St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-02-23
THE NEW CABINET MAN.
What That Department Is Ex-
pected to Effect for the Farm

ers.
Hon. James Wilson, former con-
gresham and protectionist, has this to
say in the Des Moines Register: both
houses of congress have passed a bill to
establish department. of agriculture.
This proposition has been in congress
for thirty years. 1t has been looked
upon as an assumption of grangerism
smothered, switched aside, pigeon
holed-and it has had just such usage.
We are told that it will materially help
President Harrison, by permitting
him to give two places in his
cabinet to New York, where he can not
give one prominent place, owing to
factiOnal divisions. Be this as it may,
there are reasons why direct repre-
sentative of the farmers of the country
should be near the chief executive. Our
governing men do not ScOrn the farm
ing community. They simply know
nothing about their requirements. We
are interested vitality in many policies
that can only be initiated at head
quarters; in statistics that can only be
procured at the seat of federal power.
We need an agricultural head that shall
watch from as high tower as cabinet
against encrOachmentS of disease to our
herds and flocks, and observe the first
movements of hostility to our farm in
dustries. When France and Germany
refuse entrance to our pork cabinet
officer should at once report the facts to
congress, through the President, where
upon farm sentiment should demand
the reprlSalS in shutting out French
and German goods till they come to
reason. Of course, no farmer is ever
likely to be a cabinet officer, but who.
ever the cabinet officer is he would
for the time being listen more or
less to farmers. The movements of
foreign farm products to our shores
could be watched, and stop put to
feeding our people from Mexican and
South American pastures and with
stuff from Canada that is too poor to
send across the Atlantic. The bearings
of free hides, free eggs, feathers, sau-
sages, rennets and the like could be in
diligently discussed by authority. as
present, if farmer protests against de-
luges of foreign competition while all
other industries are protected, COM
mercial paper yells: ''Scat,
YOU IGNORANT DEVIL
of granger, is trade to be curtailed to
please you?" The farmer can not put
his things into trusts, and should not if
he could. The best interests of the ma
ton require that he have the fullest in
formation and control of the home mar
ket for all products that he can produce
in abundance, while protection is the
policy regarding all other industries.
All other nations have ministers of az
riculture to watch over the relations of
the farmers to foreign fields. to encour-
age what needs it, protect against
evils that industries can not guard
against. Farmers are organizing for
information. A cabinet officer would
be head to all organizations. Farmers
organizations try untried things, such
as doing away with middle men. Such
efforts have history-comparative an
atomy like. 1t would be we'll to have
full, elaborate reports OH all such at
tempts. Farmers do succeed in what
they understand, and surely fail when
they try something they have not stud
led. We need government document
on "What farmers have lost by dealing
in wheat and keeping grange stores"
A chapter in the first reader on
that subject would give lessons early. l
am not limiting that the farmer is more
of a lunkhead than others, but you see
the farm has to catch all the failures
from other professions, and they need
A. B. C. training. Cunning old farmers
do not take shares in elevators, OF buy
Bohemian oats, or patent rights to per-
NIT the use Of harrow, Or hay trough.
Government should do for the citizen
what he can not do for himself, and
what the interests of the nation require
should be done. The dairy interest re-
quired national legislation, and at
the point of death it got it. The
cattle interests needed protection from
invasion and got it. The American hog
is as helpless yet whe he goes abroad
as other Americans. The American hen
cackles in vain. Eggs laid OH the con-
tinent of Europe come here to be eaten
with our ham, while our hams cannot
go there to be eaten with their eggs.
Still, we have nothing by authority on
these topics.
Is the farmer creature who should
work in competition with the whole
world, and use other peoples products
fully protected? We never go before a
ways and means committee seeking
justice. Let US have cabinet officer
who can.