St. Paul daily globe., 1888-02-08
Which Goes to Show Nothing
as to the Needs of the
People in General.
Their Claims Are Many, and
No Doubt They Should
Have All They Want.
All Individual Producers Will
Coincide With the Replies
Given.

idtiitIS, AGRICULTURAL SOcleIleS ana
oranges regarding the influence of the
tariff upon agricultural industry and
the changes in the tariff desired by
farmers. The result was the receipt
of several Thousand letters. which the
Tribune submitted TO 4 committee con-
siSting Of Hen. Warner Miller, of New
York, chairman; Cyrus c. Carpenter,
John I. Rich, W. c. Morse. Edward
Buwough, j. ID. Lyman, w. NJ. Grosve-
nor, Hon. j. IL. Hale, OF Connecti-
cut, and Hon. James Wilson, of Iowa.
This committee was charged with the
work of making up the conceEsuS of
the farmers of the country as shown by
these letters. Its report, signed by all
except MeSSrS. Hale and WilSon-the
former having. however. approved all
the findings on which the document is
based, and the latter being beyond
reach in Texas or MeXicO-will be pub
liShed in the Tribune tomorrow. 1t is
accompanied by the following petition,
which Suecinctly embodies the findings
of the committee. and which farmers
and farmers organizations who favor
It's propositions are requested to sign and
for forwarding:
Petition for More Effectual Protection
of Agrlculture-TO the Speaker of the
House of Representatives: The under
signed respectfully pray that agriculture
may be more etfectually protected by
preventing fraudulent lmportationS of
cattle on pretense that they are for
breeding only: by duty of 90 cents
per buShel on barley. with proportion
at la nf Hittx oil h,,l Il
of p cents per bushel on potatoes and
onions. - per 100 OH cabbageS, S3 per
ton on hay, 10 cents per pound on hops,
20 per cent on beans and peas. cents
per dozen on eggs, so per cent on fowls
and poultry, and on vegetables i'm
their natural state or in salt or brine,
not otherwise provided for'' with 10 re-
mOval or reduction of duties on market
garden products now dutiable; bv
such increased duties on flax
and on linen goods as will effectually
encourage the preparation of fiber
and manufacture of goods; by abolish
ing all duties on sugar, with a bounty
to home producers; by preventing i'm
ports of leaf tobacco suitable for wrap
perS at the duty imposed on other leaf
tobacco, and repeating all internal taxes
on tobacco; by restoring to wool grow
ing the substantial protection enjoyed
-.
10 meet the later forms of foreign com
petition and of evasion.
The report proper is quite long. giving
the statistics of farm and manufacture
ing growth in the United States during
1he past fifteen years to show that pro-
lection has brought immigration and
with it home market for agricultural
products which permitted vast farm
development. etc. The following eX-
cerpts give the spirit of what the COM
mttee found in the letters:
The great majority of these letters
express the conviction that the tariff,
Notwithstanding defects and omissions,
has contributed powerfully to the
growth and welfare of agriculture.
Few are hostile or Indifferent. With
scarcely an exception the letters re-
ceived point out that the tariff should
have directly defended the industry of
farmers in ways in which it has not.
1t should shield them. as completely as
any branch of manufacture. from the
SpaSm0dlc and destructive competition
which the cheapneSS and degradation of
labor in some other lands permit. But
the barrier around farming industry, at
all points relatively low, has many
gaps, partly from early oversight and
partly from mistaken revision within
the past few years. Even at this hour
some important products of American
farms are underSold in many of our
paid or unpaid labor. Onions from
Spain and Egypt appear IN markets
as far west as Chicago. 10
bacco raised by coolies in Sumatra
lessons the reward of American grow
erS. Wool clipped by slaves, by con-
victS, or by creatures scarcely less de-
graded, stops wool-growing by an army
of American farmers, and sends 6,OOO,-
900 sheep to the slaughter. Potatoes
and cabbages by the cargo, from places
where women work daily in the fields,
come hither as ballast, with eggs by the
ship load from Holland, cattle from
Mexico, and barley from Canada. The
fraudulent Importation of cattle
for slaughter, across Northern
and Southern boundaries on pre-
tense that they are for breeding
purposes only and by law free of
duty should be effectually prevented.
1t is quite enough that 1900 head were
last year imported at duty of only 20
per cent,which would be thought scanty
protection for any other industry. But
12,UO0 head were brought in from Mexico
prOfeSSedly for breeding and MANY
more frOmCanada, though American pro-
ducers have for years been unable to
get living prices. The collapse of ex-
tenSive SpeculatiOnS in cattle and
ranches caused a great number of ami
mails to be sacrificed at low prices, and,
though consumers gained relatively
little, one of the chief industries of the
country was rendered almost wholly
Improbable. The greatest danger will
come if similar speculations arise i'm
Mexico and Canada; at their collapse
immense numbers of cattle may again
be. forced upon our market in
spite of the low duty which will
then prove no protection. But the
fraudulent evasion of the law already
increases, and can be indefinitely eX-
tended. The duty on barley should be
raised to equal that on wheat, viz: 20
cents per busbel, with proportionate
increase in the duty on barley malt.
Over l0,000.000 bushels of barley were
imported during the last fiscal wear and
probably over 13,000,0O0 during the last
calendar year, while in 1886 the home
production was IS, 100000 bushels. The
regions in which it may be most profit
ably grown have their prices fixed i'm
great markets which Canadian pro-
ducerS can reach by water, while most
of our own products can not. The duty
on potatoes and market garden products,
which at times can be brought hither
in ballast i'll unlimited quantities, should
be large enough TO insure fair defense
to farmers near the seaboard and border
Here follow statistics of the importa-
ton of potatoes and of the home pro-
ductiOn Oh the Middle Atlantic coast.
showing that New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut and Pennsylvania produce
fewer potatoes than they did twenty
eight years ago. The report continues:
More than 1000, 900 tons of flax straw
goes to waste, or is burned i'm Western
states, worth. if prepared, S26, ,OOO, COO,
while we pay S16,0O0,OO0 to foreign max
ers for linen goods, besides duties
amounting TO 81 5OO 600 which the uov