The National tribune., 1888-06-28
THAT HOME MARKET.
MI. Carlisle said in his speech in fave

Mr.. Carlisle said in his speech in favor
of tariff-tinkering:
But how long are our farmers to sit down and
wait for the coming of that home market which the
gentlemen on the other side have been promising
them for so many long years?
If Mr.. Carlisle had been anxious to tell
the exact truth he would have answered his
own question with the statement that the
home market has been here for many years,
aud is increasing with remarkable rapidity.
In 1860 there were, in round numbers
100000 people in the United States en-
gagged in gainful occupations OF these nearly
100000 were engaged in agriculture, and
only little over 100000 were employed
in manufactures, mining, transportation, etc.
That is, more than two people were engaged
in farming where one was employed in bust
ness that made him customer of the farmer.
AS two men can raise much more than they
and one other can possibly consume, they
had to find a market abroad for q large por-
ton of their products.
By 1870, owing to the great development
of our manufacturing through the protect
i've tariff, there were 6,583, ASP persons en-
gagged in On-agricultural pursuits, to $685.
All engaged in farming
That is, the proportion had been so changed
that more than half of the wage-earners of
the country were not competitors of the
farmer, but his customers The number of
his customers had been increased during the
decade to an extent equal to the entire pop
ulation Of a European Kingdom. They
were permanent and reliable customers of
his, too. Nor did he have to compete for
their trade with the starving serfs of Rus
STA or the miserable pariahs of India.
The census of 1880 showed that there
were 1870 493 people in the United States
engaged in farming, to 9,721 ,606 employed
in other occupations. In other words there
were 5, 138, 254 more non-farmers than there
were 10 years before. As each of these
represented an average family of five per-
sons, it follows that there had been an adj
dition of more than 100000 consumers
of farm products-equal to one-half the
population of the country 90 years before.
This was equal to one-half the population of
England, nearly half that of France or Aus
tria, over half the population of Italy,
nearly as many as there are in Spain, three
filths of the population of Turkey, more
than twice as many as are in Egypt, nearly
three times the inhabitants of Belgium, two
and half times the population of the
Netherlands, Portugal or Sweden, and seven
times that of Denmark OF Norway. AS each
of these must buy all that he or she con-
sumes from our farmers, and as he or she
consumes much more than an average Euro
pean, the 100000 added are equal to
several times that many consumers living
across the ocean.
These are figures which neither Mr.. Car.
Isle nor any other tariff tinker can success
fully dispute.
The promise of the advocate of Protection
to proYide our farmers with a home market
has been splendidly fulfilled.
The voice of wisdom dictates close adj
herence to that policy until every dollars
worth of manufactured goods which ouI
farmers need is produced in our own country
by men and women who consume the pro.
ducts of our farms.