Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-07-05
HOW TO GET RICH.
Mr.. Mckinley Calls the Farmers Attention
to the Beauties of the Tarin.

1OW ~ 66 nISns
Mr.. Mckinley Calls the Farmers Attention
to the Beauties of tho Tarih.
Mr.. Mckinley processes an earnest
desire to do the square thing by the to-
bacco growers of this country. OF
course Mr.. McKinley's method OF doing
the square thing by any body is to put =
duty on the thing that such person pro-
duces The starving farmer comes to
the doors of Congress protesting that
the times are out Of joint. He has
worked long hours; has lived poorly;
has kept his boys home from school,;
sent his wife to the wash tub and busted
his girls in cow-yard and dairy, only to
find at the end Of the year his mortgage
interest due and not enough money to
pay it. MY good man." says Mckinley,
what you want is protection. Let me
recommend to your attention our line Of
tariffs, running from 10 to $50 per cent
These things have done wonders for the
manufacturers of this country. They
have made Andrew Carnegie so many
times a millionaire that he is able 10
spend twice the value of your farm III
driving tally-ho all over Great Britain.
They have made Oliver Ames so rich on
selling the shovels you use that he is
able to erect mortuary chapel to the
memory of a father that most men
would gladly forget. They have gilded
Mr.. Plate Glass DePauw so thick that
he is able all alone to endow a college
with 81, 900, 900. In fact our tariffs are
warranted to make any man rich at the
expense Of his neighbors in from 10 to
90 years. You farmers have not had
much chance at these blessings, but
your turn has come and We mean to see
that you all prosper, if We have to wall
up the country to keep out the 1000
bushels of foreign corn that comes in
every year to compete with the 2,OO0,-
900, 900 bushels that you raise"
Then having delivered this speech
and sent the farmer away hopeful, Mr.
Mckinley proceeds to put duty OF a5
cents to 81 pound on leaf tobacco, just
by way of making millionaires out Of
the tobacco growers.
The only tobacco which we import
comes from Cuba and the Island of
Sumatra, and is used to manufacture
the higher-priced cigars. The present
duty upon this leaf tobacco is IS cents
to 81 per pound, according to whether
it is stemmed or not. In 1889 we inn
ported Is, 800, 900 pounds of this leaf
tobacco. On the other hand, We ex-
ported 223 zoe, 900 pounds of leaf tobac-
co, or over one half of our total prod
uct. We are large exporters and at the
same time large importers of tabacco.
The reason for this is as follows: A
good cigar can not be made without an
admixture Of foreign tobacco, which is
thus an indispensable necessity to the
manufacturer. The cheapest grades of
cigars are now manufactured of purely
American leaf tobacco, but most of the
American smokers demand q five or ten
cent cigar. In tho manufacture Of
these, leaf tobacco from the Island of
Sumatra is used. Some ten-cent cigars
are made wholly OF Cuban tobacco, but
most Of the five and ten cent cigars are
a mixture Of foreign and domestic to-
bacco.
Not until 1882 did the Sumatra tobacco
make its appearance in our markets; in
that year the average price Of New
York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin was
only 12 cents per pound. In 1888 the
price Of New York leaf was - cents,
that Of Pennsylvania 1913 cents, and in
Wisconsin cents. The reasons for the
lower price Of the Wisconsin and Penn
sylvania leaf was due to the fact that
the crop In both States was very poor.
Tobacco has steadily risen in price in
comparison not merely with OTHER farm
products, but with nearly every class of
manufactured goods. 1t has kept up in
price while others have gone down.
The leaf tobacco imported from Su-
matra is worth over 81 per pound in
Amsterdam. How can tobacco which
brings 81 per pound abroad and when
imported cost in 1889 Sl.s0 cents per
pound duty paid. injuriously affect the
sale Of tobacco which cost only IL cent?
per pound?