Connecticut western news., 1873-09-26
The Farmers' Movement.
How They Feel In the West About the
 New Movement.

The Farmers Movement.
 How They Feel in the West About the New Movement.
 So much interest has been created by the Farmers movement in the West, that we give few extracts relative to the subject from @ speech of Sec, Smith at Farmers mass meeting in Illinois. The personal debt of of the United States in 1866, says the Secretary, was $1, 300, 100000. Three quarters of that, or about $1 500, ,O0O,- 900 was borne by the agriculturists of the United States. When you consider that this latter sum has to be carried at aa average rate of ten per cent. per annum, is it any wonder that we are poor? Couple with this another fact, that the annual increase of the wealth of the United States for any decade during the very best period of our ex- istence has never exceeded B per cent,
 that is, the agriculturists are actually carrying S1 ,5OO, 1000, 900 at 10 per cent, while the products of industry nowhere,
 taking it all through, have exceeded 33
 per cent. Is it then any wonder you are poor, and that with each year the whole agricultural population of the
 United States are growing poorer and poorer, while those who handle the pro-
 ducts of our labor are growing richer and richer?
 Take Commodore Vanderbilt, for ex- ample, and suppose that 20 years ago he was worth $5,OOO,OO and that to- day he is worth $8O, GOO, ,OOO, how has he accumulated $6O, 900, 900 in 20 years
 Mark it, he never earned dollar in his life, and yet he has gotten into his hands $60, ,00O, 900 in 20 years. I might stop right here and not say another
 word on the subject, for here is sufi- cient proof that there is something wrong in this business, owing to which this man has accumulated so such. How did he do it? Has he rendered an equivalent in the service he has per-
 formed for us in transporting our pro-
 auctions to market, or has he not 1?
 That is the question. If he has not,
 then we have been wronged of just so
 much money.
 Col. Coleman has shown you what it
 costs to get bushel of corn or wheat
 to market from where he lives in Mis-
 souri, and we all know what it costs
 here, and that we pay three-fourths of
 the product of our labor to get the
 other fourth to market. If this is SO,
 who fixes the price upon your labor?
 Take the plowmen of this State; all
 have their annual conventions. They
 come together and agree that they will
 have just so much for blows during the
 year, no matter what we may get for
 our products and for the last two years
 they have asked 100 per cent. on the cost of production. Thus that combi-
 nation makes monopoly of the blow
 business. No matter what agent or manufacturer you buy of you have to pay the same per cent. There are my
 friends, the pork packers, from all the
 principal cities in this Union, who last year met and combined to fix the price
 of pork-Jou know this as well as l.
 St. Louis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Louis
 vile, and Cincinnati came together just , as they are going to convene next week at Cincinnati, and fixed the price of our
 pork for the coming year. Last year they
 fixed the price upon your pork at $4 a hundred live weight, and they would
 buy all there is in the West at the same rate. Of course they got it, and if they
 had fixed the price at $5 they would
 have got it. only got 1925. Prob
 ably the high price for freight made the
 difference in your case. What right
 had they to do this ?
 Increase in taxation is another wrong which we have brought upon ourselves,
 and we might as well look it squarely
 in the face and right it. When I'went on the farm IT years ago it took SIG
 gold piece to pay the taxes, and now it
 takes seven and half of them, which is an advance of little over 700 per cent f But what corresponding benefit have for that increase of taxes? Is it not time for us to look into it, and inquire
 of our public servants how it happens
 that our taxes increase, and what they l give us in exchange for them? Did you g know they are multiplying officers and s expenses, and voting away thousands - upon thousands of dollars with 8 per . feet disregard of the interest of the tax : paYerss am told that county not e hundred miles from here used to be ru1 l. for $500 year, and now it costs g., 800 e Did you ever stop to think that it take ? the product of whole township t, t feed judge? Our Circuit Judge eat :, up all we earn in township in year s Is not he monstrous eater? Is it no e time we tried to look into this matte l. who would eat less? Think of wha l you are getting for your products, an'
 of what you are paying for his service
 Is there any reason, justice, or right il
 all this? l saw g. man at our nationa ! Congress who said |: "When I lei U southwestern Georgia paid dollar y bushel for your prairie corn. 1 com '' out here and I find that you are gettin, U 20 cents a bushel for it, and that there | fore somebody got 80 cents for fetchin 'l ! 1t to me. You ought to have half dol D, lar for that corn, and ought to get 10 for 75 cents; and then the fellows wh ?, fetch it to us would get 25 cents instea t ,t of 80, and thatwould equalize the thing u would rather pay 75 cents than $1 Y and you never ought to raise busht of corn less than half dollar" An
 so sayI. You never should sell busht
 short of half dollar, and you can hay
 1t the moment you say you will. If you poor neighbors must sell, furnish thel - the money make up a purse for then 9 lend them money on their cribs and CT '. able them to hold on til the price '@e @ up. People cannot eat dry goods an E nails; but we can be self-supporting o ~ ~ a farm; and there is where we have gt a+ a the advantage, for we can make or ~ ~ farms support us, as we did when ws ~ ~ boy, when we spun linen and muslin ta ,a and made everything we used. The ;1s ro must have our products, and the powe i ia to fix price upon them is in our hanc o of the moment we get ready for it, an oa oa that within year if we are wise in tn ot ot matter. First begin by organizin 1- .O everywhere; not for extortion, not ft y robbery, but to execute the first law =, nature, that of protection. Orgal " " ize, that we may be strong against Il iyy many. While segregated we are weal cyt aggregated we are apower which will l tS irresistible for good to ourselves.
 b.