twu and
one half times greater. great part of this
disparity is directly due to our Revenue law; Tor
although the price Of labor naturally rules high
cr in this county than IN England, the dispari-
| ty 10 ihis matter Is by no menns so great MS in
the material we use; and one reason of the high
price OF labor here is the high cost Of everything
necessary 10 support lifts
Cnst Of transportation must of course be in
rati0 tO the cost 0T material AS we can reduce
one we can reduce the other. Tho rates or trans
portation on the Western railr0 DIS equals fully
three cents per ton per ulile. Al this rate II costs
S33 10 transport ton of wheat, by rail, from the
Mississippi river to Chicago a distance of |. 100
miles. Fully Onc-third of this cost is due to our
revenue laws, which thus discriminate, "a an
equal extent, in favor Of minor and incnnsider-
able interest against one &C vast and universal
Importance. In the raising Of wheat. MS in the
MS comes from bioad, not from among ourselves,
Both interests come equally in competition with
untaxed and unburdcned foreign industries.
Both interests call for the same measure of re-
lief-a large reduction IN tie cost of material !;
in other words. mn important reduction of duties,
among other things, un iron and steel, We must
have raw material ut the rate that our rivals get
II, TO hope 10 compeB with them on equal terms
Co is transported by rail IN England at
profit, at the rate Of three quarters of cent per
ton per mile. The cost in this country at tho
present time, with fair profit, is twice greater.
On the continent the charges for transportation
on coarse articles over long distances is for
similar reasons. much less than IN the United
States. Coal should be transported with prof
1t, ut u charge OF unc cent per ton per milo
/ wheat at very nearly the same rate. Tile saving
effected by such rates would be enormous, and
IN the case of tho wheat grower, would duubl,
tue profits now realized by him.
We have "pruteced" iron aud steel I'LL W,
have destroyed our commercial marine. We arr
now witnessing the effects Of the same suicida
policy IN the embarrassment and decay Of ON
most impurtint agricultural interests. The
American shipbuilder has To compete with thos,
who get their materials at one half their cost Il
him. The wheat grower has, in upe same way
to compete with those who are equally favored
both in production and transportation. lie Il
comfurted to be sure, by being told that he /,
building up domestic inter,s that will. some
| dAy, cuing 10 his rescue But one good county
in the West will feed not only all the steelma'
keers in the United States, but all that will b,
in It for the next ii0y years. How, then, ar,
the thousands OF other counties to get their com
pensNtiOn for tho loss of markets which alon,
can secure pmunaraling prices for their pro
duets markets which, if they could properl,
compete for would take tenfold more than thel
can nuw producer
During the war prices Of all agricultural pro
duets ran up enormously, from the small Quan
NV raised At its close an accidental dcman,
from Europe kept them for some time ut higl
, figures, The cluse of the war enabled us to pu
nearly II million men at work of production, VIII
had previously employed the work dcstruc
tinu. Europe has been equally blessed with our
solves with abundant crops case uf 6est rat
Importance, consequently, has arisen, calliu
, imperauvey mr protection Ia vast, and "
may say, param unit interest II must be met
as that OF our commercial marine, by a reduc
tion Of burdens imposed bY law and the contin
uance Of which is fortunately not required, eiIhc
for revenue, or tor the reasonable protection q
any dom site interest.