Wilmington journal., 1874-01-09
0GltiInolnotm ,Jollrnal,
WILMINGTON. \. C:
,HIDaY. JANUARY 8. 1874


n,,. # lie n!ooi l,rOiais:ng Signs ui
,Lc tines - ili.' rising up 81 tile farm
tr. n TIC United States 10 assert their
trca dignity and demand their rights.
Their present attitude is an enforced
rasrit Of causes long since in exist
,nce. and promises, under prudent
,,ornscIs. n deliyerance from burdeu5
nnder which they and their fathe. );
have groancd for more than half cel-
trry.
10 devise waya a..,! H=aas q tiii.s
t3ai'yarGL@c. u2iC needs IL bect.I.Jt az
,,lat.itcI with The wbolc,.u.t;n If cGytao.,
10 which thc mischief implanted .,s
must bc referred; aud preparatory 10
this. the complicated a;l;i apparently
;nexpIicablc machinery of Federal alId
State governments must bo under
>too1. But these are matters to which
farmers as q class, by the very uature
,.f their occupation, arc seldom called
,.u tn give attention: and hence they
are liable to fail into the mistake OF
rounding away It some link Ill the
rllain instead Of bringing all their
;cx,-,s to bear on the first great cause
# their troubles.
Among the many remedies proposed
nv speakers and writer's in different
parts uf the country some are more or
less impracticable, while otheas are
sell worth considering. One of these
7 rrVpoae 10 elaborate to some extent
~ tl.is paper. and / shall be as brief
Is the nature of the subject will per
nit
The prices OF farm products i'll the
United States are regulated by the
Liverpool market, because i'll that
market they come into competition
with similar products from Europe,
Asia, Africa, South America, and the
Islands OF the sea. Everything, there
orally Yield him less than the Liver
pool price by the expense OF its car
rage 10 that market.
Inns and t,sca. They are not regu-
lated by the Liverpool market, but by
the tax laid by the Congress Of the
United States on foreign goods i'm
ported into this country. ] will make
his plain by a few examples = s-z.==:s:@s
4 farmer who sends ssl0o 30 worth
of cotton to Liverpool AMI exchanges
i for spool thread, pays into the Gus
toni ouse where he lands on has re-
turn into the Federal treasury in
other words-S19 90, SO that his thread
cost him S179 90, not counting frcights.
If he takes wooden cloths. he pays
$50 90 if blankets. $40 900 if cot
ton fabrics, SIT co; if carpets. S74 90.
On almost everything le mic ut bring,
the tax is enormous.
# he buys steel and iron rails fol q
railroad, he pays tex of !<iG 90 per
ton if other rolled and hammered
IRON, SO 90 per ton if edge tools the
rRx is outrageous, though I have not
the figures at command.
These taxes are paid every day in
tie yaar by importers of foreign goods
and are ultimately paid hy those who
buy the goods from retail dealers, VINO
make their per cent. not only on the
original cost Of the goods, but also On
the tax paid at the Custon-house.
It needs no argument to show that
there wo1lld bcnoimportations of these
goods. if they could be bought from
manufacturers in this ceantryat prices
less than the foreign price plus this
t4x: ana 1t is clear that the farmers Of
tbs country pay not much, ii any, less
than double the prices they ought to
pay for what they are compelled to
have.
The Liverpool prices and the taxes
on impOrtatlons are III gold. and their
reduction to L. S. currency values
does not vary the percentage OF dam
age sustained by tie farmer, as main
tanned by some OF the advocates Of
currency contraction, because the
prices Of his cotton, wheat, &c, are
thus enhanced nominaiiy iii precisely
The same ratio as those OF tic goods
imported.
The obvious interest OF tho farmers
10 seek the removal Of taxes on i'm
ported goods is opposed by two OBJ
iections: 1st. Other classes OF citizens
cOnsuInc these goods rs well as the
farmers; Cd. The Federal government
must have money to pay its expenses.
The first objection would be unanswer-
able il all goods consumed in the
country We're imported, but i'll fact
One-htlf or twO-thirds of them, and, Of
those most highly taxed, nearly al are
manufactured In this country. and this
excess IN price over the foreign market
is pocketed by the manufacturers.
The iron manufacturers have rca;,ed
in this way during the last two wears,
over scrc.ttY-pi1ac n1iNi0nS Of dollars.
Tie second objection would never
have existed f attention had bccu Civ
eli 10 the evident intention Of the
framers Of tue Federal Constitution
Art. l, Sec >, clause :, and Art. J,
Sc. :, clause j., instead OF adopting
the pernicious system called Protcc-
tlon. II taxes we're laid by the Con
gress so that everybody could know
hoy much he paid, and, furthermore,
could ascertain at the end of the year
what had been lone with his tax, all
the troubles of the farmers would
cease, except those, perhaps, for which
transportation companies are rcspons1-
bic, and even these would become
more and more tolerablc as the prices
of materials entering into the con-
struction of engines. tracks, SC, &c,
approximated their real cost.
The only sound and effective rcne-
d, then, which promises relief to the
farmers is to send representatives to
the Congress who can and VIII crap
pie with the monster Protection, aud
who illdevise plan of raising rev.
enue whose burdens shall weigh equal
y on all classes of the people.
The proposition which seems TO be
generally approved in some parts of
The cOunt1y-to compel q reduction of
irelghts hy an appeal to Federal inter
terence, is not likely to afford much
relief to the farmers. The Federal
government has no constitutional
power to meddle with railroad freights.
and farmers should be the last class OF
persons in the country to ask for and
sanction usurpation of power by that
Government, especially when that
Hsurration involves the crime of per-
!nry.
y" tar At al on ifnporiat;ons is
what farmers should demand; every
cent Of such tax Is discrimination
against them--a positive robbery OF
theIn Tor the benefit of hcmo manu-
facturers. .I,.Trcr.
Generous Propositions.