The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-09-25
A FARMERS ARGUMENT.
What He Has to Say About tho lniqulttes
of the High Tariff.

Farmer Smalley, OF Caledonia,
MINI, writes in recent letter to tho
New York Evening Post as follows:
" SIR: Betsey an hev been to town
to-day, Mister Editor, t get load of
bindin' Irvine for my harvest and
sugar for her presarvin', an, as Susan
that's our Oldest girl that's to hum
is goin' to be married this fall after
huskin'. the old lady insists on the
house bein' painted ag'in, an so 1
bought a lot O. paint; the gracious
knows. | don't see how we can afford
1t. While in town, our editor-he's
a tariff reformer, an has got me to be
a sight more OF one than was when
l quit the fact ry down in Connecticut
an came West to farmin' he give me
a copy of your paper, an have been
readin' since l got hum those letters
from farmers from everywhere. It's
pow full refreshin', as passon says, to
see how many other farmers all over
this big land O. ourn is gettin' the fact
into their heads that down under all
these things that trouble us farmers so,
as the cause of them all, lies that dod-
rotted (scuse the cussin' but I'm get
tin maG perfected tariff. We've been
allowin' that the reason why we had
so little money in our pockets when
every thin was paid for was because
the railroads robbed us, an because
the Government didn't print money
enough, an because the elevator men
beat US on grades and weight, an be-
cause some one they call 'Big Four"
down to Shecawgo sent meat ready
dressed to our cities, an all that. An
we've been runnin' the Legislatures,
an passin' all sorts Of laws that some
Teller that wanted to go to the Legis-
lature said would just fix the thing all
right. An so fur from gettin' better,
s fer as I can see, it's getting worse.
You see, US farmers don't spend much
time cipherin' on such matters. The
war. with its big prices, sent us along
a boomin', an since the bottom
dropped out we've had just all we
could do to keep our heads out of
water, an while we felt that some
thin was out o kilter. we couldn't
spend time to study it out for our
selves. 1t is as clear as day to me,
an jedge from the letters that it is
getting heap clearer to lots of others,
that we won't get any help that will
do us any lastin' good until we can
buy just egsactly as we sell, under a
competition as wide as the world.
But l didn't start in fur to tell you
what you know a sight better than
can tell it, but to tell you about our
shoppin' to-day, an what dose OF
this pertective I got. l s'pose
you've hearn tell of the Irvine trust.
hewitt you, Mr.. Editor? Well, the
difference 'twixt you an me is that
I've hearn of it and felt it-felt it in
my pocket, sir-an' that's bein' teched
that way SO often nowadays that it is
! gettin' mighty sensitive. Two years
ago Ipaid fourteen cents pound for
the best manila Irvine. That was be.
fore the farmers had said that they
didn't want free Irvine, and before
these pesky trusts had got to be such
private affairs that what they did
wasn't any concern of yours or mine
or the Presidents. you know. To-day
l paid eighteen cents pound for just
the same kind of Irvine. / saw letter
from the secretary of this trust in
which he said that the raw materia'
had riz. Wages isn't raw material
is they? Well, on to-day's deal that
little rise of the Irvine trust jest lifted
Sc out O my pocket slick an clean
Then, only last year, when Betsy
wanted to put up her preserves, we
got fourteen pounds of sugar for ST.
This year the sugar trust have run il
up-or down-so we get nine pounds
for 81. That made jest twenty-five
pounds less sugar for fve-dolla,
bill, you see, and at last years prices
that is Sits more than I have
..trusted." Then, on the paint an
a oil, as near as / can figger it out, the
whitehead trust and the linseed-oi
trust borrowed couple dollars more
to be paid back to me in home
market, posserbly. tall makes SO. *
taken jest for nothin'.
Now, let's see what that means from
my point. My COWS average me pound
of butter day, an I'm gettin' a shil
ling pound for it. 1t will take one COW
seventy eight days to earn what thes.
trusts took out of me, to say nothin
of the feed and work; or they've com,
and taken northumberland fifty,
pound pig out Of my pen, or they've
took an acre of good corn, or they'v
taken all the profit there is in an acre
of my winter wheat, leavin' me thu
cost about paid. Now, when this sor
of thing is goin' on all round the ring
Is 1t any wonder that all farmers fee
that somethin' is hurtin' them might,
bad, and that some of us, who can Sc,
what it is. get so ALFRED madp The
was q Teller onct down in your city
who imperdently asked folks: ..Wha
are you goin' to do about itp' whel
they limited that he was a-stealin' to,
much, an the trusts are stickin' thei
thumbs in their arn,-holes and cockin
their eyes at us an askin' US the SAM
question. Well, Tweed found hi
answer, and they'll find theirs
Meantime we can only growl and say,
a 1itt1o hor1on