Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1890-06-19

are now selling at az cents" said one of
our dty-goods merchants TO Ga
RErrE Representative on Tuesday. 1.-THE
price after the Mckinley bill goes into
effsct will be 81 cents"
This is only little thing, il is tine,
and the table. cloth may DO cheap at 81
cents, but it is just in this ingidious way
of few cents on each OF multitude of
small purchases that the protective
tariff is every day picking the working
mans pocket.
Mr.. summsrill, of Pannsgroye,, who
sells giiiing twiue to our fishermen,
showed the other day that our present
tariff is taking $4,000 per year cut Of
their pockets, while the Mckinley bill
will add $4,000 ,pnre to this tax, With
out doubt the same sxsortion INNS
through the whole list OF articles made
Of fax, since Mckinley has exercised
almost satanic ingenuity in Increasing
the duties on such articles.
Beginning with the raw material he
has raised the duty on unhacklsd fax
FROM $40 to 533 80 per ton, and on
hacked or dressed line flax from $40 to
$50 60 per ton. Whom this increase 10
designed to protect it is hard TO i'm.
agine. Our western farmers grow flax
by the thousand acres, but they grow it
for seed, not fbre. They SOW it broad
cast, lei il take care OF itself till rps,
then cut it with reaper, run it through
threshing machine aud then burn the
straw for manurial uses; such straw not
being worth anything for fibre. They
have neither the time nor the dis
position to grow fax for fibre,
and they wouldn't do this if
there were ''proteotiys" duty OF
$500 per ton on it; simply
because they can do better. Besides
there is good authority ,os the belief that
We have not the climate for producing
fine quality OF FAX fibre; even were our
farmers content to do ia they do in Hol-
land-ast out the plants in rows at so
many inches apart in little patches OF
half an acre or so, then set themselves,
their wives and children at work, down
on their knees, day after day, picking
ont the weeds, Strengthening the young
flax plants up against the wind, and all
this kind of hort cultural work; then
pulling each plant separately by the roots
when ut exactly the right stage o. ma
turity, laying each plant carefully straight,
the root-ends even and the stalks parallel,
aud subsequently putting these stalks
through this tedious and troublesome
processes o. ritliins, retting and scutching.
] We have too big q country as yet to ex-
poet orr farmers 10 come down to this
kind OF labor. II has proved too exacting
even in Ireland, wnere we find from the
Enoycloqn lin Britannica that the acre
age under lax steadily diminished from
the maximum OF 30l, 693 acres in 1864 to
1872 933 10 1876, aud from product Of
Ga 500 tons TO "a ISL tons in 1876, the
most recent year for which the Britain
nioa gives complete figures. "in England
and SCOTLAND says ths Britannica, Hthe
acreage unier lax is now 50 limited, and
it has decreased with such steadineIs and
rapidity, that, ss crop, fax may be re-
garded as practically extinct in these
countries. Indeed, notwithstanding
ths numerous measures oy Walch
me government sought during the
i'si century % roster max cuitivation'
hna the asfeol grants 70 eRtsiVa'ots IN
scotland, which Gown 10 the year 1873
#efs paid ~ tae BOARD OF trustees for
+ahefies hhd manufactures, the eultlHa-
non cannot De said ever p nave thElSsh
10 hesltnS manner. Arc we gong 10 On
eSfsglaus toois enough, as hatloh,to tty
70 grow ilA& tor hofs after dreas brltain,
"ltA us 4lo'stsf climate aud psupef
labor mas spent century IN demon
sratlng that u cannot pc done IN
ireland, HEys she hrittannica, the eulti-
yation OF iiex has always occupied feia
lively much more Important position
tnHa 4 has u the sisisf countries though
t-Sre ASP ne experience 10 that y -
rapldiy uechntns crop. Ia the time Of
S1ueen Anne, g board Of trustees Of the
linen aud hempsn manufactures for Ire
land was instituted, by which body
iloernl grants We're administered. AND
tug article goes on TO relate what more
Aaa besn done % atlmulate ths culture
Dat u yail. 4le irtih peasant could d.
better at something elias, ana 80 ha'
gradually rshngRlshsd the growing Q
l.sk to the cheaper LABOR OF kussie
But the British government has no