Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-04-27
Thu Tariff vs., the Farmer.


that Congressman Mills prelixes to his
speech delivered in the house on the
18th in ST., upon the engrossing subject
of the Morrison tariff bill. Able men
and eloquent men have gone over The
ground that Mr.. Mills traverses, but
his discussion Of the measure Is neither
stale nor rehash of familiar plati-
tudes. 1t is full of facts, figures and
logic whose statement is damaging to
the pretensions OF the protectionists.
OF course, everybody in Texas knows
Mr.. Mills rs radical tariff reformer-
free-trader, if you please to have 1t so.
To him the whole System of artificial
stimulation of industry by protective
taxes is false and mischievous in
operation, and he would have the
country go back to truer principles.
He takes the demand of the Democrat
ic party for tariff for revenue only"
to mean what it says, and as a Demo-
crat would have the party array itself
against u tariff protective in the least
degree. AS the first step toward that
contamination the Morrison bill COM
mands his support.
Mr.. Mills argument is directed to
command the attention of the intelli-
gent farmer. He shows the burdens
that this class bear to enable the pre-
tected industries to maintain their
career of robbery. The logic ola vol.
ume is concentrated in this brief ex-
tract from Mr.. Mills speech:
The value of the crop OF 1850 was s253],As5,
6jo, The value Of all farm products in 1870 as
given by the census was %, ii75SS,G3o. The
value OF all farm products as given by thu
census OF 1890 was sl,el3,gO "a. From thes'
figures It will be seen that the crop of 1853
was not as great in value as that Of 1860 b,
t20J,cGocOo. Notwithstanding there wor
I.O0lOll moro men laboring In the fields 4
make that crop; notwithstanding there wer
100 900 more acres in cultivation; notwith
standing there were three thousand million
/ mere money invested In farms and iarmin
, Implements than in the year lsG)-yet the eli
tire value of all farm products was lnrgel
> under that of 1870, twenty years before tina
u How did this occur, How could 1t he 81
8 Was there blight ON the iields? No. WI
n the crop destroyed by mildew or the arm
worm? No. on the contrary, the crop
. 1850 was twice as large as that Of 1880. Ever!
" thing OF farm production increased in quai
g. tity. Then how could the value of the fari
# products in 1850 be under that OF 1902
was the result in the fall OF the price of far
- products. And that was caused by the hig
e. channels of commerce In 1851, and witch G
ia structions still remain. Now, let us see VIII
farmers have made by high tariffs.
~ If We take the whole agricultural produC
ID of 1860 and divide thatby the number of tho
I'd whose labor produced that value, we ind tn
the farmers realized, In 1860. s7Ts each;
1870, sll9 each; and in 1889, $3.50 each. So
seems that high tatiils that keep him out
i, the foreign markets with his products aren
-, very beneficial 10 him. The manufactui
III did not fare so badly. While lie did not pr
,ts per as he did under the low tariff of 1850,
ma did better than the farmer. He had MILL
ho more men employed In 1850 than he had
1860, and thousand millions more mon
'et Invested; but he made profit OF 30 per Gel
nd over cost of wages and material, while
mt made Il IN 1860; but the farmer made little
.o,, nothing above subsistence. While the pr
ofagrlculturnl products has fallen SO siI
uu 1850, have manufactured products fallen
lty the same rate? No; II you will look at
M reports of the Iron and steel association y
IN Will see that pg-lron was higher In 1880 tn
In 1860, and SO was bar.iron, and so was n
way bars. II you will look at n schedule
re- the prices of protected articles you will
by sac the same decline; you viii see wind,
nd glass and many other things higher inst,
of lower. And for the best of resso
W the high tariffs compel the farmer TO sell
-.so the markets where the supply is aires
,tic greater than the demand and IL compels /
VOC to buy in the market the products OF ma
factnre where demand Is greater than
tos supply, and he loses both ways.
ing