Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-09-14


'lMnch of the gru1nblng Of the farmers Of
to-any is uncalled for. They forget how hard
lives their fathers lived, how hard was even
their own boyhood, if they are men of advanc-
ed years. If they are in debt it is a misfor-
tune, of course, but let them practice econo-
my. than which nothing tends more to the
morality and virtue of people. With the
abandonment of needless luxury, and the prac-
tice of economy and hard work will come bet
ter health, a better frame of mind, and longev-
ity."
The above is an extract from the speech
of Hon. Warner Miller to the farmers of
Harlem Valley. N. Y, the other day,
which we find in the N. Y. World. Mr..
Miller is millionaire, owner of
highly protected wood pulp paper
mill, and is therefore in situa-
| ton which peculiarly fits him to advise
and sympathiZe with the farmers He is
also the Republican nominee for Governor
of New York. OF course much of the
grumbling of the farmers of to-day is IN
called forl" Why should they grumble
|
| ST., for a dollar 8 worth of worsted goods;
81, so for dollars worth of axles; 81 SO for
dollars worth of knives and forks; 81 40
for dollars worth of oil cloth; 81 40 for
dollars worth of needles, 81 so for dol
lars worth of screws; $1.54 for dollars
worth of wool hats; $1,55 for dollars
worth of crockery; Is cents for 5 cents
worth of castor oil; SLIGO for dollars
worth of window. lass; 81 ,43 cents for a
dollars worth of nails; 81. 70 cents for a
| dollars worth of blankets, and so on along
| the whole list? Why should he grumble
when Mr.. Yost wants to double the tax on
| his tin-ware? Why should he grumble
when the Sugar Trust puts up the price
] of his sugar by scratch of the pen, and
Mr.. Blaine replies to his grumbling, that
Trusts ''are largely private affairs with
| which neither President Cleveland nor any
private citizen has any right to interfere. :"
| Not only why should he grumble, but
! what is he likely to get if he does grum-
| blep
The abandonment of needless luxury"
|
don't the farmers abandon their yachts;
their four-in-hand to drive through Scot
land with; their boxes at the opera; their
| French cooks; their hammOcks for after
dinner maps, and leave them to Blaine and
Carnegie, and Gould and the Vanderbllts,
and Warner Miller and the other Republi-
can nobs who make this nation SO wealthy
when the "per capita" is taken?
And why don't they practice economy,
than which nothing tends more to the
morality and virtue of reople?" That's
not SO easy to answer, however, as the
abandonment of luxury. They can't
practice one kind of economy, because the
| Republicans won't let them. If the DEM
; ocrats offer them their wooden goods at
81 IS instead of $1.70. the Republicans
scream Stree trade" If the Democrats
offer them their wool hats at 81 40 instead
of $1.54, the Republicans scream free
trade" If the Democrats offer them nails
at 81 81 instead of $1.43, the Republicans
{ scream ''free trade" And SO down the
whole list; if the Democrats offer them
goods at less price, the Republicans warn
them not to touch them that it means
free trade" How can the poor farmer
economist when millionaire Warner Mil
ler's friends won't let him buy anything
except at a high price.
Of course ''debt is misfortune" but
why should they. annoy mlllionaires, by
grumbling at their farms being mort
gagged 2 Why should the farmers of
Michigan grumble at the fact that the
farms of that State. under a High Tariff
are mortgaged for $l8 for every 800 of
their value, as Hon. E. P. Allen, Repub-
lican. Of Michigan, said at Harrisonburg
the other day, when he was addressing
the farmers Of the Shenandoah Valley.
'What is mortgage anyhow" said Mr..
Allen. sour young farmers just borrow
money. put mortgage on the farm for it;
90 right to work and work it off and that Is
about all there is 10 it," Mr.. Allen des-
cribed mortgage so cheerily that one
would think they were nice new weather.
cocks on the barn ready to hop off, if any
body looked at them. They are not that
way in Virginia as our farmers know tc
their sorrow; nor in Michigan either, we
suspect with all due respect to Mr.. Allen
| It may be that the grumbling of the
farmers is "uncaled for" but there is q
day coming, and now is, when it will be
heard, called for or uncalled for, and the
roar of it will shake this land, and shake
down that oppressive and impoverishine
system of taxation called a High Tariff
Tax. The farmers of this generation
don't intend to 90 back to ''the hard lives
their fathers lived" They work hard AND
earn the right to the comforts of civillza
ton, and they intend to have them fol
their money, instead of paying out that
money in taxes, that other men may enjoy
not only the comforts but the luxuries Of
civilization, through wealth accum ulated
by taking the fruits of one mans labor and
giving it to another man.
rruL1 uvJ MGTON (IDNHENTTO NJ