The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-09-14

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makes. Scan the ocean at a glance II
you can; there you will see the smoke
| belehing from hundreds of chimneys,
| leaving a dark track in the air as the
body of the vessel makes one In the
water. They tell of products carried, OF
! interchanges being made, of labor en-
ployed. of trade promoted and of fortune
built up. The flags of all nations are at
their peaks-the British, German, Dan
ish, Belgian, French-but among them
| all are none which carry the American
! flag. The American traveller in for
eign port, as he sees the vessels of all
people Coming in, waits in vain for the
banner of his own country to gladden.
his eyes. In the wilderness of maSts In
the great centers of trade the stars an
stripes alone are missing. All this, too,
when we have an ocean bound Republic,
over which our Government Jurisdic ton
extends, with people as brave and dar-
ing and resOlute as any the world con-
tains. On every side the waters persuade
us to trade. Every ripple upon our
shores is an invitation to us to enjoy
the wealth of other nations, and very
stormy wave utters wrathful denuneia-
tiOn of the foolish policy which would
! shut US out from the world. God speed
! the day when the Divine idea of mans
| brotherhood with man shall supersede
! the narrow and belittling thought of
national isolation and foreign eXclu-
siOnl
HOW THE FARMER IS ROBBED.
will now inquire into the effect of
the tariff on agriculture. As this is the
dominant interest in America, this ques-
| tiOn is the most important in this dis
cussiOn. 1t Is apparent in the first place
! that the farmer must, like all others,
pay the increase of price which a pro-
! tectiVe tariff occasions. For all the ar
| ticles, except food, which enter into
daily consumption, the farmer pays 40
per cent. more than they are worth. He,
| therefore, gives $40 for that for which
he ought to pay only 800. In the ag-
gregate this increase which he is COM
pelled to pay amounts to an enormous
sum, The articles which are thus in
creased in price include every piece of
clothing, sheets and curtains, blankets,
carpets, all iron work, cutlery, tools,
farming implements, agricultural ma
chinery, boots, shoes saddlery, crOckery,
earthenware, tin and glassware and
numberless household necessities. 1t is
thought that each farmer family ex-
pends annually for them $500. Now,
the census shows that there are $780,
900. The aggregate annual expenditure
by farmers for these articles is, there
fore, 81, ,6O0,0O0,0OO. Now, if 1t were not
for the tariff each farmer would save
$57 year on the purchases he makes
on the articles enumerated. If, there
fore, the tariff were taken off, so that
farmers could buy more eheaply, they
would save in the aggregate more than
$45O,OOO,0O0 each year. An enormous
sum, truly, for the farmers to pay out
for the benefit of others no more en-
titled to the protection of the Govern
ment than they. This industry is too
important to the country to be oppressed
by these burdens. When manufactuT-
ing was in embarrassment, the thOus- |
ands of their establishments were closed |
and employees were turned out to staTve; |
when a panic swept over the land, |
affecting injuriously every manufac- |
turing establishment, it was to agricul- |
ture that the country looked for relief, |
nor did it look in vain. Magnificent haT |
vests rewarded the farmers toll and
gladdened our markets. Vast quanti-
ties were shipped abroad, and brought
back the wealth which returned busi-
ness and set manufacturers on their
feet. The latter are under too great a
debt of obligation to agriculture to be
permitted to rob it any longer through |
the high prices of tariff.
In another view the farmer is seri- |
Ously injured by the protective tariff. |
1t operates to increase the rates of trans |
pOrtatiOn of his grain to the foreign |
market. 1t must be remembered that |
the more freight the farmer has to pay
to have his produce delivered in Europe |
the smaller the residue. of profit left to
him. The American farmer when his
grain reaches Liverpool must COM
pete there with every other farmer of
the world. There is no protection for
him or his produce in that market. The |
price of his bushel of wheat is fixed
there by that competition. The
cheaper, therefore, his transportation
rates have been the more profit he will
make upon his bushel of wheat. Cheap
freights from the west to Europe means
large profit to the farmer, and dear
freights small profits.
PROTECTION MAKES DEAR RAILROADS.
One of the effects of protective tariff |
is to make high rates. The expense of
building and operating railroad is in
creased 80 per cent through a tariff.
The steel rails, locomotives, cars, car
wheels, machinery, coal and all ma
terials cost that much more to the rail-
road than they would without tariff.
1t is inevitable that this increase in
cost must be made up by an increase in
rates. This increase in rates must be
paid for by the farmer and therefore his
profits will be diminished. When the
grain reaches Gn6 Railroad, III IS carried |
10 Europe in vessels which in most cases
ire obliged to return in ballast, because
'ur high tariff prevents them from bring
ng cargOes to be sold here at a profit.
They must, therefore, charge enough
OF carrying the grain over to cover the
of both voyages. The Ameri
an farmer is compelled to pay nearly
ouble freight for conveying his pro-
uce from America to Europe. 1t is
ifficult to say just how much of loss
his high price of transportation has
Ost the farmer. Rates are often deter
mined by competition and combina
Ions between the railroads, so that the
influence of any particular element in
making rate cannot be easily ascer-
aimed. But L am satisfied that with
eVenue tariff % per cent. of the rates
harged to the farmer for the last
years would have been saved.
% not think 1 misstate it when l say
hat the farmer has lost six cents on
very bushel of wheat sold abroad since
861, and prOportiOnately on other grain.
change of tariff to the revenue basis
7ilI give to every farmer that much of
n increase of profit on every bushel of ;
rain exported to foreign countries.
HE FARMERS MARKET ABROAD INJURED.