West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1888-07-27
A FARMERS VIEW OF 1T.
s. Putnam in Belford's for July.

We are told of q home market.
We have heard of that home market
for twenty five years, but have never
seen it. Small wonder! for of all
the people taken, they tell us, from
agricultural pursuits, there is not
one who eats more or less than he
did before. And as for lessening
the number of producers, the cmi-
grafton from Europe puts in three
men for every man taken out. 1t is
an odd sort of protection that pro-
tects labor against the pauper in
Europe, but not from the thousands
on thousands ponring in upon our
shores every year.
The home market don't work. 1t
costs me, as it does any other farmer
in this locality, one dollarto plant,
grow, cut, thrash, and get into the
granary one bushel of wheat. The
home market, as the thing is called,
gave me last harvest sixty cents
bushel. This coming harvest l ex-
pect fifty cents-tor this is the rate
of decline; and all my other pro-
ducts suffer the same loss. This sort
of thing never occurred with the for
eign market.
This. however, is all fudge. There
is no more home market to day than
there was fifty years ago; and there
can't be. After the people at home
have consumed our products to their
utmost capacity, their remains
heavy surplus that has to find its
market abroad or rot on our hands.
This market abroad fixes the prices
at home, so that no law of Congress
can lessen or add one cent. When
they talk about taking laborers from
farming and putting them at other
pursuits, they don't help us, for
these same consumers were consum-
ers before. As for lessening the
number of producers, as l have said,
these people get pauper labor from
Europe for less than they would
have to pay native farmers; and
get them they do These miners
and manufacturers, after squeezing
all they can out of us by law, pro-
ceed to squeeze labor: and they do
that by drawing on the labor of Eu-
rope. | am but short distance, as
a crow flies, from the Hooking Val
lev coal-mines. | saw the native
Americans driven out by Welsh and
Irish. These in turn were crowded
out by Poles, Bohemians, and ltal-
ians. These in turn, as they object
to being starved to death, are threat
ened by Negroes; and We should
have Chinese did not the law forbid.
So far as / can find out, he poorest
paid labor in the United STATES is
protected labor. Mining work never
was skilled labor, and, owing to the
improvements in machinery, manu-
featuring has ceased to be pf that
sort. Even girl or child can stand
by and regulate the machine.
/ said the protected labor was the
poorest paid. must qualify that.
There is very little difference be
tween that and farm labor. Az the
rate We have been sinking in the
last twenty-five years, in the next
twenty-five we shalt see farm labor
little better than the old serfdom of
Russia. We are coming to the eigh-
teen dollars a year anil the sheep
skin coat. And as the right honor
able official protectionists address
us now, in our distress, as their
dearly beloved farmers, | suppose
when in ourmisery dying, as their
miners and mill operatives die, of
wsnt, they will give us this taffy.
And why? Because weyote They
treat their own laborers rough be-
cause they know there are so few of
them it can make no difference. But
if we farmers were to get up in onr
wrath, we would make short,work of
them at the polls. ] don't know
whether this will ever occur, for we
are ignorant and stupid, spreferring
the right honorable protectionists'
taffy to common-sense.
Let our agricultdrists once COM
prehend the true working of this
protective system and its reign will
be short. Let us look at it. l have
few hogs, bunch of sheep, some
corn, and more wheat. How | have
ploughed. planted, fattened, and
cured for these tells story OF hard
labor and exposure scarcely known
to any other pursuit. Now, why
have thus toiled through the year?
Certainly from no philanthropic or
patriotic motive | have done so
simply to secure market; no more,
no less. Does this paternal govern
ment sympathize with me? Not
much! Congress is in session the
larger part of the year. Does Con-
eress do anything for the farmer?
Again, not much! Sometimes
member makes speech in which he
bespatters us with fiattery. And
49, D.os,,lant candle in :,