The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1888-06-07
The Way in Which the Farmers
Of Dakota are Being
Robbed
By Monopolies, Combinations,
Trusts and a. High
Tariff,
AS Told by the President Of the
Bottineau County Farm
ers' Alliance,
At the Convention Held in Bot
tineau, June 9,
1853.

AS
were enlivened by a ringing speech
from its president. 1t is replete with
tell.tale facts and figures, which when
we consider, prompt us to exclaim
with Cicero in his famous Grafton
against Cataline: Chow long, you
traitors, will you continue to abuse
our patience? To what length, you
robbers, will your unbridled audacity
impel itself? How long, you murder
ers of the peace and happiness of the
people, will that great crime Of yours
escape its ~vengeance?"
The civil war Of rs years ago, which is
now termed the "late unpleasantness," COM
PEELED our government to levy almost I'M
bearable taxes on everything We possessed
that was taxable. And like good citizens we
faced the inevitable without murmur or COM
plant until financial provision had been
made to liquidate the enormous debt and
PSAoANA y COAoASA oiu ASPCLuSlt
on him who saved our country from becom-
ing o coterie of States, but after over twenty
years of peace and prosperity, with every
obligation provided for, I protest against
a continuation of the war taxes, which we
sometimes call high tariff, which is accumu-
lating a surplus of money SO fast in the
rofiono1 froucurv fhof m a Short timo a f,ir
rate of interest derived therefrom would be
sufficient to meet the Legitimate expenses in
Cured in governing this great country for
all future time to come, and were it only put
to even so good a use l would not loudly
complain, but in opposition to Natures laws
it is used as an instrument to kill off the
working bees in the hive and foster the
drones. 1t is diverting the golden stream
from the channels Of commerce., from which
God and Nature intended every honest man
to get a refreshing drink in recompense for
his labor and it is filling up the reservoirs
,craatnd- nrtiGriallv hv national banka-~-l
throw them to trusts and m~onopolies whose
names are legion, who in turn are dealing it
out to the toiling millions in quantities
scarcely sufficient to sustain nature or pre-
vent us from starving to death, and if we
offer a word Of remonstrance they direct our
attention to pauperized farmers of Europe,
to the benighted Himalay, or the serf of
Russia, and remind us that we ought to
thank God we nave been permitted to live in
a free country.
1t seems to me that Dakota has been Sc
lected as q ~favorite hunting ground for soul
less corporations, whose cardinal virtue is
robbery, and who believe that the chief end
for which they were created was to accumu-
late millions of dollars from our earnings
without giving US back any rccompense in
return.
In order to show how well founded these
charges are, let me submit a few figures and
facts for your inspection in connection with
this territory.
In 1884, as shown by the government re-
port of 1886, we exported 38,O00,O 900 bushels
of wheat, for which we received an average
price of 70 cents per bushel, or one-half the
average price of wheat in England for that
year. The average freight to Minneapolis
was II cents per bushel, and as the presi-
dent of the Manitoba road claims it can be
carried over that distance for 7 cents, we
may fairly assume we were overcharged 10
cents. The freight from St. Paul to England
was 30 cents, while 8 cents is a large allow
ance for elevator charges, insurance, and in
terest on money invested in wheat in trans
it, leaving a margin of rs cents a bushel,
which the farmer was robbed of, making an
aggregate of $4,500,000. In 1886 we had
5000 900 bushels, and we lost over $780,
600. The past year We shipped 65,000,000
bushels, aud we were robbed of $1,000, 600,
q total in three years of $2,278,000, q sum
larger than ION the true value) the value of
the real property Of an average Dakota
county-nearly 1888 per man-on an ex-
cessive freight IF 10 cents a bushel on 74S,-
O0O, 900 bushels, making 1880, 000.
In the three years it took an army of half
a million of automatic binders to harvest
this enormous crop. A binder can be
and is laid down in free trade England for
500 net. During the past four years the
Dakota farmer has paid on an average $210,
with $40 of freight added, making in all
$22O-a direct robbery of $50, 100000 on
the farmers. 1t took 14,800,0 900 pounds Of
Irvine to bind the last three years crop, and
were it not for the Ubiquitous tariff on the
raw materials, aud trusts and combinations,
this article could be produced at 7 cents a
pound, while the average price has been 16
cents, a direct o~vercharge of $333,0O0. 1t is
closely estimated that since 1883 there has
been 10000 wagons sold in the territory at
an overeharge Of 20 per cent.-a direct loss
to the farmer of 81, 12O, 900. There is said
to be 100000, 900 Of capital loaned out on
real estate in Dakota at an average of 6 per
cent. above the New York market, with at
least 8 per cent. more as q bonus or COM
mission-another legal robbery an the sons
of toll, to the tune Of 5000, 900. It was es-
t;mated 1ask wear that Q IO0O. 600 WA