The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-08-09

product onenlnti,, or 900 900 ushels, for seed,
that leaves Canada only 32,0000o0 bushels to
gentlemen tell the farmers of the Omitted States
| that they are protected because we levy duty
Il of 20 cents per bushel wheatys Gentlemen,
you do not deceive anybody by that
1 proposition. There was Ia al time when
| wheat was exported from the United States
/ to Canada. 1 heard the Hon. Frank Hurd at
Trenton, n. j., on the 9th of January, 1887,
! make the statement L am about to read, and the
| gentleman from Massachusetts, (Mr. Burnet9
heard 1t, too. Mr. Hurd said:
| 81 remember the time when this country
| shipped millions of bushels of grain annually
| to Canada. A number of our firms in Toledo,
Ohio grew rich out of the trade with Canada
| under the reciprocity treaty. Now Canada has
| a specific duty of 25 cents on your wheat avow-
| edly for the purpose of retaliation"
Now gentlemen talk about the price of wheat
| and we have heard great deal on that subject.
/ The gentlemen from Pennsylvania (Mr- Scott
gave an illustration the other day that ought to
be an answer to every gentleman upon the other
| side on this question of the price OF wheat.
The value of wheat Is fixed in the
markets of the world. The value
| of every bushel of wheat or grain In
Canada, IN Kansas, in New York, in Massachu.
sets, in any state, is fixed by the markets OF
the world, plus the cost of the transportation
that is necessary TO take it to the center OF trade
Il The price of wheat in canada is controlled by
its quality or grade and the locality at which IL
is offered for sale just as it is in this country.
Mr.. Morgan-And the center of trade1s where
1 the surplus goes.
i Mr.. Hatch-There is where the surplus goes.
4 The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Burrows),
! in the very eloquent and classical speech that
| he made a few days ago stated that only about
1 10 per cent of the products of the farmers OF
| this country were exported. Yes; we do not
berries and 'tgoober" peas and all that;
| but why is not the gentleman candid and frank
enough in his statement to say to the house and
| to the country what proportion OF the great
rFo19
Mr.. Chairman, threetenths Of all the wheat
| grown in this country is exported. Between
| 1876 and 1880 onethird of the entire crop was
exported, a little over onehalf of the tobacco
crop is exported and about seyentenths of the
| entire cotton crop. OF all meat products from
per cent. to 10 per cent. and of pork products
4 alone 10 per cent. is the average for the last
twenty-five years, and within that time it has
| reached a total export of 25-per cent. We have
texported in one year the product of seven mill
| ions of hogs.
There are a good many things in that table
1 that were never raised for export; they are
| strictly for home consumption in the immediate
| family that raises them. very small portion
of perishsble vegetables and fruits go abroad.
| But the point want to emphasize right here Is
this, that the farmers of Missouri and the Assis-
| sppi valley have the price of their great prod
| ucts fixed by what that surplus brings in the
market of the world. Liverpool 6xes the price
| of wheat for the world, and it aInuses me to find
gentlemen upon the other side, a most with tears
ii their eyes, pleading for protection from
| pauper labor of Europe in behalf of their rich
| manufacturers. Have you ever heard one OF
them say word about the Spanper labor Of
Europe as it affects the agricultural classes oi
| this country? a.
| Mr.. Biggs-Not one.
Mr.. Hatch-Not one, says nay friend from
California. know it; not ope. Not one word
| is uttered one thought given IN behalf of the
| great masses of our people who are the bulk oil
the laborers of this country, the agricultural
i masses of our community, And what sort OF
| competition do they have to meet? Mr.. Chair
; man, here is a table embodied in a crop report,
No. 46, of the department of agriculture, and
on page 800 find tabulatedslist of the wages
of agricultural laborers in some Of The countries
produced in 1887 239 000, 600 bushels of wheat
to throw upon the markets of the world, in fSSt
paid for wages (reduced to dollars and cents il
our CURRENCY $2.S8 month and in 1884 it was
l lust 81 month.
am sorry the gentleman from Michigan (Mr
| Burrows) is not in his seat. l think the Gilman
1 of absurdity was reached in that gentleman
remarks when he said the woolen industries o
| the United States-and l want to quote hi
| exact words as find them on page eleven of th'
: printed speech. He says: "The great wool
growing interest of the country, a matter o
/, prime interest to all civilized people, only il
! the infancy of its development"
The wool industry of the United States onl.
! | in the infancy of Its development! We havI
J | heard good deal OF 'infant in Industries" bu
. this is carrying it further than thought gen
| tleman would have the temerity to do thi
| floor. have not time to go into all that ha,
| intended to say upon this wool question:; but a
| q representative of the western farmer, a wool
| grower myself to about the same extent as prob
= ably an average of 90 farmers out of 100 in tn
I Mississippi valley, declare that the farmers o
theMississippi valley today, almost unanimously
: are in favor of free wool and corresponding
| reduction upon the manufactured uoolen good
> of the country. Give us reduction OF manu-
factured woolen goods; give rs tn
Z open markets Of the world in whic
r to sell our product. and the America
= farmer will undertake, wherever it ca
+ be proftably done to grow wool IN competitio
8 | with any other country in the world. Excep
upon the plains of the territories and states o
the far west the growing of wool as q matter O
: profit is not an industry; it is simply an inc
r The farmers in the Mississippi valley kee
Q small focks of sheep for their value In the ma
It ket as mutton, and the wool crop is simply q
= l incident to that industry.
!, In support of these positions will appen
!, two articles from the Chicago Tribune of recen
:. date, carefully prepared, ably written an
q 4 strengthened by unquestloned facts and figures
"UFTER FAILURE OF THE HIGH WOOL TARIFF
e "The chief reduction effected by the Mills bi
i is in putting wool ON the free list. No othe
e single item of the bill, save that on sugar woul
lead to reduction Of over 81, 900 900 of revenu,
while the free listing Of wool viii Of itself CT
n down the surplus revenues over $12, ,000, 900 an
Is | lead to the cheapening OF clothing more tba
Is one hundred millions a year. Free wool, ther,
fore, must be considered the distinctive featur
v of the bill and the ultra protectonists who hay
, | made this provision Of the measure thei
'e strongest attack should be encouraged to cor
p tinue tbs fight on the ground of their own choo
g ing.
!. "No tariff is more unjustifable than that o
h | raw WOOL and the pretense that the levy ope
" | ates to protect and benefit farmers is airead
is disproved by incontrovertible facts. Eagerl
le seeking to make handle Of the wool tariff, b,
/; cause this tax was imposed rpstensibly for tn
y protection to farmers, the bounty monopoly ad
" Yocates now find they have, scaught q Tartar
but they should not be permitted to shii
le ( the argument and abandon the ground Of thel
own selection. Free wooLis the chief prt
II vision in any genuine tariff reform bill, and
v | that main issue the contest must turn.
GAS the Tribune has repeatedly shown fror
q | the official record, the number Of sheep in tn
:, states Of Ohio. Michigan, Pennsyivania, Ne
d York, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa an
E. Minnesota decreased during the period of hig
fs wool duties between 1867 and 1882 from Is, ,s79
= 222 to a. 761, 100. or Loss of onshsf-a frigh
is | full decline of product in so short time an
s. SO highly protected. Wool growing was bette
il maintained during the period OF high protec
a l ton in Pennsylvania and Ohio than in an