The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-12-17

i nAE6 Oh HaA1OGduS SAC OC6B Va FutuL1 "
the thunder of annon The thousand
and hundreds of thousands OF patriots
who are en1isting in its ranks are mar
shaling under no ensign. of strife, Of
hate, OF. blood or of carnage, but they
align themselves under a banner or
whose snow-white folds are imprinted
in CHARACTERISED heavenly hue, the God
| given motto: "Peace on, earth, gooC
will to men," and the battle-cry of thil
| mighty host, from one lendDof the1an6
to the other, is: Equal rights to all AND
| special privileges to nome"
In the rapid development OF u Amer
lean civilization, de1noralizing' forces
| have been evolved which. seriously
threaten to paralyze our industries, to
~impoverish our wealth-producers, to sub
| vert our free institutions and TO destroy
our republican, form OF g0Yernmeht Te
meet these forces and neutraltzeb Sub
| due them, is an undertaking as formida-
BILE. as patriotic andkas heroic, as it's &C
| c~omplishment shall be grand and glori-
Gus. With that quiescent submission
| characteristic of the American farmer
in times of peace, he pursued the ever
tenor of his way, sowing for the harvest
| and hoping for the reward of his labor.
| How anxiOuslF, but howin vainsdid he
look for it's coming! Banking and other
money ed interests, manufacturing in all
its departments; railroads. schemes of
| speculation, villages, towns and cities,
all prospering and Furnishing; yet, de-
spite his earnest, honest, manly and un-
firing efforts, he e. is being gradually
drawn into the chilling shades of help
less and hopeless poverty.
Most naturally he began to investigate
the situation. And here are a few of the
alarming and appalling facts that con-
fronted him"
i. That from 1870 to 1880, while farms
of 8 to 90 acres decreased IA to 80 per
cent, those of 1000 acres or more in
creased ITO per cent! And in this con-
nection he finds another no less alarm
inglv significant fact-that aliens and
foreign syndicates own 81, 9OO, 900 acres
OF land. He is startled, for he belongs
to that class Of conservative thinkers
who believe that, with all the vast area
of our country, there is not q single. acre
for any except actual citizens under our
government. I'D 8
2. That 1850 to 1850 agriculture led
manufacturing, in increased value OF
products, 10 per cent; yet from 1870 to
1880 manufacturing led agriculture, in
increased value of products, 81 per cent,
thus showing 81 per cent. in favor of the
growth of manufacturing. r
8. That in 1857, Is. $50, 900 acres in
cultivation produced 1929, z29, 900 bush
els of all kinds of grain, which sold for
81, 284, 600, 900: which in 1887, twenty
years subsequent, 141, 821 900 acres pro-
duced 1880. 457 900 bushels, which sold
for only 81 ,2O4 ,289, 900. That is, the pro-
many acres and half the amount, brought
the farmer e79, III 900 more. 1t is impos-
sible to charge this wholesale destruction
of values to overproduction. 1t was a
want of ability to purchase. caused by a
shrinking volume of currency, and moth
ing else. In 1857 We had $50 per capita
of population, and in 1887 we had less
than 81 per capita.
He finds in the vaults of our National
Treasury on the LIST of November 1889,
$648, 900, 600.
1t is not overproduction, but under
consumption. There can be no Overpro-
duction in that country where there is
the cry of a single child for bread.
Had the IS, OOO, 900 of our people con-
sumed each day during last year more
than they did consume, one of
meat, it would have taken 1,470, 600, 900
pounds, 338, OOO, 900 pounds more than
exported.
If they, had consumed four ounces of
flour each day it would have required
148. $50, 900 bushels of wheat, 28,260,O00
bushels more than was exported. IF they
had expended 8 cents each day for pro-
ducts i'm excess of what they did expend,
they would have bought Sill, 100000 or
nearly 500, 00O, 600 more than was TX
ported. 81
Could not our population have on
sumed four ounces Of -four each day per
capita more than was consumed, or one
unc of me at per day, or have expended
three cents per day more for bread and
meat than was expended. without invad-
ing the province of luxurious extravag-
ance? Who shall answer the argument
that our domestic exports are the mea
sure of our 'overprouuction? Stand at
your street corners, visit the haunts and
cells of the hundreds of thousands who
are wrapped insqualid want and poverty,
and they can give the answer.
4 Our National debt in 1865 was
81, 7S3, 000, 900. We nave paid since that
time in principal, in interest. and in.
premiums on bonds, $3,57S, 600, 900, and
yet we owed on the list day of November
last, 81, 1893, COG, 900.
If this debt had been contracted in cot
ton, it could have been paid in 1857 with
IA, 1876, 900 bales, but now, after having
expended II, 800, 900 bales, there still re-
manned a debt, which at present prices
would require the enormous amount of
$780, 900 to pay it |!
Individual or private Indebtedness of
whatever form or character has been
governed by the same conditions as has
the public debt, and subjected to the
processes of spiolation and de-
struction.
B. In 1850 there were but two mill
ionaires in all this country; to-day they
are counted by thousands and own three
ffths of the wealth OF the nation. Two
days ago I stood in the gallery of your
Senate Chamber in Washington and,
looked down upon a body of rs men, Al
of whom are millionaires. What brought
about this state of affairs? Where among
the 100000 farmers in this broad land
will you find afarmer millionaire? This
vast aggregation of wealth is the product
of labor. What kind of labor Search
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