The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1889-07-11
pam DnoLInm or THE FARMhn
UNDER pnm HIGH TARIFF,

in tho political forces, q dependont
financially, and very heavily mortgaged
The record shows this to be 10, and II
Ia useless 10 deny IT, t
Nothing, perhaps, testlllea more sadly
to his downfall than the attendance
upon our leading schools, our colleges
aud universities, From nifty TO seven
ty.aye years ago Ut least two'thlrds II
not nlne tenths OF their studenta were
farmers sons, big, brawny aud bralny
fellows who wore homemade clothes
and practiced tho most rigid econo'
mica, From the schools these rustlcs
entered the learned professions, and
pushed their way 10 tbs lrat positions
In the land. But think now OF a country
boy appearing In garments home'apun
aud homemade, and settling up as hia
own housekeeper at any one OF our
arst,elass seats OF learning, What q
ofreak" no would be- A hard time OF
IL he would have among his compan'
ions OF fne feathers and line ways. Our
colleges now got their students from
cities and towns, The SONS OF gen
tlemen" now crowd tho learned pro
fessIons, while the farmers boys who
weary of their fathers occupation, enter
the trades, become railroad employees,
huoksters and the smaller shopmen,
but more significant change is to
be seen In our legislative halls. Here
tho farmer once predomlnated, lilo
not only made but executed the laws,
The lrst President OF the United States
was farmer 80 was the first vice
president. OF the lrst ten Presidents
eight were directly interested In agri'
culture. but II has now been u long
time since we have had farmer in the
presldtntschair, and he not 10 be there
for four years more, Not only has the
farmer largely retired from Congress,
especially In the upper branch, whore
his place has been taken by the million
aIre manufacturer the rallroad mag
nate the coal king and the Derlord
but ho is rapidly disappearing from the
state legislature, where he once reign
ed supreme,
Bat nothing, after oll, 80 strihngly
and painfully aignolIlea the farmers
decadeuce as bis manifest loss Of spirit
This appears, not only In the failure Of
agricultural colleges, the diminishing
support Of agricultural newspapers and
The decline OF tho old timo aud oaco
popular county fair, but the increasing
that 10 visible IN NIL ranks
md classes Of the rural population, NO
feeling is there more obvious than the
lesIrO 10 quit the farm Whenever The
anded proprietor feels able to do so, he
moves to town, and our cilIe0 and VII
ages grow at the countryS expense,
Under sNch circumstances II Is not
that the farmer should be
low to grasp aud master the public {
ueation8 that mo5t affect hIs material .
The hired aud salarlCd labor !
is Of the country have Of late shown
luch grca,erentcrprIse, Their organi' !
atIons have been numerous ana pow /
rlul, aud The wOgeoanlng mOsse0 8
ave studied economic issues 10 an eX' Il
mt that has enabled them at times 10 I
.gpliy Nn intelligence anl indcpand'
nee that has frightened and surprised
lcir employers who, naturally enough,
ould like 10 bo their masters, Not 80
In the farmer. Ills class orgauizo'
ons have amounted 10 little and he q
rs shown In his political operations u y
that Is almost comcal Il
ears ago he was jooularly accused OF "
,ting for Andrew Jackson after that h
gpalary was dead; but " Is o fact u
at lattery he has unaffected u pro- II
,n0lty 70 continue voting on tho Is d
no Of q war that was over and settled d
ng ago, and thatto the exclusion Of b
Iogtions directly affecting his pocket o.
slow has been his educational pro- fC
esg In public matters that some Of the aj
tute managers In therecent Presiden' q
II campaign, which was notorlously u
Of "boodle," seem TO have e'
included that In the closer districts II W
IS easier 10 buy than TO instruct him,
obvious aro these things that while i
r public mon, In shaping pending
assures closely study the labor vote,
, liquor vote, the temperance vote,
J., they have almost ceased 10 regard ~
, farmer vote as worth considering tll
II is true tAe country rs enormously II
IA. We have more mllIlonalres In pi
Dportlon TO population, than any re
nntry, old or new, under the eye Of su
, Almighty. But who owns this ne
.alth. Not the men who produced II OF
the farmer aud laborer, No, they nt
ye parted with nearly all Of H. IL Is ar
lse who toll not neither do they In
In, who own this wealth, Talk is pl
sap, but let us look NJ llle BtltlBucA, oI
In 1860 the farmers had one half Of A
, wealth of the country, They con. yC
tuted onehalf of the population. VI
tween 1860 and 1850, rs the records th
5w, they added si,l22,Jssisl to their NJ
sessions. But during the same he
Rod the other half of the population NJ
ded s23, 23,350,70ls5l, or five TO one Of bi
,irs. As the farming population
gely increased during tnat time, II he
,uld not be difficult TO show that the dt
erage of loss and gain in respect to In
)perty was against IL al
But how has II been since 1882 ~
Nv many farmers have become mil W W
a ~ al 1