Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-04-24
RUSK'S VIEWS
A Long Address to the Farmers
Of the Country
Respecting the Present Agri-
cultural Depression.

tIon of Causes He Thinks 1t Could he
Remedied Dy More Protection on Farm
PrOduots-what the National Farmers
Alliance Wants,
WASHINGTON, April "a Secretary
Rush, in reply to hundreds of communi-
cations from different sections of the
country, appealing to him for an ex-
preston Of opinion respecting the pres
ent condition of agricultural depression,
its causes and remedies, has issued a
long address to the farmers of the
country, The present agricultural de-
preston, universally admitted, and of
which there can be no doubt, the secre,
tary says, can be traced to combina-
tion of causes-so many that probably
no one man can enumerate them all,
Two Glasses of Causes.
Those causes which the secretary save
seem more directly responsible for this
severe depression may be divided into
two classes; those inherent to farmers
themselves, and for which they alone
can provide possible remedy, and those
over which the farmer himself has no
direct control, and the remedy for which
must be provided by law. In the first
class of causes indicated he attributes
depreciation of the productive power Of
land to variety of causes; to careless
culture, want of business-like methods,
lack of study of supply and demand, and
market prices, and the ownership of
more land by many than they can prop
erly care for After alluding briefly to
the discouraging effects of farm mort
cages, the difficulties of the transporta-
tion question, gambling in farm pro-
ducts. controlling combinations and the
depressing effect of the increase of Md
die men on the results of the farmers
honest toll, Secretary Rusk advances an
argument in favor of high duties on
agricultural products.
Needs More Protection.
One of the gravest causes for the pres
ent agricultural depression, in the opin-
lou Of the secretary, is lack of protection
for the farmer, Few people, he says,
realize that our imports of agricultural
products, estimated at prices paid by the
consumer, arc about equal to our agri-
cultural exports, estimated at prices paid
to the farmer, yet such is the case. Our
imports of products sold in competition
with those actually produced on our
own soil, amount to nearly $4,000, 900
annually, and as much more could be
produced on our own soil under favora-
BILE conditions. Our imports of agricul-
tural products for the fiscal year ended
June 80, 1889, aggregated 1866, ,000, GOO,
the far greater part of which, perhaps,
1855, 900, 900 could, the secretary thinks,
with proper encouragement, he produced
on our own soil,
For Remedy,
To protection the secretary locks for
remedy. Zone glance" he says, lat the
comparative rates of duty levied upon
agricultural, as compared with other
products, one glance at the free list, the |
greater portion of which consists of ag-
ricultural products, either grown or
which could be grown upon our own
soil, and a comparison of these figures
with the average rate of duty levied |
upon manufactured articles ought to be
sufficient to silence forever any opposi- |
Jion to the demand | have made on be- |
half of the American farmer in my an
nual report, namely, that by wise APP
plication of our admirable protective |
system all the benefits of our home
markets be secured to him for every
thing he may be able to produce"
Changes Needed.
Our system of taxation, the secretary |
demands improvement in certain |
directions. The cost of supporting the |
government needs TO be most equitably |
adjusted among the different classes of
our people. AT present in many states |
the burden of local taxation presses
heavily upon farm property, its very
nature rendering it easily accessible. |
Every corporation created by the state |
and to whom special privileges are
granted, either by state, county, or in |
village or city, should he |
taxed in proportion to its earnings, And |
in all ways the principle of taxation
should be to place the burden of main
tanning the government, whether state,
or National, upon the luxuries
and comforts which the wealthy enjoy.
and to reduce it to a minimum in its APP
plication to the hardly earned property
of the poor man.
Sytem Of Warehouses Advocated.
The senate committee on agriculture
and forestry tuesday had under cons:d-
Grafton Senator Vance's bill to provide
for system of warehouses for farm
produce throughout the country, to be
operated by the government, which is
10 issue its notes upon deposits of grain
therein. Col. Polk, president of the
Farmers Alliance, read O long
in support of the measure,
which he said way formulated BY the
committee appointed for that purpose
by the convention of the National Farm
ers' Alliance and Industrial Alliance,
held in st. Louis. Dec. 30. 1899.
He sketched the decline In agrIcul-
tural values in the face of marvellous
progress and development of other IN
1ustries and interests during the past
TWO decades, and insisted that some
hing should be done for the farmer.
He charged the fault upon tie financial
system of the government, which had
resulted in high-priced money and low
priced products. The remedy Col. Polk
suggested were three-fold.
First-Restore silver TO its dignity and
,lace as a money metal, with all the rights
# coinage and all the qualities Of legal ten
Ter which gold possesses
Second-Issue sufficient amounts of cur
'ency direct to the people at low rate OF
interest to meet the legitimate demands of
he business of the country, and which shall
,e legal tender for all debts, public and
private.
Third--Secure to such issues equal dignity
With the money metals by basing IL on real,
angible, substantial values.
Col Polk was followed by DIR. G. w.
sicCune. chairman of the National COM
nittee on legislation of the alliance, who
addressed himself more particularly to
he merits and details of the system Of
warehouses as outlined in the bill. He
asserted that the merchandise thus
itored would not deteriorate bselow mar
set standard, and that the system had
proved feasible and practicable IN Cali