The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-12-06
READ, VERMONT FARMERS.
Knn.a. and the Tariff.

argument: the object is to state, II pos
sible, the exact situation of affairs to
the end that the proper remedies may he
applied and the vicious fallacies of free
traders exposed. To show that the situ-
alton is peculiar. a little retrospect Is
necessary, The wonderful development
of this State is not altogether what 1t
appears to Eastern people. Our real de-
velopment has hardly begun. We have
a great many of the real, substantial
elements of prosperity, but it has not
been their complete development that
has so astonished the world. There has
been something of crusade of Eastern
capital in the West, but it has been al
most wholly speculative. The spirit OF
speculation has pervaded all the finan-
cial transactions in the development of
this State for a decade or more. This
eliminated in what is popularity called
in this country the boom" which
assumed something of the proportions
of a financial cyclone during the year
1887 and the first part OF 1883. II was
an initiation of values beyond common
sense and reason. This was confined to
real estate for the simple reason that
there was nothing else upon which to
operate, and the point reached at high
water mark would have made one ac-
customed to legitimate business, or even
legitimate speculation, dizzy. To add
to the difficulties that now environ us
the boom was at its height in the bad
crop year of 1887. In the settlement of
a new country, settlers must necessarily
incur some debts at the beginning, on
which they have to pay high rates OF
interest In the ordinary course OF busl-
ness the greater the debt and the higher
the interest, the greater the efforts OF
the debtor to rid himself of the burden.
BY strict economy, close application
and proper observance of legitimate
methods of business, a great many of
our people have succeeded. But many
others were led away from the course
wherein safety lay by the deceptive in
fluences of inflated values. At the
prices of their lands seemed to mount
upward their anxiety about the encum-
brances on them began to fade away,
supplanted by visions of wealth Just
within their reach. The spirit OF specu-
lation took hold of them, and instead of
discharging old obligations, as common
sense dictated, they incurred new ones.
Extravaganza overcame the people until
economy was no longer virtue. Sc
date old farmers, who never before were
known to neglect their farm work,
could be seen every few days upon the
streets of the towns or around real e.
tate exchanges looking for snaps in
real estate. They reasoned that as their
lands were up in value far beyond their
most sanguine expectations at the time
they settled upon them, they were per-
fectly safe in allowing the remaining
debts to stand for while, so that they
might indulge their speculative pro-
clivities with what surplus funds they
might have, and not only eventually
pay off the old debts, but actually get
rich by speculation. The towns were
even worse. Great piles of mortar,
brick, and stone now stand empty as
monuments of the dead hopes and wild
aspirations of the builders. Tenantless
because the demand which called them
into existence was delusion and a
snare. This kind of development has
been all the way through process that
in the very nature of things was bound
to topple over and bring disaster with
its fall The inevitable hour of reckon
ing came, and we suddenly found our
selves on terra firma. And now we
discover, what seems to have been lost
sight of before, that, while fictitious
values have disappeared, debts and in
terest have not only failed to shrink, but
have gone right along increasing with
persistence and rapidity that is distract.
ing; that with which we expected to
extinguish them has disappeared, but
they remain to haunt us.
Eastern people should not imagine for
a moment that the country itself is at
fault. The inevitable conclusion of
every close, impartial observer, on the
whole, gives more in return for the
amount of labor expended upon it than
any other country on earth. Every
Eastern farmer who has reduced farm
ing to science is shocked on Lis arrival
here at the extravaganza apparent every
where, and is Disguised with the loose
slip-shod methods of farming of many
of the farmers. We repeat, the country
is not at fault for the state of affairs
existing.
MANS extremity is Gods opportuni-
ty," so the preachers tell us. and from
what see every day here | am con-
WINGED that the same may be said of the
tariff reform demagogues. AT any rate
they seem quick to take advantage of
the peoples misfortune to SOW their
seeds of discomfort, They are shrewd
enough to know that one of the weak
nesses of humanity is the shifting of the
responsibilities for our misfortunes from
ourselves rather than make an honest
confession of our faults. Just so with
the people here.
Common laborers who we're reyeling
in high prices for labor during our mad
rush are now out of employment,
Property owners in town and country
who counted their gains by the thou
sands, see them vanish into thin air,
Dissatisfaction is the result. Now is
the golden opportunity of the dema-
until his victim is financially dead be
fore he is fit subject to work upon.
He commences by sympathizing with
him in his misfortune. He has been
high up in the heaven of inflated prices,
hut the scheme collapsed, it fell, and he
is badly battered wreck in consequence
of the fall. He is in need of symp thy
and information. especially that kind
of Information" that will convince him
that he is not at fault.
ITO what" says the demagogue, "is
all this disaster attributable 7" why
all these farm mortgages ?" "Why this
collapse that has wrecked all your fond
hopes? p The individual knows well
enough why, but he won't admit IT.,
The demagogue essays the task of ex-
planning it all, and prescribes as rem
edy broken doses of free trad.
1T is" says he, THE Republican pro-
tective tariff policy" This we are told
is the source of all our financial ills
This "vicioIs, negotiable and illogical"
system of "legalized robbery is the
cause of our mortgages and other forms
of Indebtedness. Glad of an opportuni
ty to escape the responsibility for their
many have accepted this
explanation; too many, fear, for the
FIGURE good Of the country.
II we were to admit as true the falla-
cious doctrine that the cost of an article
is. enhanced to the consumer by the
amount of the duty, this would not &C
count for five per cent of the indebted
ness of the people of this State, Any
one who will sit down and carefully cal.
culate the extra expense of living on the
that that proposition is true,
will be dumbfounded at the absurd
ity OF the claim that our troubles are the
result of protection. 1t is conceded on
all sides that protection results in the
of manufacturing enter
prises. This true, protection becomes
the only hope of the West. Here is
city of 10000 inhabitants, and yet, aside
from her milling interests, there are not
that many dollars invested in manufac-
turing. Can such a one-sided state of
affairs exist for any length of time ?
Tbs next crusade of the West by East
ern capital should result in the creation