The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1890-05-07
RUSK TO THE FARMERS.
CAUSES OF DEPRESSION POINTED
OUT AND THEIR REMEDIES.

Secretary Rusk, OF the Ayr cultural
| Department, in answer TO numerous in
quiries asking about the cause of agri-
cultural depression, has written n letter
| for publication, liz the course of which he
says:
The present agricultural depression II seems
| To me, can be traced 10 ~ combination OF many
causes, so many that probably no one man can
enumerate them all | will only endeavor TO
| point out some which seem 10 me mere directly
responsible They may be divided into tNo
| classes: /. Those causes Inherent TO the
| farmers themselves. and for which hey alone
can provide possible remedy 2. Those over
which the farmer himself has no direct control,
and the remedy Tor which must be provided NJ
| far as remedy ia possible by Jaw. and for such
legislation the responsibility devolyos upon the
| legislative bodies OF the states and OF the M
ton What the farmer must do. will coniine
myself To u mere enumeration of the first class
of causes indicated On many farms / regret
| 10 say, we find depreciation OF the productive
| power OF the land due TO careless culture. We
| find want to- often OF business-like methods,
due TO the tact that in earlier times la siness
training was not regarded essential pre-
pnration for tho farmer work, whereas to-day,
with altered conditions, when every penny, and
i may say every moment of time. has To be
profitably accoun. led for and in the face OF
world wide competition, n successful farmer
| must be as we'll trained and careful ian business
ns tho stOre-keeper and his equal in intclli-
gence and general education. Nor are the i'm
portant questions Of supply and demand OF
market prices studied with the v!gila which
cEaractorizes the methods of our merchants aud
manufacturers. These last, moreover, have the
advantage of transacting their business in i'm
mediate proximity 10 trade ceuteTs. whore the
widest information in reference Thereto il read
| lily obtenabe. Oar farmers organi1e ions are
wisely seeking 10 supplement this want for the
| farmer; the agricultural press is earnestly
working in the same direction. AMI one OF the
most important duties deyolNing upon this de-
partmont consists In gathering and promptly
distributing reliable information all those
subjects which essentially interesting 20 the
farmer. IL remains fer him 10 avail himself Of
info tliaIo chi ~
lection not only against OYersupply or certain
products but AGAINST possible over-i eaching on
the part of purchasers. The farmer must look
with suspicion upon any attempts to abridge
the sources OF his information. His advantage
viii always be i'm the fullest knowledge. of the
facts. He must carefully study the character
and the quality OF his products rather than
mere quantity, and always bear in mind That
whether prices are high or low IL is always the
best goods ut the best obtainablc prices that
the most readily sold. Many OF our farmers
have been land-greedy and find themselves the
owners of more land than they can properly
care foz in view OF the comparatively high price
of labor in the rural districts, and in view OF tho
fact that buS small portion OF mankind COM
paratiNely, can prohtably control the labor OF
Others. The prudent farmer Will limit his efforts
20 that which he can efficiently perform. Again,
more attention must be given. spe, in ~ on our
Western farms, 60 the raising by he Iarmer, for
his own use, everything that may be utilized by
himself and his household, far as soil and
| climate and soil will permit.
i have passed over these various causes
| briefly. i do not deem IL necessary to dwell
| upon them a length, but will merely Ioitt rate
! the fact that for them the remedy Is zen IDLE,
aud It DEF ends upon the farmers themselves TO
| provide H. No one can relieve them of This re-
| sponsibility, but 4 thankful to say that,
owing partly 20 their own efforts, there exist to-
! day in many States valu~bla in strumentalitie
| capable of mater ally sayin them in their work
| and to-day in this coultry no farmer need be
without all the aid that knowledge and science
| can impart.
FARM MORTGAGES.
| The burden OF mortgages upon farms, homes
and lands Is unqu astionably discoura ging in
| the extreme, and while in some cases no doubt
| this load may have been too really assumed,
| still in the majority OF cases the mortgage has
| been the result OF necessity. / except, OF
course, such mortgages as represent balances
of purchase money which are. rather evidences
| OF the farmers ambition and enterprise than
of his poverty. ON the other hand those mort
cages with which land has been encountered
| from the necessities Of its owner drawing high
| rates Of interest often taxed in addition with u
| heavy commission. have to-day, i'm the face OF
| continued depression III the prices OF staple
/ products become very irksOmc and in many
| cases threaten the farmer with the loss OF home
and land. 1t il question Of grave difficulty
! TO all thoss who sick to remedy the ills from
] which our farmers are suffering. At present
prices the farmer finds IL takes moro OF his
products to get n dollar wherewith TO pay back
| the dollar ne borrowed than IL did when he
I borrowed IL. Tho interest accunulates. while
| payment Of the principal seems utterly hope
| less, and the very depression which we are dis
| GUESSING makes the renewal OF the mortgage
| most difficult. Many people are dis posed 70 as
| societe this phase OF the subject Win the ques-
! ton II undue Limitation W our currency
| Many carry this line of argument 20 extremes
| but 10 is 10y no means impossible that these
| subjects correlated. However, Tho question
| Of currency Is now receiving special attention
| from another branch of the Government; legis-
| lation on the subject is now pending before
| Congress, and we can, no doubt, look for an
early and satisfactory solution OF this yeXed
| problem.
After discussing the question Of transportq-
! ton, gambling III farm products. combinations
and iniddlemen, he comes 10 the considera-
ton of
| PROTECTION FOR THE FARMER
| now come to.the consideration of ono OF the
grayest causes III my opinion OF the present az
| ricultural depression. but which AIN happy to
state can be effectually and directly dealt with
| through national legislation. Few people realize
| that our imports OF agricultural products esti-
| mated at prices paid the consumers are about
equal 10 our agricultural exports estimated at
prices paid TO the farmer vet such is the case.
Our imports OF products sold I'm competition with
| those actually produced on our own soil.
| amount TO nearly Sis 60 900, and as mrch more
| could be produced on own soil under favora-
bic conditions. We must surely conclude that
! we have here another cause OF depression. The
| subject is so vast that / can not dismiss IL
peat here views already expressed by me on this
| subject:
IMPORTS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
OF all the wonderful phases of development
| OF which the United States furnishes such
striking examples none is. perhaps, more re-
| markable than the wonderful increase totally
| dispropOrtionate 20 our increase in population
in our imports OF products which dis
| tinctly agricultural. In 1861 the imports OF
| such products amounted TO $4,000 0)O. For the
| fiscal year ending in 1859 they amounted 10 the
| enormous sum of S356, 0O) 200, an increase of
nearly 900 per cent, while the increase in pOpu-
| lation during the corresponding period was con-
| sideratly less than 800 per cent This is all the
| more remarkable when taken in cOnjunct IN
| with the fact that this is pre-eminently an
| agricultural country. opening up year after
year, with n rapidity that has alarm I'll the pro-
ducers OF the old world. immense tracts OF
country TO be devoted exclusively To tilnge all
the more remarkable when realize, further
more, that over 40 per cent. OF cur total ox-
ports are the direct product OF the s,il. Ac-
campaigning this eXtra ordinary movement there
| has been during the past decade. I'm which
the greatest increa So of such imports mas taken
place, steady decrease in the prices of home
grown products. To any reasonable man the
conclusion must be obvious namely, that in the
line of products, with the exception OF cotton
upon which our farmers chiefly depend, there
has grown up well-nigh ruinOus competition
in which the labor OF the peasant OF Europe OF
the miserable fellah OF Egypt. and OF the un.
fortunate half-staryed Indian ryot, working for
pauper wages, negecting all the amenities OF
life in order that women and children well
IA men may work I'm the fields, ia pittcd against
that OF the Ameri6 al farmer relying upon his
own aud his sons labor, or where he employs
hired help, paying them fair rate OF wages nc.
cording TO our American standard, besides pro
viding them with the same food and shelter as
he gives TO his own family.
Growing surplus OF wheat, that surplus