Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-08-17

day. I found that this protective tariff
that the Hon. LeatherIungs was a whoop-
ing up was the vampire that was sucking
the life-blood out of US. Under pretence
of laying tax to support the government,
these cunning devils had laid tax to
support themselves. 1 was curious to
know how much of this levy for private
pockets l was paying. To this end got
the tariff, and went to studying. 1t is no
easy matter, but it can be done by any
| farmer.
Now, to begin with, my house. a frame
ore, may be valued at eight hundred dol
| lars. This, if 1 were building, would be
the price; but when I had deducted the
protective tax on lumber, glass, shing les,
hardware and paint, found the real cost
Here is dead loss to me of three hundred
dollars.
| I had paid three hundred dollars to the
Carnegie set to keep up their palaces and
tally-bos at home and in Scotland.
NV stable, also frame one, cost me four
hundred dollars. Calculating as before,
found the same proportion held good and l
am skinned to keep up the protectionists
! to the tune Of one hundred and fifty dol
lars-another loss to me of that amount.
| I have pair of old work horses. The
harness on these cost me forty dollars; the
! unnecessary tax is fourteen dollars-sure-
| ly loss.
My three ploughs cost me thirty dollars.
The tax on these is, in steel, iron and lum-
Der. the neat little sum of, as near as I can
calculate, twelve dollars.
Four years since I bought binder. I
paid, in instalments, 1925. An agent, who
had quarrelled with his manufacturing
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-iv went in as profit to the COM
pany. and fifty to the protect1onists.
This is only beginning. There is moth
ing farmer purchases that does not pay
toll to these protectionlsts. 1 take my two
horses to the blacksmith's 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
protection. To have new roof on shed
l leaves two dollars in the hands of Mr.. Car
negie and such, to keep up palaces in Scot
land and at home. MIR. Blaine says protec-
ton is a republican principle, and must be
sustained. He was rolling all over English
pixies, behind four blooded horses, and sit
ting by Mr.. Carnegie. Probably. if I were
fixed that way, would see beauties in the
in the system. But. you see, am On the
side that sees only the swindle.
When nay daughter died, took home
her three children. After that, when my
daughter-in-law died, 1 adopted her two.
So have family. could not afford it,
but there was nothing else to do. Now
the cost of clothing, shooting and furnish
ing hats for these little folks. 80 that they
may not only be comfortable, but decent
enough to attend the common schools,
makes up no small item. calculate that
the five cost me, in money expended at the
stores in Middleburg, some two hundred
dollars. Of this hundred and seventy
ty-6ve 60 on the backs of my poor chill
dren, and twenty-five into the pockets of
the protectionists.
All the purchases made by US farmers
are at the village, where years credit is
given. When our crops come in we dellv-
er our grain at the railroad depot. and
getting checks for same, 60 round and
settle-that is, so far as the money from
Cur products enables US to do so. Every
year the sum that remains unpaid 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 Oh
farms originate in these.
Now, if could have the two hundred
and odd dollars extorted from my poor lit
| tie farm of one hundred and sixty acres, L
could about make both ends meet. And
what an internal outrage it is that 1, and
other farmers like myself, should have this
| extortion fastened on US. for which we get
absolutely 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 won
der! for of all the people taken, they tell
us,from agricultural pursuits, there is not
one who eats more or less than he did be-
fore. And as for lessenlng the number of
producers, the emigration from Europe
puts in three men for every man taken out.
1t is an odd sort of a protection that pro-
tects 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. It costs
me, as it does every other farmer in this
locality, one dollar to plant, grow, cut,
thrash, and get into the granary one BUSH
ell of wheat. The home market, as the
thing is called. gave me last harvest sixty
cents bushel This coming harvest ex-
pect fifty cents-for this is the rate of de-
| Cllue, anu dill Ivy OIuoT pIOuuCtS Suu6T Gu6
same loss. This sort of thing never occur
red with the foreign 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,
there remains heavy surplus that has to
find its market abroad or rot on our hands.
This market abroad fixes the price at home
SO that no law of Congress can lessen or
add one cent When they talk about tax
ing laborers from farming and putting
them at other pursuits, they don t help US,
| for these sama cnnsumers Mara cnnsuno