Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1879-05-07
Our Representative Government and the
Farming Interest.

Our Representative Government and the
Farming Interest.
awe are governed too much," has become
an axiom of political progress. Professor
Alexander Balm, of the University of Aber-
deem, Scotland, says; Authority, govern
ment, power over others, is not an end in
itself it is but means. Further, its oper
alton is an evil it seriously abates human
happiness. This might seem self-evident,
but it is not so. The deep sealed malevo-
lence and lust of domination in the human
mind makes the necessity of government
pretext for excuses in severity and repres-
sion, TO ,chich must be added The opportunity 10
preying upon the substance ofMe governed"
Representative government, which con-
tinually changes in its personality, has, to
great degree, eliminated the evils arising
from " malevolence and lust of domination"
We breed no heroes in America. But the
opportunity of preying upon the substance
of the governed is still temptation to the
official mind-and no less so to those out.
side of the official ranks who can, as classes
or as individuals, exercise an influence upon
legislation for their own advantage and
profit.
Let us consider how this acknowledged
fact Of human nature and government does,
or may, affect our interests as farmers Our
local legislative bodies, the state legislatures,
usually contain considerable number of
farmers, and in Vermont generally ma
jority. This would seem to protect us
against adverse legislation in the interest of
other classes. So far as direct and manifest
infraction of our rights and liberties is con-
cerned it does so. But legislation indirectly
harmful to the farming class is often &C.
complished, and by the skill of its advocates
this is sometimes effected by the aid of
farmers themselves. There isvery little class
feeling amongst us. We are but rope Of
sand. Such thing as farmers hanging TO-
gether for self-protection is very rare. Jeal-
ousy between sections and localities, between
rich and poor, educated and uneducated, are
all stronger with us than any elements of
cohesion which we possess A great and
manifest aggression we may unite to resist !;
but who among us has studied the deep and
far-reaching influence upon our interests of
the banking privileges we have granted, or,
more recently, of the powers granted to rail
road and other corporations How much
understanding or agreement among us exists
in regard to public education as related to
agriculture, either in our schools, or in the
so-called state agricultural colleges ? What
do we know and what are we agreed upon in
reference to questions relating to taxation,
either the taxation of personal property in
general, or the taxation of notes and the
double taxation on mortgages? While these
things involve our interests to vast though
uncertain amount, we hear hardly any intel.
ligent discussion of them by the press or in
the legislature, and no appearance that any
action will be taken, or if taken will be wise
and beneficial. Passing by these things of
deep Importance, all that has been done by
the farmers of the late legislature is to allow
a few demagogues to abolish the only bene-
fetal thing we have had granted to us-not
only allo,oed but helped them to do it-and
while doing it to keep off attention from
those other and weightier matters of the law.
When, leaving these home affairs, we turn
our eyes towards the National Capital, do
we see anything better or more encourag.
ing? There we have no class representa-.
tion-hardly farmer, real farmer, in
either of the houses of Congress. Those
two bodies are mostly made up of and are
entirely managed by lawyers. Now lawyer
is essentially an advocate, and theoretically
as legislator, he is the advocate of his con
stituency. The large majority of American
constituencies are agricultural, but do oui
chosen advocates concern themselves par
ticularly about the agricultural interests Of
the country? Not at all. After politics
which in the present state of the country
means simply party tactics and persona
struggle for the control of offices and inhu
ence, what are the great interests over which
our Congressman seem to be active and in
terested Are they any other than thost
interests which, through powerful Hobbies
are making continual efforts TO raid upoI
the national treasury, the national domain
or the rights of the people, through the OBJ
tanning of monopolies of various sorts Ref
erence has been made, in proof of the lacl
of interest in our great producing industry
on the part of our national legislators, h
the appropriations made for the differon
departments-in which the department o
agriculture comes in for ludicrously small
amount-small not alone relatively to tn
appropriations of other departments, bu
also in comparison with the agricultural ap
preparations of every other civilized nation
1t does indeed have strange appearance t,
see that in time of peace we spend 10000
600 year upon army and navy, and 5000
600 upon agriculture; and still strang
when we see even Italy give nearly %, 900
900 year to agriculture, and little Swede
over S800,000-or more than three times a
much as the American republic.
But all this is only triae compared wit
what is lost in the extravaganza of admin
tration, in the granting away of the publ
domain to lobbying railroads, In the priv
leges or advantages given by our financi
and commercial legislation to the moneye
and commercial interests and in the uni
laying of taxes. While our local taxatic
fails mainly upon the real estate, to the e
clusion Of personal property, our nation
tariff taxes enormously many articles of g
tensive consumption among the peopl
There is hardly farmer in Vermont wi