The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-08-09
Rricss-mediunn 81 to $s cents
SOME OFTgE RESULTS,

'If such results these had followed a re-
duction of duties the placing OF an article on
the free list the lamentations of the high tariff
monopolies would continue without ceaslng:
but they must now face the fact that the wool
tariff failed to secure even for sheep growing
farmers the results promised, and that even In
New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio wool grow
ing declined disastrously under high protection.
'As the aocks of sheep steadily decrease un-
der the coddiIng of high tariff Of Al cent
protection in all the states east of western Kan
sas and Nebraska, west and south of the ninety
seventh parallel of longitude, in the ranch
country, the number of sheep increases. 1t is
the competition of this great area, where
sheep can be raised for almost nothing, that is
killing our wool growing in all the old western,
central and eastern states.
'sTne increase here has been from 1880 to
1884, from 17,710,S51 to 25,319.s77. Nothing
has checked it.
''The high wool tariff enables these states
and territories TO underselI ard seize the Ameri-
can market for WOOL and yet scores of congress-
men whose constituents are going out of the
wool growing business refuse to vote to give
their people cheaper clothes by placing wool on
the free list. Who are they representing, any
way? Certainly not the people living east of
the Missouri river"
These gentlemen from the east who talk SO
glibly about home market for the products
raised upon the farm and what a value it is to
the farmer if he has got market at his door, do
not understand the condition Of things In the
Mississippi valley where farming is upon a
broader scale than raising products from little
truck patches. There the farmer is dependent
not alone upon his home market. but upon agri-
culturists in other sections of the country and the
markets of the world. Where does the farmer
of Missouri go for q market for the surplus mules
and horses that he raises? To the south. he
goes to the cotton planters and sugar planters
and rice planters of the south. The very best
market that the western farmer has today for the
surplus of grain upon his farm he finds when he
goes to the southern planter. He goes to him to
h 1olr oV,A haoo Nf
west are much interested in the price of cotton
the cotton planter himself. If cotton is depressed,
if there is short crop at the south, there is
q low market for the mules and the horses and
the surplus produce of the farms of the west.
All this boastfui talk about the home market for
the farmer has been often exploded that
will not take up the time of the house to 60
into it further, except simply to affirm that, with
the facilities of transportation have today,
the farmer of New England has got to sci! all but
the perishable products he raises in competition
with the other sections of the country.
1 say the gentleman from Massachusetts, lMr.
Burnett), who is said to be the owner and pro-
prietor of the model dairy farm of New England,
today cannot sell the surplus butter produced IN
that dairy in Boston except at price liked by
the creameries of Iowa aud northern Illinois.
Mr.. Russell of Massachusetts-Thatis is true.
Mr.. Hatch-I know it to be true. Transpor-
tation and facilities of exchange have obliter-
ated distances in this country; and except for
| the little truck which perishes in day and
must De narkeL6Q at once. no Beucuteu
by home market; because when he takes any,
| thing worth raising into the market to sell he
has got to have the price fixed for 1t by the
/ markets of the country.
Now, what burdens are imposed upon the
farmers of the country under the present sys-
| tenn, And how moderately and modestly the
majority this side of the house propose to re-
ducethem at this timel Look at salt. Every
farmer in the United States is bound to have
| salt. He cannot raise his stock without it.
II in the ITnited
States, according to the census of 1880, and now
4 they are all under trust. The entire
/ product is fixed by trust. There are 26S
manufactures, with ascapital of IS 225, 740, and
an average number of hands of 4,2S9; and
GO. 200, 900 of people every day of their lives
pay tribute to these 268 manufacturers of salt.
i Every head of stock in the United States, as ii
licks its little daily portion of salt to preserve
Il its life pays tribute to 268 manufacturers of
salt.
1 The farmer buys his piece of land and under
| takes to improve it by building house, and
i every single article he wants to put into that
house is taxed in the interest of mouopoly-his
1 lumber 81 thousand, his window glass 81 to 6e
/ per cent.for the smaller sizes and "a to los
per cent. for larger sizes of window glass. Now,
| there were fiftyeight manufacturers of window
| glass in 1880. have understood there a
| convention of them held here some time this
| winter, and they numbered seventytwo, but in
| 1880 there were hftyeight protected by an aver
| age of about 65.per cent. for the small sizes OF
l glass, anu OIL pSOplcr as tutg lOOA 0ui
| of their windows on the bright light of heaven,
| have to pay tribute to hftyelght manufacturers
| Every poor man starting in the struggle of life,
l who tries to build shelter for his family;
4 every poor man starting in the race with am
bition to own a home Of his own-in my judg
ment the graudest ambition that ever took pos
| session Of young man-before he can put 8
light into his window must pay IS per cent
tribute to these fftyeight manufacturers And
1 they come and tell us, ''if you remove this ex
| orbitant tax, even cut il down, you will de-
| stroy our industry" and they tried to frighteE
| my friend from Maryland (Mr. Rsyner) when OF
the floor BY shaking the red flag of window
| glass industry at him.
Why, my friend, if you people In Maryland
| who are engaged In the manufacture of window
| glass are not unlike all the other citizens o
| Maryland, when you tell them that sixty mill
| ion people are paying tributes to these few glas
| manufacturers they will stand by you in you
1 vote upon this bill. Stop their Industry d,
1 not believe a word of il. But suppose it doe
| stop it; if it has got to be subsidized with tn
l blood and the labor of sixty million people, lie
1t go; let it stop. Tell your iftyeight manufac
| turers to 60 and engage III some honorable in
1 dustry that does not have to be subsidized b.
1 the people to make it profitable. Gentlenlel
talk here about this little industry and that Lii
tie industry having to stop if we do not subsi
| die them. Then, in Gods name, let them al
| stop. Let them stop and go and engage in som
1 honorable business that does not have TO tax
4 money OUT of the pockets of the rest of the peo
II
| argument has no terror for me-none in tn
1 world. / never could see any sense in robbin
/ one hundred men to make one man rich, and
| is nothing but robbery.
Il Grindstones-There is not farmer in tn
l United States that can run his farm without
| grindstone, and that Is taxed, too. Grindstone
| are taxed about Is per cent. Lhnseed oil, whic
l the farmer needs to paint his house and othe
l buildings, is taxed 54.79 per cent. There is
l tax of 761 per cent. on vinegar, and they cal
| that protection to the farmer. Some gentle
| men on the other side of the house have sc
l forth in their speeches tabular statements i
l which they include vinegar q farm produc
| or industry, but can tell those gentlemen tina
| Yankee industry has wrought u wonderful
| change of late years in the manner Of produc
l ing vinegar. 1t is now manufacturing indus
| try and in 1880 had 306 establishments in ful
| operation. Vinegar made upon the farm ha
entirely disappeared from the commerce of tn
country. It is all hypocrisy and cant, for by
l pocrisY and can't, like injustice aud oppression
| lind cougenIal shelter under this robber flag o
| protection. But, my friends, we are hdvancin
| rapidly. In the fortyeighrh congress a tarit
| bill had been introduced by the chairman of tn
| committee on ways and means, and on the sixtl
l dsv of May, 1884, after it had been in committe
| of the whole for awhile, the enacting clause wa
| stricken out. Gentlemen would not even wait 70