Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-09-21
stakes and fleeing 10 The wild, Of Ran

stakes and fleeing 10 the wlldS Of Kan
SaS,
Where is the mistake? It Is Just
herein the argument TO " pay some
thing more than we pay now for th"
manufactured goods. In the Irotcc1
tionist'S theory that something NOR"
i put away IN quiet corner; IN the
actual practice II cunic- out and plays
the mischief L the farmers in this
locality want WOODEN mil. those IN
that locality want a cotton mill and
those in the next county an iron fur
mace, and so on The result i that
the farmer, everywhere pay something
mo: tor everything they buy: j.
per cent. more Tor the pillow, 80 per cent
more for the HOE. - per cent. more for
the boots, 40 per cent. more for 'hc
hat. The farmer pays more for the
schooling of his children, since there
are duties on paper and pens. lis
preaching costs him mote. for the
preacher must live and buy projected
goods also. His doctors bills arc
higher. his city tup> are deafrr, the
adornment of his home Is harder; and
even WHEN he dies. he must pay pro
lection tax for the piumcs on the hearse
that bears him. for the VarnlSh on the
COACHES than follow him, for the spade
that digs his grave, and the screws
that bind him into his collin.
And what does he get for all tins
home market" for his wheat, and
"A chance 10 sell his overstock of green
corn and bhcllherrics. What wonder
il he does not thrive. And when. on
top of all, come tue town taxes, winch
he has to pay tor the privilege OF
being at the city gates, and which thiS
Vc4y protective system makes lnordi-
nafclv high. what wonder that he sells
out and leave, for the West? He can,
at least, escape the town taxes, If lie
cun 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 appear,
siftcd down, comes 10 this: Pension
u number of corn CONSUMERS 10 come
and buy of you. SUbsidiEe an army III
artisans 10 settle at the farm gate.
PAY them for making goods at q loss,
and ont of their profits they VIII pur-
chase your abundance
As matter Of fact. the American
farmer il, under the compuIson OF inc
tariff. doing exactly what the Prot"r-
ZIONIST advises. lie is spending mil
lions every year to induce the artisans
of England, Scotland. Wales, France
and Germany TO come over to TINS
country and buy his wheat here IN
stead OF there. lie makes M their
losses, that they may give him good
prices out of their gains.
4
prices? Docs his wheat. after all bring
more to him when sold i'll the home
market than it does when sold in the
frrcion market? Home Market"
Foreign Market" since when has
wheat had two markets? 1t has nut
one: and THIS one i not bounded ny
the tariff wall-it extends across the
sea lis center is not Philadelphia, but
Liverpool To Liverpool you must go
to get the ruling prices ON wheat and
corn. The farmers market can not
be protected 1t has ovcrleaped the
limits. .The rise and fall of the scale
is decided by the demands ana supplies
of the world.
But. though protection can not raise
the price of a bushel of wheat by IA
nnny. il can and does rcprcsS the eA-
port OF our agricultural products. lhec
are countless points to which the frult
of our soil might be shipped if we
were permitted to take our pay IN the
commodities there produced we arc
not permitted the tariii only altoWs
an indirect trade. and an indirect trade
means such costs of freight. insurance
and exchange that the American farmer
is beaten before he begins the compe
tition.
WHAT .PRorrcTIoN' COSTS THE FARMER.
The American former feeds the
world 1t is TO him that other nations
look to supply what IL lacking In theif
crops. What he sells can not be pro-
tecJed." Prices are fixed Inv the wor'u ;
nroduction in the worlds market: except
for spccu latiye corners" and sucn tenn
porary OF local Quotations, the quota
fiops of wheat and pork and cotton are
from Liverpool. What the farmer gets
is in the long run, Liverpool price icss
the cost of handling and transportation.
But of this he must pay what ms crop
cost to raise. The rest Is pfoi'-aho
little enough 1t Is. u
I, Is 80 little because protection"
which can not increase the price oil
what he sells. increases the cost OF near
ly everything he buys. IL increases aiso
the cost of transportation The taA on
steel rails was Tor years 80 per eo,i'
The Michigan Central and the Canau's
a mile. in 1872 both laid tracks OF steel
rails; they cost the American road sVf
ner ton gold, the Canadian onI5 $40.
This adds about $4,000 per mile 10 the
cost OF "a road. and the earnings must
cover as much more for renewals. lhe
rolling 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 az
ne buys. The duty on agricultural
machinery Is AS per cent. Inc duty
ON steel wire has been equal to Genus
per pound, TO fence Iowa into forty acre
lots would cost $4,000. 900 more. 1t has
been stated. for each wire in the fence.
On the average, the farmer pays SloO
for what he should get for 90 me
$50 of dead loss VIII buy Thousand
feet OF five-inch drain tiles, or drain
five acres of nat band, or buy the mate.
rial for seventy-hve to 100 rods OF
barb-wirc 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. Or the $685.
900, 900 exports Of loslS2, only 81 o.
600, 900 IA per cent? were oil manu-
featured commodities, while the direct
products of the land were S6l Z, 600, 900
brcaustufYs. SIs2. 900: raw cotton,
81 90, 900, 600; provisions, 81 20, 0Oo,-
600. Nor can protection make home
market" for the farmer. Oh the 46U,-
900, 600 bushels of wheat grown in the
United Statesin 1880, 100000 or
40 per cent WAS exported Even where
fellows, in building a mill or starting a
town and bringing a railroad close To
his door, it has presently driven him away
10 seek cheaper land. Moreover, If
government is for the greatest good TO
the greatest number the farmers should
not be the least welltreated class In
1880, T,610,493 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-half the community is direct
ly supported by agriculture In $50
the value of farms was given at SIC,
l07,096,7T6, and Of farm implements
S405.52O, O55. while the capital invested
IN manufactures was reported at So
7gO272,606