Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-10-24
PRACTICAL PROTECTION.
A Rock Island County Farmer Dis
cusses the Subject.
Senator Gallons Recent speech
Picked to Pieces--.S0me Absolute
Truths and Undisputable Figures.

Editor ARGUS:
TAYLOR RIDGE. Oct %, 1SS8.-YouI
comments on Senator Cullom's article or
protection in the Forum. which were pub,
llshed in last weeks ARGUS did not from
farmers standpoint. entirely cover the
ground that the senator laid psrticuls,
stress upon. As l understand from 3
careful study of his article, his obiec,
was to show that the farmers, more thu
any other workers were benefited by
protection, and especially the farmers OF
the west
He says: The tariff has undoubtedly
induced many people to engage in manu-
featuring and mining instead of farming.
and has thus reduced the farmers compe-
tition. If all these people were to 90 on
the land to live. we should have a larger
agricultural product in the aggregate but
1855 per man; aud as they would produce
their own food, the market for farm pro
uuce would be diminished by lust 40
much. Thus we see that by diverting the
people from the farms to the workshops
and mines, the protective tariff doublv
adds TO the value of the products of the
farm"
The above quoted paragraph is a very
nice theory, but the naked facts will
knock 1t into smithereens. He saws. eff
all these people were to go on the land to
live" there might be hundred ifs inst
as plausible, but upon this hypothesis bis
whole argument is based. The fact of
the business is that protection does not
never did, nor never will benefit the
farmer, and | shall not onlv "attempt To
prove 1t" as the senator says, but shall
prove 1t beyond doubt as every farmer
IN the west knows if he knows ANYTHING
Yet some may deny it because their polit-
icsl party is pledged to protection. but in
their hearts they know il is a delusion
and snare. Here is some of nv evil
dence. Land here in Rock Island county
has deprecated in value SIS and SEQ per
acre in the last ten years ANY one that
don't believe this, let him offer his farm
for sale and the fact will be made very
apparent. Again. corn sixteen cents per
bushel, oats fourteen cents per busbel.
pork 50 80 per hundred, beef from one TO
four cents per pound. Now any one that
is at all familiar with the production of
the above articles is well aware that they
cannot be produced at those prices and
leave shadow of profit to the producer.
even without counting interest on his in
vestment. This is no sudden drop.
neither was it brought about by any
financial panic, but gradual drop wear
after yesr-snd high protective tariff
has existed all these years.
One more fact: Ninety-nine farmers
out of one hundred will say, they never
saw such hard times before If any
farmer who gains his whole support from
the cultivation of his farm will saw that
protection has been q benefit to him
individually let him now speak. The
senator lays great stress on the consump-
ton of ninety per cent of our farm pro.
ducts at home-which may or may not
be true-but fails to tell us that the
prices OF the ninety per cent here at
home is based upon the psltrv ten per
cent as he calls it that is exported to for>
eign countries. After wading through
long string of statistics he remarks: For
we are TO give up our manufacturing and
all follow farming His argument is
this: take of protection and as a conse-
quence all American manufactures would
stop because we would import all our
supplies, and everybody in America
would go to farming. In another place
he Iterates: by reason of competition in
manufactured goods In this country they
are cheaper than ever before known
The old stereotyped scare that. take of
protection and everybody would go to
farming, has lost its force, because every
practical farmer is well aware that il
would be q question of hut few months
until those unacqusinted with the bust
ness and unable to endure the lsborious
toll, would succumb. Farming is not q
business that can be conducted from an
office and standing collar without max
ing the wrong side of the account the
longest.
Farmers are not classed as laborers;
but II is a fact that there is no class of
men on earth that labor as hard and as
many hours in year. as do the farmers,
and the more protection is piled up the
harder We must work.