The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1890-04-24
Views of a Large Farmer.

- 1000
The New York Press, OF Sunday week,
in its notes, Among the Politicians
has the following sensible remarks from
very large and very practical farmer,
Judge Stephen Burke, of Ohio:
hear more and more about the Far
mers' Alliance as II growing political fac
tor from Western men who drop into
New York. Not all of the Westerners,
however, are impressed with the idea
that it is an suspicious movement, l
was talking with Judge Stevenson Burke
of yesterday, when he said: II am prob
ably the largest farmer in Ohio. I think
| have more acres of farmland that any
man in that St.aue, and / think | ought
to know Whit the farmer wants to make
him prosper )us if he is not prosperous.
He certainly does not want free trade.
Protection has built up our manufactur-
ing industry, where it occupies large
numbers of workmen who consume the
farmers products. With free trade
these workers would have no occupa-
ton, except to become tillers Of the soil,
and by their competition with the pres
ent farmers would make the condition
of agriculture. poor indeed The trouble
with farm products at present is that
they come into competition in. the mar
kets of the world with the wheat grown
in India and Australia and Russia, with
the sheep grown in Australia and South
America, with the cattle and hides of
the Argentine Republic and so on. The
prices are not determined by what goes
on in the whole world, BECAUSE we pro-
duce more than we consume. If the oc-
equations of our people could be ex-
tended in other lines than agriculture so
as to take up our surplus product of
breadstuffs, and if immigration of poor
people who go into farming in the West
as their best means of getting subsist-
ence could be checked, the farmer would
quickly see an improvement in his con-
dition. But he would be the first man
to be ruined by free trade and the break
ing down OF our manufacturing indus
triesn
Judge Burke says that the stories set
| af1oat about farmers not being fairly
| prosperous are preposterous and that as
fact farming is comparatively the most
prosperous OF any occupation. On an
other phase Of the Farmers Alliance
question he said; 'Class legislation is
always vicious and damaging to the
country. The worst thing that could
happen to this country would be to have
any class of people, like the farmers. for
Instance, get possession of the govern
msnt and enact such laws as wonld he
thought to fit their special eases and
grievances, If you will remember. il
was the grangers' movement that
brought about the federal law reenla-
ting railroad rates. The farming com
munity was ablaze with Indignation at
the railroads for years because of alleged
discrimination in rates to the seaboard,
as compared with freight rates between
local points. Now, see how their class
legislation has worked. In 1878. which
was one OF the most prosperous wears
we had, because the railroads were shin
ping food products to the seaboard for
almost nothing under the stress of com.
petltlon' the farmer was able to sell his
product abroad to good advantage. But
by reason OF his Intas-state Commerce
law ne no longer gets the benefit of such
competition. He insisted on his class
leglslatlon' and has found it operates
against the laws of supply and demand
and competition in trade. which must
pc recognized in all legislation. If the
iessoh was well learned the Farmers
Alliance would not now be organ
izIng for more class legislation, but for
such legislation on broad grounds as
would benefit the whole country, on the
principle of the greatest good to the
greatest number"