The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-03-16
TARIFF ON WHEAT.

Democrats that the tariff on wheat is of
no benefit to the American wheat
grower as we export wheat instead Of
importing it. They should consider
that their exports are CONSTANTLY de-
creasing and but for the increasing home
market furnished by our increased
home manufactures they you'd long
since have found it necessary to make
swine feed of their wheat and sell il for
very much lower prices, and then they
would do we'll to remember that just
across the boundary line Of Minnesota
and Dakota is the British colony Of Man
itoba, larger than both, and as well
adapted to wheat growingas either.
Thousands of bushels of Manitoba
wheat have found market "a 1iEneso-
ia and more would but for the % cents
per bushel tariff, and if free Of duty
much larger quantity of the bard wheat
would have been bought by Minnesota
millers. That country is just being
opened up. It's resources are just begin
ming to be developed, and with every
succeeding year Its competition In the
American as we'll as English market is
rapidly increasing, and England always
shows her preference in hvor of her
colonies. England differs from the
United States in the fact that her first
object is advancement of her interests
identified with those of her colonies,
while we have large majority of the
Democratic party that would sacrifice
the best interests OF their own country
to build up the British aristocracy, and
are exerting all of their power TO lead
the people to believe that the true way
to wealth is to break dow the home
market for agricultural prodpcts to build
up British manufacturers, that they can
can send their products 400 miles to
market and get their manufactured
goods cheaper than they cam get them at
home, while knowing that England
never buys dollars worth Of American
products they do not actually need and
cannot get from their own colonies. The
American wheat grower should also re-
member that British East India coIohies
now directly under British rule are
larger than the United States east of the
Mississippi, being 1900 miles long by
1900 in width. The provinces in the
northwest and Oud are the best for
wheat and in these provinces there
were in 1886, 5000, 900 acres in cuitiva-
ton, irrigated by wells, rivers and ca
mails. The British government has
built and are building several hundred
miles of railway to facilitate the cheap
transportation of wheat, the principe
article ofexport of that region, and gives
certain privileges to those who will take
up new lands, especially in the un-
healthy district, Fera, along the base OF
the Himalaya mountains where forty
bushels to the acre is not an uncommon
yield, with the rude cultivation of the
natives. The entire outfit of the farmer
consists of u pair of bullocks scosting an,
average of IS per pair; pillow, 90 cents;
a yoke, 40 cents; a leveler, slab of
wood six 10 eight feet long used to level
the ground after the seed is sown by
drawing it sideways, costs 30 cents; a
sickle, about six or eight inches long,
costs 6 cents, making the entire outfit,
team and tools, with a, weeder for weed
ing wheat q cents, cost $9.42. The pillow
is nothing more than roOter and Mr..
Hansen says they have to 20 over the
ground good many times before seed
ing. The wheat Is sown by a woman
following the pillow and scattering the
seeds in its track by the hand after
which the leveler Is drawn over 1t to
more efectually cover the seed and level
the ground. Yet with the rude cultiva-
ton on all irrigated lands is IL bushels
and on the dry lands 10 bushels, and
much larger In the provinces of Fera.
The population in this part of India is
III to the square mile, and labor is cor
respondingly cheap. With no manu-
lecturers to employ the laborers they
are chiefly devoted to agriculture. The
climate, which Mr.. Hansen says is the
chief glory of India, enables the people
10 devote good portion of the year to
fruit culture, millet, rice and barley,
which is the principal food of the peo-
pie, no wheat being eaten except on
great OCCASIONS. Wheat can be shipped,
was In 1887, date Of his report, to Liver
pool for $3.50 less per quarter, or 1872
lbs, than from Chicago. Now when we
take into consideration the fact that
wheat can he shipped to any port on the
Pacific Coast as cheap as to Liverpool,
and that in the last seven years this In
dian anu Canadian wheat has reduced
our exports 10 England nearly 100000
600 bushels, is it wise or safe to knock
of the 70 cents per bushel duty on I'M
ported wheat and put our wheat grow
ers upon All equal footing in our markets
with British India and British Canada
To benefit, or initiate and enrich ma
ton that never done us kind act or
neglected an opportunity to do US an
unKind one. Is that the protection our
government was instituted to afford the
people vi the United States? That
seems to be the Cleveland Golden Club
Democratic view OF the matter. But the
great intelligent mass of the American
people will take different one and
wisely conclude that however bad gov
eminent may be that cannot protect the
people, one which can but will not is IN
tinitely worse.