The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-08-26
TIE FARufR AND THE TARIFF.

OverprOductlOn the Real Cause of AgrIcuI
turnI Depresslon-The Only Kennedy.
!MGjr Z. B.:NoOre IN HtIt Chester Mus.
You want me TO talk tariff Well, t,
begin, permit me to say that l thinl
there is Il great deal OF what may fairl,
be termed slush and noneense bein
uttered and Published a. the psesen
time about the tariff and its relations t,
the agricultural interests. The Demo
cratic newspapers are trying to MAXI
the farmers believe that the protective
tariff system is the cause OF the existin.
depression in their business. This il
superlative ronsense, rs every intelli
gent farmer must realize who will tekt
time to investigate the subject. The
farmer is q very important individual
l admit, but still he cannot escape the
same general lave that apply to all othe.
branches Of industry, Supply and de
mand." No matter what the article
may be, il your production exceeds the
demand depression will surely follow,
That result is inevitable Gs the law oil
gravity, and it Is Just what is ailing our
agricultural friends at the present
writing, and nothing else. More grain
and other brea1stuifs are being produced
than the market will take at a fair profit
to the producer.
Look back for a moment and make
note OF what has been accomplished in
the line oi development in agricultural
pursuits within the last twenty-five
years. At that time We were building
the Pacific Railroad. The western por-
ton Of the new State OF Kansas was
practically the dividing line between
civilization and barbarism. All west OF
tina. State 10 the California line was oc.
by uavage tribes and enormous
herds OF buffalo and other wild animals.
Note the condition to-day. The Indian
has been subdued and assigned to his
reservation, the buffalo has been cxter-
minated, and instead OF one C
pleted railroad extending from the At
lauiic TO the Pacific Ocean We have prac.
n number, with numerous
branches extending in every direction
over that vast domain. Nearly the
Of that immense territory has
been reclaimed to the husbandman, and
millions upon millions Of acres are now
with wheat and corn that
twenty-five years ago were practically n
barren waste. How could this be &c.
in 90 short 4 period OF time
without q shock to that particular indus.
try2 1t was not possible. We have
been too free with our public lands. The
development has been too rapid 10 be
healthy. We are producing more thun
tho present population can CONSUME.
hence depression in pricee.
The farmer in Eastern Pennsylvania
payS from S15 TO Sl25 per acre, upon an
average, for his land, while the Dakota
and other Western farmers nav the
United States Government ST 65 per
acre for the lands they till, or probably
pre.empted them under the Homestead
act. The first is compelled to purchase
and apply artificial manure in addition
to what he can produce by feeding stock,
to stimulate his lands, while the West.
ern farmer burns his straw to get rid
Of it.
This is q condition, not a theory"
Take the Western farmers product and
add to it the tritiing expenses OF trans.
%portation to the East, and it does not
take mach Of q calculation to demon.
strate what IN unequal contest East
ern farmer is waging with his Western
competitor.
We must not overlook tho fact, also,
that the increased railway service be.
tween the Northern and Southern At
lantic States hRs enabled the Southern
farmer, with his cheap land, to enter the
Northern market with his products.
His vegetables appear upon the market
stalls in our Northrn cities long before
tho farmers in this section begin their
planting, and thus the stimulus OF a de.
mand for fresh vegetables in the spring
is impaired.
Will the condition Of tho farmer i'm.
prove? Certainly, it will; but it can
only come with increased population, or
the development Of new markets that
will relieve us OF the eurplus. "Free
trade" as proposed by our Democratic
brethren, will not do it. That
would only. a%ggravGte present costs,
When you destroy the earning capacity
Of n people you destroy it rs a market.
Let every farmer ask this question,
What tends to increase population in
any community most rapidly" Then
he put one answer, Manufacturing
Us