Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1888-08-16
The Farmers Share In Property.

ton Of property in the country was SO
per cent. in 1850, while today it is n
per cent. Yet the Republican press
claims that they get their share Of pro-
tected gains. The fact is they pay it
to monOpolists. They simply pay it to
the rich men in the cities.-[ Gazette.
The gigantic intellect which can
evolve such conclusion from such
state of facts appalls US. We feel in its
presence as we do in the shadow of some
snow-capped mountain peak whose
lofty and majestic summit we can only
stand off and admire, yet never hope to
climb.
The veriest political imbecile knows
and admits that the protective system,
by building up other industries, has
enormously enlarged the demand Tor
agricultural products, and while in
creasing the demand it has greatly d.
minished the number of those who
would otherwise for the lack of other
employment crowd into agriculture
and thus increase the competition for
the sale of farm products.
Since the adoption of our present tar
if system it has brought to this coun-
try over 9 1000. 900 laboreIs and less than
1000, 900 have gone into agriculture
either as owners of, or laborers on
farms. This leaves 100000 laboring
men and their families whom protec-
ton has brought to this country to
consume the products of the farm.
Protection has especially aided the de-
velopment of manufacturing and min
ing nearer to the farmer. The great
demand of the farmers of Kansas is
not for more farmers but for more con-
sumers of what farmers produce. If a
million more farmers should come to
Kansas and settle down to raising
grain and stock it would not add one
more mouth to those which the farm
ers of Kansas now feed, but whatever
this additional million of farmers pre-
duced would be 50 much additional
competition to the farmer, and would
Just to that extent lower the price OF
farm products.
On the other hand bring one million
men into Kansas and establish them
in permanent manufactures or mining,
and the farmers would have a million
men and their families to supply with
-four, meat, butter, Eggs, vegetables,
wool, straw, hay and every conceivable
thing that is produced on the farm.
The reason that a farm within one
hundred miles of New York City is
worth $3.50 per acre is because there
are 800, 900 people in New York City
who must be fed from the products OF
the farm. And the farther you get
away from that class of people who are
engaged in occupations other than
farming, the cheaper farm lands become
In the seven states of the Union where
80 per cent. of the people are engaged
in agriculture and 20 per cent. in man
ufacturing and other occupations, the
average value of farm land IS $47.34
per acre. In the next seven states
when 45 per cent. are engaged in agri-
culture and 55 in other occupations the
average value of the land is 1871 pei
acre. In the next four states in which
So per cent. are engaged in agriculture
and So per cent in other occupations
the average value Of land is $3.50 per
acre, add in the remaining nineteen
states in which over IS per cent. of the
people are engaged in agriculture the
average price of land is $500 per acre.
While the farm property in Kansas
is today over IS per cent. of all the
property in the State, and the average
price of farm land is less than 81 per
acre, there is not a farmer in the State
but knows that the value of his farm
would be doubled if by any means the
manufacturing and other industries of
the State would so increase that their
aggregate value would equal or excel
the aggregate value of the farm prop