Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-10-19


sth e. MEREDITH. of Prince William.
9Th. JAMES W MARSHALL, OF Craig.
letI r. B. POORE. of AppomattoA.
THE LEIGH THAT BLEEDS THE
FARM.
1t is Spanish provsrb that Sampson,
with both eyes, could not have withstood
Ieech on his back,' meaning that no
human strength could successfully with
stand steady, unseen blood sucking. There
is no better illustration of this than the
farming interest of the United States. It is
fact, striking even to the casual obseIv-
er, that there is no man who owns his plant
and works twelve Lolrs a day, has SO
little to show for it as the esd of the
year, Or is 50 apt to have his plant involv-
ed as the farmer. No manufacturer with
q plant worth $40, 900 on which he and
his men work ten hours day the year
round, has SO little to show for it as the
farmer with farm worth $l0.0 eco, who.
with his mel, works twelve hours day
she year round. Take the two men and
stand them side by side. The manufae
turer has better furnished house, his
family have costIier clotaiag, his fare is
more luxurious, his ready money always
more plentiful, and his profits greater at
the eGd of the year. This is no excep-
tional case, it IS the rule to which the
exceptions are not many. The manufactur-
er is engaged in business where his men
may only have to tend a machine, some
thing not requiring labor bit more skill
full than the labor that runs the furroW;
equal OF the man at the head of the fac
tory In intelligence, in industry and in
knowledge of his own business. Why is it
then, that with plant of equal value,
managers of equal intelligence, and labor
of equal simplicity. one man is successful
while the other Is chronic complained of
hard times. The farmer has complained
so steadily of "hard times'' that the
world, without looking beneath the sur
face. has gotten to take it as joke. How
is this, says The world. he has had a fine
season, no Il ,ods, no drouths, good crop
and vet be complains So he does. A
tree may be- in full bearing, full, leaved,
broad rooted and yet there may be a
worm at its heart living on its sap. And
so it is with the farmer. He does work
hard; be Goes gather in good crops, and
yet there is that, hidden from view, which
apparently never touches him, but which
is for all that eating tn. heart out of the
land. l. is the Tariff Tax.
But a few days ago, Gen. Benjamin
Harrison, made speech in which he an
nounced, as recommendation of the tar
if tax, that our people hardly knew they
were taxed. 1t was not altogether correct;
our people do know they are taxed, they
feel that there is something wrong some
where, but they are just now finding out
hotu they are taxed. Let Is take look at
the tariff machinery and see if We cannot
find out bow the farmers Of this country
are taxed. The only exporters of the
United States worth the name are it's far
mers. They are the only people that
make big surplus that is bought and paid
for by foreign countries. What Our manu-.
little. There are-we are going to use round
numbers SO as to avoid the confusion o.
so many fgures-eight million men work
ing on farms in this country to make food
for nine million other home workers. Of
course they raise more than the others Can
eat, for it takes only six million of farm
hands to raise enough for the nine million
to eat. That leaves just two million men
making meat and bread to sell abroad. OF
the eight millions therefore, SIX are sup
plying the home market and two are de-
pending on market abroad. These two
million farmers who are TINS forced to
depend on a foreign market to sell in. n ust
get paid for their products. Last year
that two million farmers sent abroad their
farm products to the amount Of 1923 .0O0.-
600. Of course they cannot get paid for
that in coin. There isn't coin enough
IN the vi ole world to pay for one weeks
laboi of its inhabitants. Labor is paid
fer with labor, and coin is only the meas
uring rod by which each is measured. So
these foreign countries sent back their
goods-the result of their labor-in pay
ment.
Now. there is the pay coming back for
the farmers years work-$523 600 0GG in
goods. 1t gets to the custom house at New
York and the United States government
stops it and le7ies a tariff tax on it of
$162. 900 900. Nearly ona-fourth of the
farmers years wages taken from him and
put into the pocket OF the government.
In this way, since the year 1880. the
United States government has collected
from the two millions of farmers who sell
in foreign market, over Oae Thousand
Millions of Dollars Is it surprising that
the farmer has been talking of 'hard
times,'' even though he could not exolain
how they were hard.
Let US try and bring this thing nearer
home to our readers. The county of Au-
gusta grows wheat that made into -four will
bear transportation to any foreign country.
A farmer who had one hundred barrels of
flour for sale would entrust it to his mer
chant, who, being advised of better demand
in Liverpool than in New ork would send