The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-03-20
TARIFFS
Senator Voorhees, Shows Them in
Their True COlOrs.
THEY ARE BENEFITS TO THE RICH
But Not to the Poor-The Worlds Fair Bill-A
Favorable Report from the Committee
Chicago Commended.

WASHINGTON, March 9.-Vice-President
Morton occupied the chair to-day.
The resolution offered by Voorhees, on
Monday, as to the agricultural depression,
was taken up, and Senator Voorhees, ad-
dressed the Senate. He said, in part, it
was now nearly thirty years since the clos
ing war had given to avarice the opportun-
ity to prey upon the self sacrificing patriots
of the country. The measures resorted to
for the taxation of one class Of
citizens and enrichment of another
had been the legislation by which
the burden of the public debt had been
doubled, silver demonetized and high
protective tariff established He charac-
terized the protective tariff as the. cause.
The farmers of the United States to-day
did not receive on an average more than ten
cents bushel for corn, fifty cents for
wheat and Two to three cents pound for
hogs. Every pretenSe of home market
for the farmer was fraud, and every pre-
tense of taxing wheat and cats and pota-
toes for his benefit is a cheat and sham.
1t is a notorious truth that the tariff as it
now stood increased the farmers expense
account from thirty-tive to one hun
dred per cent. On every implement of
industry with which he toiled, and last
year binding Irvine was raised to Is cents
| a pound by the trust He did not believe
| the hands of the farmer would hold the
| Republican ticket at the next presidential
election. Not only had there been no in
crease of value in land the last quarter of
a century, but there had been an absolute
| loss of 80 per cent. Improved farm lands
to-day, under the most favorable circum-
stances, would not on a general average
realize more than two thirds what their
value had been twenty-five years ago. Ohio
farms now under mortgage amount to
$685., 900, 600. In Illinois 90 per cent of the
whole face of the state is under mortgage.
they amounting S402, 100000. Forty seven
per cent. of the state of Michigan was I'M
der mortgage. In Indiana, Kentucky,
Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and the whole
northwest from twenty to fifty per cent.
of the farm lands were under mortgages at
such rates of interest as farmers could
never pay out of their crops, to say moth
ing of the principal. The farmers were thus
brought face to face with rum. Nor were
the farmers of New England different in
that respect from the western states The
remedies TO be applied were: Tariff re
form; "a full supply of legal tender
money; 3-The free coinage of silver; 4
The suppressing by law, of gambling in
future; "a liberal policy of pensions.
Voorhees, summoned up his arguments
with reference to subsidized press,
''blocks of five" official patronage, etc.
Wilson, of Iowa. said he desired to read
a letter from a farmer of Iowa who knew
by practical experience more about the con-
dition of the farming class than the Sena-
tor from Indiana ever learned in his read
ings. He then read letter, which has
already been published, showing the COM
paratively low prices of farm produce and
the high price Of manufactured goods be-
fore the war.
The Blair educational bill was taken up
and Pierce spoke in opposition to it. Evarts
and Call advocated it,
Allison, from the finance committee, re
ported, with amendments, the House bill
in relation to the collection of revenue.
| Adjourned.