The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1889-10-02

esStStiSeaecSs attu tiloHc dSainSt IneW
all. He is the victim of them all
the victim of suppressed competi-
ton. He is the victim, ultimately,
of aIlinfation, of all the many fiuan-
cial tricks and schemes of the
age. He is the bedrock founda-
ton of the country, and on his
shoulders rests our national pros
perity The farmer is the national
wheeI-horse. IF the farmers could
combine like everybody else he
could hold his own and would not
be cheated and robbed by legisla-
ton. But, unfortunately, many
farmers have been fooled by the
"home market cry into playing
directly into the hands of their
enemies.
The organs of the tariff benefi-
Charles, whenever anything is said
about the unjust discrimination OF
our tariff laws against the farmer,
go to work to represent him as
prosperous and wealthy. Let us
see if he is. 1t can easily be proven
whether or not he is the fat and
happy Individual the protection or
gains represent him to be. The
Louisville Courier Journal presents
the following interesting facts:
The Colrler-.J0urnat recently al
tuded to the attempt made to re-
populate the abandoned farms of
Vermont. A similar effort is max
ing in Now Hampshire. In pur-
surance of an act of the last Leg
islature of that State, Nathan ].
Bachelor was appointed Commits
| sioner of Immigration. He sent
out circular letters with view of
learning the number of abandoned
farms In the various ''towns,'' as the
New Englanders prefer to call tho
subdivisions of the counties. The
anwers received do not show as bad
state of affairs as prevail in YER
mont, but it is bad enough. The
Chairman of the Board of Selectmen
of one town writes that it contains
thirty odd abandoned farms, from
which almost all the buildings have
disappeared. He tells ola beautiful
pasture of 300 acres which is not
fenced; the parties would not fence
it for use. The total quantity of
abandoned land IN the town is 4, 500
acres. Another town has 800
acres of deserted land The farms
so abandoned range all the way
from one to over thirty to the town.
Fourteen towns report that there
are 14,124 acres from which all the
buildings have disappeared.
This is the state of things in New
England. Coming farther West,
we find that all is not lovely in
Western Pennsylvania. Here, if
anywhere, the farmers home mark
ct should flourish luxuriantly; and
the happy agriculturist should roll
in wealth beyound the dreams of
avarice. A New York man who
wishes to buy farm for nephew,
tells in letter to the EoeninQ Post
of that city how near this beautiful
dream approaches realization. He
wanted to obtain farm in the
Western part of Allegheny or the
Northern part of Washington
county, Pa, and so he advertised in
the Pittsburgh papers, describing
what he wanted The farmers in
the section described literally fell
OroYs aa.I, 0fha,, -, E6as,, oeca.4s -
supply his wants. Everybody
seemed clamorous to sell, but he
could not hear of sale that had
been made for months. When the
records were examined it was found
that many of the farms offered, per-
haps majority, were embarrassed
either by mortgage or judgments.
Lands in that section had shrunk
in value, as he estimates, from % to
33 per cent, in ten years. Every
body wanted to go to town. They
wished to exchange the "home
market" of the farmer for the pro-
lection accorded to the manufact-
urer.
This writer says that the condi-
ton of the Western Pennsylvania
farmer was aptly described by the
patriarch Jacob when he called his
sons together to receive his bless
ings. "Issachar is strong ass,
crouching down between two bur-
dens; and he saw the rest was good.
and the land that it was pleasant;
and he bowed his shoulder to bear,
and became IL servant unto tribute -
The Bellefonte, Pa, UIatchnan
states that similar and even greater
depreciations of farm lands is to be
noted in Miffin, Centre, Lancaster
and Berks counties 1t mentions a
sale in Miffin at less than half the
value of FIVE years ago, and another
at less than one third. The Watch-
man adds that the "home market,
which is said to be the result of pro-
lection, is not at hand to improve
the financial condition of the agri-
culturist, while his means are con
stantly drained to pay the tariff
taxes"
The state of things here described
may be apologized for on the ground
of Western competition, bat as we
go further West we find that the
complaints do not cease. The ex-
tent to which farms are mortgased