The Rock Island daily Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1872-1873, 1873-03-06
Letters from a Free Trade Farmer

LeLLerB from q EEee TRADE FARMER.
To THE EDITOR OF THE Rock ISLAND
Argus. Dear Sir:-It is a great salts
faction to the farmers 10 notice the course
OF THE ARGUS in its defense of the right
IN the present controversy between the
producers and their Oppressors. 1t is al
ways noble tO defend the right, but when
II Is done against corporations of immense
wealth, and in behalf of those who have
nothing TO give in return but gratitude it
becomes dOubly SO, especially at this time
when honor integrity, character, and all
that Is noble IN man. is too often sacrificed
Tor money. 1t has been intimated that the
present movement among the producers To
obtain their rights, is somewhat tinctured
with selishness ! do not think that in
the main it is justly open to any charge of
that kind. 1t would be strange indeed. if
under the peculiar provOcations. individu-
al instances did not obtain where hasty or
incOnsiderate action NAV have been had
but | do not believe that the producers, as
class, desire anything more than that
simple justice for themselves which they
are always willing to accord to all other
legitimate interests An important CON
sideration of the grievances Of which
the producers justly complain,
will show that they are in an anoma-
lous position as compared with other inter
ests, in this-that they have no means OF
escaping the full burden of the tax which
class legislation has imposed upon nearly
all the articles which they must have for
food or clothing. For instance On chear
cotton stuffs, such as cotton Jeans, denims
drillings, bed ticking, ginghams and arti-
Giles OF that class, where the value does
not exceed sixteen cents per square yard
the tax is to 60 cents, and ten per cent
on the square yard This tax the whole
sale merchant of course pays when he
makes his purchases of the manufacturer,
for it is already added to the cost but the
retail dealer rcimburses him the cost and
freight and also pays his added profit.
And now the retail dealer adds cost,
freight, and profit again, and the consum-
ers, which in this as in every other case
are the millions, reimburse him and pay
that enormous tax to the manufacturer.
That is the way class legislation makes
millionalres Of the few, and drudges OF
slaves OF the many.
Let us now examine the relation Of the
mechanic to this tax, the blacksmith fol
instance: He buys his stock from the iron
merchant, either wholesale or retail. who
pays the tax of II cents per h for horse
shoe iron, and tax of cents per pound
for horse shoe nails, to the manufacturer
but he is reimbursed by the blacksmith
when he comes to lay in his stock, who
again in his turn adds the cost of laying il
down at his shop, and when the farmer
gets his horses shOd, he, as in the former
case, relmburses the mechanic for all his
outlay and labor, and of course as before
pays this heavy tax to the manufacturer
1t Is Just here, upon the consumers
where class legislation puts the burden al
the time, and it is here too where the pro
Queer position IS an anomalous one.
1t is, however, unnecessary to pursue the
subject any further in this direction. as 4
must be evident to all that the consumer,
pay the tax / but wish TO show by the
above examples that it is the interest of the
merchant and mechanic, alike, to join the
producers in preventing this obnoxiou,
class legislation altogether While the
tax, or subsidy, as above shown, does moi
directly affect them, it does indirectly af
feet both very injuriOusly, because those
who are compelled to pay all these take:
are the customers of both, and of course
Just in proportion as they are impoverish
ed by it will they become less profitable
customers, and this is the reason why they
should make common cause with the pro
ducers against the granting of subsidies t.
any interest whatever, and trust to the Law
OF supply and demand to regulate the ex.
change Of all commodities of whatever ma.
tuIe FARMER.
CoRDovA, March Sd. 1873.