Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1886-12-25
OUR TOBACCO.
Suggestions In Regard to Securing Better
Prices by Treaties With Foreign
Nations.


Nations.
Since the the tariff burdens placed on
our farmers, and especially on those
who. cultivate tobacco can not be re.
moved by ordinary legislation in Con-
gress could it not be done in some way
by treaty with the nations which buy
the tobacco?
We ask this question in the interest
of our people and we are searching for
information. We believe that some
thing OF this kind can be effected il our
Senator's and representatives in Con-
gress from Tennessee and Kentucky
will place the proposition in proper
form and present 1t to the treaty-mak-
ing powers.
Take this view OF it: farmer in the
Clarksville district sells his tobacco here
at our Exchange and it is purchased by
one OF our Reggie contractors. In
France the government manages its
sales OF tobacco on precisely the same
plan as that on which our Post-office
department is conducted. In each case
the head OF the government appoints
certain local agents with specific in
structions and schedules OF prices. In
addition to the price which the farmer
here is paid for his tobacco, say cents
per pound, the government of France
adds rs cents per pound, making in all
SO cents PER pound which it costs its
citizens.
The same is true OF other European
nations, and it is evident to any one
who will think for moment that the
price of tobacco in GAINESVILLE is direct
ly influenced by the rete OF this tax
which foreign nations levy upon our
tobacco when they sell it to their own
people. We levy tariff amounting al
most to prohibition on many articles Of
commerce shipped to this country from
France and those other nations, and
get millions Of this tariff money, which
is extorted from the tobacco planters OF
Tennessee and Kentucky, goes into the
pockets of nerthern manufactures and
never reaches the treasury of the
United States.
Thus it is clear that our tobacco
planters are placed between two fires
They are taxed enormously on what
they buy, and they are defrauded o.
their just rights in everything they have
to sell. The consumer Of tobacco in
France, England or Germany pay SO cent
per pound for the identical tobacco fol
which the. farmer is now only receiv
ing s cents in our Clarksvllle market
This is all,wrens. Its an outrage up
on every priaicipIe of justice. Every
man ought to be enabled to buy where
he can buy the cheapest, and sell where
he can get the best prices, but our pres
ent tariff laws deny the farmer this free
dom, and the products of his labor &c
out unprotected and uncared for t.
meet the monopohes of monied mon
arches and compete in foreign market
with the products Of all the paupe
labor OF the world.
We may have not made our poin
clear in this brief article, and we maxi
no pretention as an expert in regard t,
tariffs, but in the name Of onr farmer
We intend to place this question befor
our friends in Congress who do thor
oughly understand it in all its bearings
and we have an abiding confidence tina
they can obtain for the people of Ten
nessee and Kentucky by means 9
treatise that measure OF justice whicl
has been so long and SO stubbornly dc
MED to MS by those whose wealth ha
been built up by unjust taxation OF GU
Southern people.