The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1885-12-22
The Overratcd Home Market"

/ Among all the isllaci,s OF protection
there is none counted on With mure Ger
tain'y to capture the sympathy Of far
mets than that which is couched ih tn,
plsusiuie phrase ia home market" 7
is a pretty and captivating expression
The word home" itself is suggestive o
10 pleasant residence OF ones own, bless
ed with domestic joys, surrounded with
the comforts OF lie, and calling up 8
throng OF delightful associations. And
the terms "hume market" carry with
them the idea OF a market driving up to
a farmers barn.ysrd and corn.crib. and
pay ing him the highest market price
fspot cash, for all bis products. 1t brings
the producer end consumer closer to.
gether, say The protectionists, and thus
saves to the producer The cost Of trans.
portation.
The one fatal defect in this pretty pic.
ture is that it is not drawn from reality,
but chiefly from the tnaginations OF
those who have designs on The farmers
pockets. The cold, hard, rugged facts
are 10 marked contrast with this 6ne
fancy which looks so symmetrical on pa.
per. In the first plsge, the locality in
which q farmers produces may be con.
sumed is in Itself o matter OF absolute
indifference. he prefers that his ~hea,
shall 60 10 Timbuctoo II by going there
it will yield him the larges, ne. proceeds
The quotations Of the market, and not
the latitude and longitude, interest the
producer.
The farmer gets no more for tia, psrt
Of bis crop which il Consumed in the
"home market" Of Sis neighboring vii.
lage than be gets for that part which
goes to Liverpool. The "home market"
does not, and cannot, Ok the price Of
staple farm products. The prices for
wheat, corn, oats, pork, beef, cotton, DC.
chen they are not the foot-balls OF spec
ulators, are determined ct the great ship.
ping eenters like New York and Chica.
60. and at these centers they are regula.
ted by the current or anticipated rates at
the places TO which the surplus is ex-
ported.
There is no possible method OF pre-
venting the foreign market from con-
rolling the home market in the price Of
any product so long as there il con.
siderable surplus OF that product for ex
portation; and the supply OF farm pro
ducts can only ke kept within the home
demand 10 one OF two ways: The far
mers must by mutual agreement limit
the amount produced to the amount re-
quired for home consumption; or, non.
producers OF these commodities must be
imported 10, sufficient numbers to con.
sumo al that is produced. lmprac;ica.
BILE and ruinous as either OF these two
methods would be, there is no other, and
foreign. markets mus. continue to 6x the
price Of all the leading farm produces
Why the little ten-day skirmish be
tween the Insignificant provinces OF Ser
via and Bulgaria ran the price of wheat
up ten per cent. What had "home
market" to do with that2
This fact will hardly be denied: That
ifevery m manufactured article used In this
country were manu'actured here, the
number OF operatives rtq tired for the
purpose would not be sufficient to con
sumo the surplus farm products conse.
qaent!y part would still have to he ex
ported, and the part exported would still
govern the price Of the part consumed
The conclusion is irresistible that no
amount OF protective tariff will enable
the "home market" to materially enhance
The price OF farm products.
When the test is applied to different
parts Of this country compared with each
other-tbose having the so.called "home
market" and those practically without
that vaunted blessing what Is the re-
sult2
That portion OF the Unitet States living
east OF the Mississippi River is divided
into two nearly equal parts by the OHIO
and Potomac Rivers. The RATIO OF op.
eratlves = 6. non-producers Of agricul
tural productsJ to farmers Is nearly ten
times ss great in The Northern half as in
the Southern half; In other words, the
North has n'arly ten times as much
"home market" Yet, where facilities
for transportation are eq nal, bread and
meat command higher prices South OF
the line where consumers who do not
produce are comparatively few.
10 the SITES of D iio, Indiana and H.
linois the ratio OF operatives to formers
are about two to one; in North Carolina,
South Carolina and Georgia the ratio is
about one to twelve. Yet higher prices
are paid 10 the latter than in The former
States for breadstuffs.
Pittsburgh is located In the midst oi
The largest manufacturing district In the
United States; New O.leans is one o
the cities most remote from maDufsc'
tures; yet wheat sells higher 10 New Or.
leans than pittsburgh.
j A farmer living near Minneapolis SELL
his wheat to one OF The big mills there
and II is consumed in the city. Tue cos
OF transportation is inconsiderable
What does be get for itT The Chicago
price less the cost OF trmsportai,n t.
that citv; and the Chicago prree is th'
New York price less the cost OF trans
portation to that city and the New Yorl
, price is the Liverpool price less the cos