Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-02-14
PLAIN WORDS FROM 4 FARMER.

The following timely, able and com
prehensiye letter was recently written
by a Michigan farmer to the New
! DIRK Weekly Witness:
To TIE EDITOR: During the last
Presidential campaign the Republican
speakers and newspapers informed the
farmers that If Harrison were elected
and protection insured rs the settled
policy Of the nation, farmers would
share in the general prosperity. These
sentiments were loudly applauded
and today farmers are dancing to the
music. One year ago wheat was
worth about a dollar bushel, now il
is worth seventy cents. Oats were
then worth tWenty-siX cents, now they
worth twenty. Hogs dressed were
worth $3.50 per hundred weight, now
they are worth 81.
On the other hand we have been
paying a tax or bonus of two or three
cents per pound on sugar, and on
other goods accordingly. own Il
good farm of eighty acres. / have
worked hard all summer about thir-
teen hours day and have raised
very good crops. ] find, after deduct
ing all necessary expenses, l have not
received over twenty-five cents "a day
for my hard labor, and | have done
fully as well as my neighbors. If |
had my farm property in money and
ut interest, and worked by the month
or day, would be good many dol
lars ahead. | paid onedollar day
to hired men, but only realized twenty
five cents day myself The farmer
voted for protection SO that the men
who make his tools, implements, ma
chimes and clothing can make from
three to five dollars day, and he
himself twenty-five cents. Surely, far
mcrs are the most liberal class of men
on EARTH Now, farmers, before you
call the writer of this article Il fool or
crank, estimate your property, and see
if YOU have realized over twenty five
cents a day for your hard labor Talk
about cheap pauper labor of Europe!
show me country i'll the civilized
world where they pay such starvation
wages as is paid To those poor deluded
dupes OF the moncpolists the far
mers
Since the incoming of the present
administration an immense amount of
American property has been bought by
British capitalists breweries, mines,
tanneries, grain elevators, manufactur-
ing establishments, and even Warmers
safe Cure" Through the aid of
such men as Bright, Golden and Glad
stone, the common people of Great
Britain, have to certain extent
thrown off the yoke Of the capitalists
who SO long taxed them to poverty.
After looking over the earth for an
investment for their capital, these
British lords saw the laboring classes
here vote tax of over forty per cent
on the necessaries Of life, and as no
other people on earth were simple
enough to vote such robbery on them
selves, the British capitalists hurriedly
bought all the property they could get.
Now they can form trusts and syndi-
Gates and rob their dupes to their
hearts content. Our forefatherS would
not pay England tax of two pence a
pound on tea, but we pay her lords a
tax of from twenty to eighty per cent
on many of the necesSarieS of life.
1t would seem that one more pur-
chase is all that is necessary for Eng
land 10 own this country again. Let
her buy the Detroit and New York
TribuneS, and other leading Repub-
hcau papers, for whatever these papers
say however absurd the people be-
lieve. The farmers actually believed it
when the papers said that the tariff
was not tax, and that the election
Of Harrison would ensure a home
market and raise the price of grain
and stock 1t takes about one buShel
of oats to buy two pounds of sugar,
and as we are selling good cattle at
one and one-half cents pound.
wonder how long at the same ratio of
increase. that long -promised home
market will be in reaching us.
4 majority of farmers voted to shut
ont competition of the neceSSarieS of
life, We had protected wool pulled
over our eyes, and rs the wintry blasts
now whistle through our cotton and
shoddy garments, the woollen clothes
we would like to protect us from the
cold are entirely beyond our reach.
We have raised the wool, but cannot
afford TO wear it. hope farmers who
voted for the present state of affairs
are We'll pleased. If they are not, per
hapS they will be at the close of this
administration. The price of grain
and stock have gone down, but the
price ot some goods has gone up, in
terest has advanced, trusts have null
tiplied, the men who duped the farm
ers are holding good, fat offices sand
the end is not yet. RUSTICUS.