The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-12-20
CoMAoDORR MATHEW F. MAURY.

CUMMODOkE AATnEW +. MAUkf.
Extrsets from his Masterly Address be-
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GESTLEMEN-I have subjects to dis
cuss of great interest to all the "bread
earners" of the land. These subjects
concern, in an especial manner, the well
fare of those who earn their bread from
the agricultural and mechanical pur-
suits. f'
j The question of which am about to
treat Is one of this sort !: How shall the
farmers of the country procure from the
General Government that degree of con-
sideration, and such Legislative encour-
agement for agriculture as it requires
and deserves? Its importance, when con-
trasted with the other greatfnterests of
the country, such as commerce and nav
igation, railroading, mining and manu-
featuring, is to say the least, quite equal
to theirs; thenwhy should it not receive
as much consideration from the law
givers z ra
/ According to the official statements,
| statements not generally very accurate, L
/ 0<AAAuV, OuS SO III t&lAo A&kStuisSC
perhaps to give an idea of your wealth.
your crops last year amounted in round
numbers to e, 500, ,6OO, 900; that is the
annual produce of your labor, and it is
increasing. What, compared to this, is
the produce of the mines, the gains of
commerce or the earnings of railroads?
According TO the late census, there
are said to be II, SOC, 900 "bread earn
ers /" In the United States. These fill
the mouths of the 80, 0OO, 900 of people
who inhabit the country. Thus every
one who is not drone, has on the aver
age, to earn bread for three months. -,
Following up these statistics, it APP
pears that these several Industries sub
sist respectively The agricultural aud
mechanical, 23 $50, 900 souls, the manu-
featuring, liz, 900; themining 472, 900;
the railroad and expressmen, $50, 900.
Therefore you beat in numerical
strength the several industries that are
SO much .,rs,..f
f. MORE COMPACT In ORGANIZATION
and powerful with Legislatures than
YOU are, some ten, some twenty, and
some fifty times-and all combined five
to one. 80
Hitherto your combinations have ex-
tended only to the forming of State and
counties societies, and the influencing
of State Legislatures. Theirs are gen.
eral, they impress Congress.
Follow their example, and foster the
great National Agricultural Congress that
had its birth in this city on the 2Sth of
May last
The interests of agriculture, not in
Missouri alone, or in any one State es-
pecially, but of the whole country, re-
quire the adoption by Congress of GER
tain measures which are too weighty for |
any one State or section to carry. They
required the united combinations of all, !
and here it is, this Congress, with 3d.
$50, 900 'sbread eaters at its back, pre-
pared to bring forward those measures
and press them with yigor that no
government can Withstand.
1t has already spoken with regard to
one of these great measures, and ere its
memorial could be enrolled and sent up
to Washington, the public press took up |
the petition, and Legislators catching the !
spirit, passed-though they were upon /
the very heels of the session--an act in
creasing the appropriations for the Sig !
nal Office, and commanding 1t TO address
its labors to the benefit of agriculture |
as we'll as commerce.
This information will enable you to |
fix prices upon your staples instead of !
going to the merchants to set the prices
Tor yoti; 1T will be proclaimed by tele-
grams, distributed through the mails |
and repeated by the county and village |
press throughout the land, until every /
farmer will, in his own interest and for |
self-protection, be compelled to take at
least one newspaper; SO here, besides
the general and patriotic, is direct Pc
cuniary interest which the press has in |
advocating this measure and in helping |
us to '.roll this call along"
OF this Congress the st. Louis AaEi- |
cultural and Mechanical Associatifd is /
somewhat the foster parent. ThafCon-
gress met and was organized in this city |
under the wing of your Association, and
because of your usefulness,
YOUR INFLUENCE AND GLORY
in the land, / am here to ask you to en-
courage this Congress, to speak well of
it, to help support it, and send your |
clear-headed men to represent you In 1t |
next Nav, at indianapolis, and annually |
thereafter, for there are other measures |
of general concern to come before 1t i
which are second only in Importance, to |
the great scheme which it has already
in hand I call it great scheme, be
cause wherever it has been brought for
werd it has met'with approval from wise
and good men, ~
It is meet, therefore, that your Ma
tional Agricultural Congress should be
dilieent in this matter, for as soon as it
moves the government in Washington to
Issue invitations for the International
Conference it has to turn its attention to
the subject of
INLAND TRADE
with the view of urging ConeTess up to
its duty of regulating eoanmerce
among the States.
/ need only mention railroads and
way-freights to wake you. up on this
subject, and to remind you of grievious
burdens unfairly laid upon you and
hard to bear.
Your oppressors in this areencouraged
aided and abetted by the very power
that should protect you, VIZ /: the Gov
eTQ1QeQI OF the Ouultu OitttSo 1eoSAA'
Now, speaking in general way, all
agricultural produce reaches market IN
the first instance, as wdy-freight. The
farmer pays that, and then the groceries
and supplies which he receives In return
often come to him charged also with
.odious way-tariffs.
The Government, you also know. has
made munifcent land grants to many
Of the railroads; but the bounty came
from you, and was created by your own
enterprise and labor, e. g., here were
public lands like drug in the market;
the farmer settled upon them and by
improving, amid hardship, toll and pri-
vations, his own tract, he enhanced the
value of the rest. He opened way to
it through the wilderness; he made
roads and clearing; he tried the eli
mate and proved the soil; built mills,
shops and churches; established schools;
paved the way for immigration and set
Element and thus value was given to
the unoecupied land around about.
The Government profting by such en-
terprise, and forgetting the laborer, said
practically to one railroad company af-
ter another: "Here, take these lands
--alternates sections, which these far
mers have by their labor made saleable
1 will double the price of mine that re-
main; YOU may do what you like with