Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-07-26

up the protectiOnists to the tune of one
hundred and fifty dollars-anotherl loss
TO me of that amount.
1 have a pair of old work-horses.
The harness on these cost me forty
dollars; the unnecessary tax is four
teen dollars-surely loss.
My three ploughs cost me thirty dol
lars. The tax on these is, in steel,
iron, and lumber, the neat little sum
of, as near as 1 can calculate, twelve
dollars.
-Four years since L bought a binder.
1 paid, in instalment, 1925. An agent,
who had quarrelled with his manu-
featuring company, told me that the
binder cost fifty dollars. Twenty-Five
dollars went to advertising, and when
the agent sold one he was allowed
twenty-five dollars. OF the remaining
hundred and twenty-five, seventy-five
went in as profit to the company, and
fifty to the protectionists.
This is only a beginning. There is
nothing farmer purchases that does
not pay toll to these protectionlsts.
I take my two horses to the black
smiths to be shod, for example. The
blacksmith charges me, for all-round
shoeing, one dollar and twenty cents.
Of this, forty cents is retained for pro-
lection. To have a new roof on shed
leaves two dollars in the hands of Mr.
Carnegie and such, to keep up palaces
in Scotland and at home. Mr.. Blaine
says protection is republican princi-
pie, and must be sustained. He was
rolling along over English pixies, be-
hind four blooded horses, and sitting
by MI. Carnegie. Probably, if L were
fixed that way, would see beauties in
the system. But, you see, am on the
side that sees only the swindle.
When my daughter died, l took home
her three children. After that,
when my daughter-in-law died, L
adopted her two. So have family.
l could not afford it, but there was
nothing else to do. Now, the cost of
clothing, shoeing, and furnishing hats
for these little folks, so that they may
not only be comfortable, but decent
enough to attend the common schools,
makes no small item. 1 calculate that
the five cost me, in money expended at
the stores in Middleburg, some two
hundred dollars, OF this a hundred
and seventy-five go on the backs of my
poor Children, and twenty-five into the
pockets of the protectionistS.
All the purchases made by us farmers
are at the village, where a years credit
is given. When our crops come in we
deliver our grain at the railroad depot,
and getting checks for same, go round
and settle-that is, SO far as the money
from our products enables us to do so.
Every year the sum that remains I'M
paid grows larger. We have then to
hustle round, sell wool, sell hogs, sell
anything to make up this difference.
The worst of all are the township,
county, and state taxes. These have to
be paid, and two-thirds, yes, three
fourths of the mortgages on farms Or
iginate in these.
Now, if 1 could have the two hun
dred and odd dollars eXtorted from my
poor little farm of one hundred and
sixty acres, could about make both
ends meet. And what an internal out
rage it is that 1, and other farmers like
myself, should have this eXtortion
fastened on us, for which we get abso-
lutely nothing in return!
We are told of home market. We
have heard of that home market for
twenty-five years, but have never seen
it. Small wonder for of all the peo-
pie taken, they tell us, from agricul-
tural pursuits, there is not one who
eats more OF less than he did before.
And as for lessening the number of
producers, the emigration from Europe
puts in three men for every man taken
out. 1t is an odd sort of protection
that protects labor against the pauper
in Europe, but not from the thousands
on thousands pouring 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 dollar to plant, grow,
thrash, and get into the granery,
one bushel of wheat. The home
market, as it is called gave me
last harvest sixty cents a bushel.
This coming harvest 1 expect fifty
cents-for this is the rate of decline
and all my other products suffer the
same loss. This sort of thing never
occurred with the foreign market.