Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-01-01

cillZsn OF the united States than
citizen of Mexico or Venzuela? 1t is
because the American citizen is
member of a Republic of 40,00o,O 900
of intelligent men, who know their
rights and, knowing them, dare main
tain them. Without a military and
naval power we would be at the mer-
cy OF other nations, to be plundered
and ravaged. Quite recently our FLAG
was insulted. American citizens were
shot without due process of law, and
at once the entire people looked to its
army and navy to right this insult
Thus, scientifically trained army and
navy officers with schools of military
science, are as essential to the welfare
of the nation as the husbandmen who
nourish it.
All persons necessarily engaged in
the transportation of goods and pro,
duce-the engineer that is in charge
of the locomotive, as we'll as the tele
graph operator, that announces that
the way is clear, are as essential to
the achievements aud comforts of So
ciety as the farmer.
We do not claim that all these grand
divisions OF society are numerically
well adjusted, nor that the members
thereof are alike useful. There are
poor lawyers and doctors, as well as
poor farmers; but the class themselves
are essential TO the attainment of the
| highest degree of comfort, because it
/ IL
enables the least expenditure of labor
to obtain the greatest amount of re-
suits.
Agriculturalists are necessary some
where in the world, but they are not
essential to any one country thereof.
England, to-day by setting its mill
lions Of spindles at work, and its thou
sands Of steam engines, that toll with
the concentrated power ofmillions Of
human hands, and which is importing
a moiety of its food even now, can
| exist, if it continues to have the mar
kets of the world for its manufactures,
without any agriculture at all. It's
miners and manufacturers can set TO
work the farmers in Hungary, Turkey
and China, and in the furtherest cor
ners OF the globe to supply them with
the raw products of grain and meat.
As long as English manufactures can
supply the peoples of these countries
with the manufactures of iron, cotton
and wool to advantage, its future is
assured, though rot a bushel of grain
grows within its boundaries.
In our seaboard cities this same
class of agitators, that in the country
tell the farmer che pays for ALL make
similar assertions to the working man
In France, and particularly 10 Paris,
this long continued agitation has pro,
duced its legitimate fruit in the Com
mune revolt, and the world ought to be
thankful TO France that it has given an
exhibition of the ruin and devastation
which doctrines like these bring to the
populace.
Let every citizen who has the well
fare Of the country at heart, and es
pecially every intelligent agriculturist
and the American farmers as class
possess rare good sense and judgment
set his face like rock against these
base attempts to excite hostility and
jealousy between the different classes
Of civilized society.
We take it that every man in this
| broad land who is not directly pecuni-
arily interested in particular railway
is IN favor OF cheap transportation
| We take it that the masses Of citizens
| of oil o1aceoo o~o -, fo.,Or re opv, ,,,ooo
ure which promises to result in the
conveying to their doors their goods
and products at the cheapest rates.
Why, then, should we not all co.ope-
rate to think out the best possible way?
Another system Of denunciation has
been practiced against what is called
the "middle man" Far be it from us
to say that the co operative associa
ton of farmers for the purpose of i'm
porting a particular article may not
be pecuniarlly advantageous, and that
the experiment should not be tried,
though hitherto nearly all similar as
sociations have proved in the course
of time to be failures, on account of
the rapacity Of the agents employed.
Let this experiment be fully tried,
and ifit is successful so much the bet
ter; but the indiscriminate denuncia-
ton Of retail merchants, and other
mercantile men, is wholly uncalled for.
Suppose the farmers of a particular
county could organize a system by
which single store should supply
them with all the dry goods, drugs,
medicines, hardware, machinery, and,
in fact, with all articles now furnished
by twenty establishments If this
single establishment were to SUPER
ceGe the others it would drive the doe
tor, the minister, and blacksmith, and
mechanic, and reduce Z city Of five
thousand inhabitants to perhaps TWEEN
ty families What would the farmer
gain? Suppose he should get his
goods tw nty five per cent. cheaper,
he would still be the loser And
why? Where will be have his mar
ket for wood, fruit vegetables, butter,
eggs, and other perishable produce
A sample of this system can be seen
in the South, where the large plant
ers, used to import everything from
the city directly, andiwhere for many |
miles not village can be found. |
What is land worth in those regions
twenty miles from any place? Not
more than three dollars, instead of
fifty or one hundred dollars, which |
land is now bringing in Wisconsin,
Michigan and Iowa. The first ques.
ton which purchaser asks when try.
ing to invests, How far is the land |
from the nearest town? If the farm
ers should succeed in destroying these
villages they would be as wise as the
planter at Jamestnwn, Va, who re-
fused to sell single acre to compa
ny that proposed to build city
there, because unruly boys would rob
his orchards