The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-04-06
sAGGING AND TWINE.
A Trust Which Proposes to Grow Rich at
tho Farmers Expense.

tho Farmers Expense.
Jute bagging and iron ties are
essential to the proper and economical
marketing of cotton, the staple crop of
the South.
Twine is just as essential to the
proper harvesting of wheat, the staple
crop of the Northwest.
The protective tariff on bagging is
| 81 per cent; on twine it is 4O per
cent.
BY the Mills bill bagging was placed
on the free list, and the duty on twine
was reduced TO % per cent.
When this question came before the
people the cotton-planters voted to
sustain the Mills bill, but the wheat
| farmers of the Northwest were so
afraid of the Southern brig gadiers"
that they could not trust them even to
reduce taxes, and so the Mills bill
failed, and the farmers North and
South were handed over, body and
breeches, one to the twine trust and
one to the bagging trust.
Last autumn the bagging trust
robbed ''under the forms of law the
Southern cotton planters of about
81, ,000 900, and they are preparing to
repeat the game when the cotton-pick-
ing begins.
The twine trust" is now getting
ready for its harvest 1t has not only
secured control of the twine product,
but also of the raw materials from
| which it is made. This raw material
-hemp-is now taxed $50 ton; the
.rebel brigadiers'' proposed to put it
on the free list, but the plutocrats de-
feated this proposition, and now no
relief is possible.
We do not think the trust will be
able to put the price up to % cents, for
such an advance would lead to heavy
importations, and, as with copper, de-
feat the purpose of the combine. Still
the fact remains that under the protec-
tion of the tariff a monopoly has been
established and the Western farmers
must pay the piper. This following dis
patch from Minneapolis is worth re-
| producing:
"Slowly but surely the binding twinc trust is
| tightening its coils about the farmer. Already
| the effect of it is seen here IN Minneapolis,
| where most of the twine in stock has been
bought up for the trust, and now lies in Min
ncapos warehouse and where the price has
already advanced materially An agent of the
Dakota Farmers Alliance, which last year
bought its twne direct from the factories, was
sent East to contract for this years supply. He
discovered that the whole output had been
bought up by the trust Further he discov-
] lat hn
bought for nine cents u pound would cost
twenty five cents this year. The only remain
ing plan left the farmers is to boycott the trust
and this they seem inclined to do Minneap-
oils twne dealers are in the same fix as are
the farmers. About two months ago young
man, dressed us frontier farmer, came here
and bought up all the twinc in the hands Of the
dealers. 1t was discovered too late that he
was an agent of the trust, but the twine had
been sold. The local dealers are now kicking,
while the twinc, five hundred thousand balls
of IT, is PACKED away II the farmers get no
twine it is likely TO have bad effect upon the
wheat crop. as that can not be harvested in Il
good condition without the use of twne."
This is one result of the defeat OF the
Mills bill and of the election of Mr.
Harrison: the strike at Fall River is
another; the Reading failure is an
other. For four years longer the peo-
pie must bear the burdens of which
the Mills bill proposed TO relieve them.
Louisville Courier-Journal.