The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-05-24


ever saw it; but sand bars on the
banks indicate three feet higher at
least. Rumor also says that the
Colorado is higher than at any time
in the last 1000 years. Two bridges
above the Richfeld bridge are de-
moralized-the Central and tie Ell
sinore.
Farmers are still busy putting in
oats and corn. Though grain must
be very low in price this fall, they
think plenty OF the 'staff Of life" is
q good thing to have on hand, and
they might as we'll be busy in that
way as TO go around mOpiDg and
crying hard times.
There is about one third more
acreage Of grain this season than
last and it looks we'll.
Several of the dams N the Sewer
river have been swept away, and
when the river goes down there
will, no doubt, be a scarcity of wa
ter in July and August. But the
mountains are still well covered
with high drifts Of snow.
We read with good deal of in
terest the shipping and tariff bills !;
and the statements in the last HER
AID that India would put into the
European market about 100000
bushels of grain this year Is start
Ter. In q country like India where
land Is comparatively scarce and
human muscle superabundant, there
is poor show for the United States
to compete with them on equal
footing. The matter simply stands
broad acres vs. cheap labor: and
the only solution Of the question is,
the Yankee inventive brain must
equal the very low priced labor.
Take a Krupp gun and few Europ
can soldiers against regiment of
East Indians, with their bows and
arroWs, spears and beomerangs; or
a Pitts thrasher and a good steam
engine against their armies of
cheap laborers, or the Irvine binder
with pair Of spanking nsgs
against their sickles and reaping
hooks.
From this comparison, we can
plainly see that We must encourage
oar inventive power it Is certainly
verv grand now; but it must pros
greSs, there is no end to it;
and our success depends upon it.
Protet tive tariffs can never accom-
plish this end. If they can send
into the market produce or manu-
features CHEAPER than We can with
cur next-to-perfect machinery, we
must give over the contest and fall
back on our patriotism, and sacrifice
ourselves for our country's good by
shutting up our ports and using
nothing but what We can produce
OF manufacture ourselves.
This is the only staff the people
of Utah have TO lean upon. We
have no tariff to help US: we cannot
compete with the broad fields Of
California and the western States
and their more perfect machinery.
The way the Utah farmer has 10
operate in the use Of irrigation is
very much against him, as we'll as
the small patches OF land farmed
by individuals. Now, let US
figure a little on this matter:
Besides making dams and bitches
and irrigating his land, the ordinary
farmer has to lay out about two
bushels of seed per acre; harvesting,
three bushels; threshing, two bush-
els; threshing hands, four bushels
cat least); grinding, four bushels.
This gives fifteen bushels out of his
twenty-five average OF the Terri.
tory. Besides this, there are bills
for taxes, wear and tear OF machin-
cry and teams, interest on outlay
deterioration of land, black NTH
bills, ETC., which leave but little
wages for the poor farmer.
This points out the fact that this
custom oflteaping and threshlng is &
ruinous plan TO the farmer, ana al O
to the machine men; the farmer
pays out about one-half hi:
crop to machine men, and gOe
idle half the year to make
up for it; the machine man also
pays q very high figure fcr hi
machines. or If on time, a very
heavy interest. The machine runs
five or six weeks and it is idle tn,
balance OF the year, but interest ha
to be paid on it, nevertheless.
There must be general refOrma
ton in this matter. Tile Sulky ploV
must he arranged, with but sign
change, to plow, "lay off, pillow
corn, ETC., and to which a cultivate
and seeder could be attached, an
put on the market at low figure
with low interest. His reaper an
mower must be the very model c
perfection, and his thresbiDg ma
chine should be small and able to b
run with at least two span OF horse
and three or four men; THUG, he ca
spend his winter months threshing
and not give his W; rk snd profits t
others and go idle himself. Ordiu
arily there sre from ten to fftee
hands employed in threshing &
more than common days wages.
Mayor Jennings is certainly rlgf
in that iron interview; The Mayo
csrries,a level head, and is far-see
ing. Ali business transactions al
nothing but grand ''swap" afte
all. Artemus Wards picture
Utah's theatre-goer with his pump
liz, ,,1dar hic .rrr ond raapivinp