The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1873-06-19
THE EXTRACTED ESSENCE OF STUPIDITY

THE EXTRACTED ESSENCE OF STUPIDITY
The Industrial Balletia. q sheet published in
the iuterestsof that class Of wealthy mendi-
cants known a. PROFESSIONALS" in an article on
The Farmers, says: .The Government has, to
a large extent, set them (the farmers up in
business by. giving them land for nothing; and
the government donations to new lines Of west
ern roads have been in their interests. and
were always advocated by their Representatives
in Congress. During the years OF the war, and
since, they have in the main escaped the bur-
den Of federal taxation which bore heavily
upon other industries" Gould stupidity and
ignorance descend to lower depth Of folly
or. impudence and falsebood soar to sublimer
heights of confident assumptions Every posi-
ton Of the beggars' organ is false. Who pays
the taxes? Every man of sense must answer,
"The producer" Who is the largest producer
Evidently the farmer. As evidently, too, the
farmer being the largest producer, must be the
largest taxpayer, unless his productions are ex-
e,npt from taxation, which they certainly are
not, and never were. As to the government
setting any farmer up in business BY giving
him land, we do not think any farmer il
America ever received donation Of an acre
of land from the Government except in Oregon.
There q little land was given to farmers, and
to any person, a citizen Of the United States,
who had mind to 90 there and settle; and
this was done to hurry the reclamation and
settlement OF that, then almost terra incognita,
knowing that the revenue to be derived from
the reclaimed wilderness would benefit the
Government more in the end than it would the
settler. But the same principle does not apply
in the case of lands granted to railroad com.
panies Railroads seldom pass the boundaries
of the settlements Of civilized man. Their
cole object is to make money. and there is no
money in building roads away from the hnbi-
tations of man unless "a in the case of the
Central and Union Pacific roads, it is done to
connect hourishing. but widely severed sections.
Again, it is absurd to talk about the farmers
Representatives in Congress. They have not
been represented there. They have suffered
themselves to be duped by noisy and very shall
low demagogues into supporting fourth-rnte
lawyers and money kings, having no other quail
ification than mere atfiliation with this or that
party, and who knew little, if anything. about
farmers or their interests and cared less about
them, until only professions and wealth are
represented in the national legislature; and in-
stead of the honest and dignifed body Of thirty
years ago. we have the most shamclessly dis
honest and corrupt assemblage that ever met
ON earth. That the farmers have been bene-
fitted in times past by railroads is unquestion.
able; but it is equally true that by the system
Of extortion practiced by them Of late years
they are fast becoming burden and curse.
This has got tn be remedied. and those who
toll that drones may eat have got to do it: and
they know how to do it. And when the work
is done the "Imdustrial Bulletin" and the cor
pulent paupers whose attorney it ia, will be
sent to the rear along with the Congressional
scoundrels who now do their bidding at Wash.
ington Custom Houses will be turned into
stores and warehouses and Custom House
bribetakers be made to earn al honest living;
and Pree Trade will whiten every sea ia the
world with the sails Of our revived commences
Until then every man who works for living.
and who has common sense to guide him. will con.
tinue to agitate Free Trade and the rights of
the people against monopolists.