Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-05-04
a zes and fceins TO the wilds of Kan

Icft-lN the arr t.Mc III I" pay SUM-
thing more than we pay now" for the
manufactured goods. In the Projoc+
tionist'S theory that something more
Is put away IN quiet corncrT IN the
actual practice it cofhe> out and plays
the mischief. Ii the farmers in TINS
locality want a Woolen mill, these an
that locality want a cotton mill and
those in the next county an iron fur-
mace, and so on. The result Is that
the farmers everywhere pay something
mo: tor everything they buy: j.
per cent. more for the pillow. 80 per cent
more for the hoe, - per cent. more Tor
the boots 40 per cent more for 'le
hat. The farmer pays more for the
schooling of his children, since there
are duties on paper and pens. His
preaching costs him more. for the
preacher must live and buy protected
Foods also. His doctors bills are
higher, his city trips are dcarcr, the
adornment of his home Is harder; and
even when he dies, he must pay pro
lection tax for the plumes ON the hearSe
that bears him, for the Varnish on the
coaclics that follow him, for the spade
that digs his grave, and the screws
that bind him into his coffin.
And what does he get for all this
\ home market Tor his wheat. and
a chance TO sell his Overstock OF green
corn and blaclbcrrie>. What wonder
if he does not thrive: And when, on
top of all, come the town taxes, which
he has to pay for the privilege of
being at the city gates. and which TINS
very protective system makes inordl-
natelv high, what wonder that he sells
out and leaves for the West? lie can,
at least. escape the town taxes, II lie
can not escape the protective tributes.
But this is not all The promise for
HIGHER prices for wheat IN the home
market calls for scrutiny. The appeal,
siftcd down, comes TO this: Pension
I; number of corn consumers 10 come
and buy of you. Subsidlle an army Oh
artisans to settle at the farm gate.
Pay them for making goods at q loss,
and out of their profits they Will pur
chase your abundance
As matter of fact, the American
farmer is, under the compuIslon OF the
tariff, doing exactly what the Protec-
tIonist advises. lie Is spending mil
lions every year to induce the artisans
OF England. Scotland, Wales, France
and Germany 10 come over to tins
country and buy his wheat here IN
stead of there lie makes up their
losses, that they may give him good
prices out of their gains.
Now, ] ask. does he get these good
prices? Does his wheat. after all, bilng
more to HIM when sold in the home
market than it does when sold IN the
foreign marker llOiut
!. Foreign Market" since when has
wheat had two markets? II has but
one: and this one is not bounded by
the tariff wall-it extends across the
sea. Its center is not Philadelphia, Dut
Liverpool To Liverpool you must go
TO get the ruling prices on wheat anu
corn. The farmers market can hob
be protected. 1t has overleaped the
limits The rise and fall of the scale
70 dccided nv the demands and supplies
OF the world. ;.o
But. though protection can not raise
| the price of bnshel of wheat by
nenuv. il can and does rcpress the eN-
| port of our agricultural products. 1here
| are countless points to which the frulb
of our soil might be shipped II we
were permitted 10 take our pay In the
Commodities there produced. We are
not Dermittsd: the tariff only allows
| an indirect trade. and an indirect traue
| means such costs of freight, Insurance
| and exchange that the American farmer
| is beaten before he begins the conhpe-
| utlOn.
wu.r ..pRorvcTIoN'' COSTS THE FARMER.
Tho American former feeds the
world, IL is TO him that other NATIONS
| look To supply what Is lacking Ii tnelr
| crops. What he sells can not he pto-
| tecfad- Prices are fixed by the wpriu
production in the worlds market except
| Tor speculative corners ana such Nh-
pOrary or local Quotations Tue Quo,a,
tions of wheat and pork and cotIon atc
from Liverpool. what the farmer gets
is in the long run, Liverpool price less
The cost of handling and transportation.
But OF rnrs ne musu p"y wh.s s s,., "s.S
cost TO raise. The rest Is proh'-7anu
| little enough it is.
ID is SO little because protectlon,
which can not increase the price el
what he sells. increases the cost OF near
| iveyerything he buys. 1t increases also
| tie cost of transportation. Inc tax on
| steel rails was for years SIS per Ton.
| The Michigan Central and the Canaua
| Southern railroads. separated only half
4 mile. in 1872 both laid tracks OF steel
| rails: they cost the American road SoI
per ton gold, the Canadian onlS $40.
| This adds about $4,000 per mile to the
! cost Of a road. and the earnings must
cover as much more for renewals. The
railing stock. TOOLS ETC., are largely iron.
To make profit the railroad must
charge more, and to charge more they
charge the American farmer. This leaves
MIN SO much the less. From what IS
left he must pay more tor nearly al
ne buys. The duty Oh agricultural
machinery is As per cent. The duty
ON steel wire has been equal to cents
per pound; to fence Iowa into forty acre
lots would cost 100000 more. 1T has
been stated. for each wire in the fence
On the average. the farmer pays ~ 90
for what he should get for 500, The
$50 Of dead loss Will buy thousand
feet of five-inch drain tiles, or drain
five acres of HAT land, or buy the mate
rial for seventy-iive to 100 rods Of
barb-wire fence or be so much laid up
for rainy day.
Thus the farmers carry the most bur-
dens, though il is they who make the
prosperity of the country. VI the SI33,-
900, 900 exports OF lssl-S2, only slo3,-
100000 IA per cent were OF manu-
featured commodities, while the direct
products of the land were SCI 1000, 900
breadstuffs. SIS2,000,000; raw cotton,
81 80, 600, 600; provisions, 81 ,0oo,-
600. Nor caneprotection make a home
MARKET for the farmer. or the 460,-
900, 900 bushels of wheat grown IN the
United Statesn 1880, $3.50, 000,0"0 or
40 per cent was exported. Even where
it has succeeded, by taxing him and his
fellows, in building mill or starting
town and bringing railroad close TO
his door, it has presently driven HIM away
to seek cheaper land Moreover. IL
government is for the greatest good to
the greatest number the farmers should
not be the least welltreated class. In
1880, 7,6S0,4y3 men, women ana child
rem are stated to have been concerned
in agriculture, and but 3,o37,ll2 In all
the manufacturing and mining Indus
tries. One-haif the community IS direct
ly supported By agriculture. In $50
the value OF farms was given at Sl0,-
l97,O96,776, and of farm implements
S406, $40, O55, while the capital invested
I'm manufactures was reported at So
$780, 72, SOC.
The farmer is the strong horse who
must carry the tariff hoaL He foots
the bill for protection" and or Its
supposed benefits he gets none.
THE FARMERS WEALTH.
How the Tariff Filches Ii From Them
And Transfers II to the Mannfac-