The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1890-11-21

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wheel Jurn'ng = ehs Mills o1"w b q -
The tagm$ The fnguser's Prosperity No.
Oene West end Coll>pssd.
when Prcsidcnt Harrison was q TERM
lIantc. Ind. be had something 70 say
about prosperity. But tho prosperity
that the President referred 70 then was
: one-sided prosperity. He counted
prosperity much a. Gar Reed runs the
House Of Reprcss ntativcs--to SEQ only
ono side when IL serves bis purposo
best and ignore tho other side nltogot hor.
II was tho prosperity Of the manu-
facturers that the President spoke o.
He said: II was told as ! approached
your city that there was not IN idle
wheel In Tcrre IIaute"
Precisely 20: but the President was
very wide the mark when he drew from
this that everybody else was getting on
equally we'll. 1t Is very pleasant %
know" he said. that this prosperity Il
so generally shared BY all our people
DO the farmers think they arc sharing
in IT, too? Is not the contrary a notorl-
Gus fact? Our high protectonist Super
intcndent Of the Census, Robert r. Por-
ter. has said on this subject that 1.-THE
American farmer Is just now passing
through the gloomy valley OF hard
mes" and yet Porter juggles with his
| figures and proves TO his own satisfac-
ton that ''the direct benefits he (tho
| farmer) receives from the present tariff
are far in excess Of the benefits received
by any other class"
This talk about the farmers prosper
ity in the home market, as the result OF
protection. is however. breaking down
all along the line. from East 10 West
The failure Of the protected homo mar.
ket TO bring prosper ~ 10 him was first
felt in the East II began in tho do
cline Of New England farming villages
and IN the desertion OF New England
hill farms Right in the midst Of the
greatest manufacturing communities
this decline Of farming has gone on
The census just taken shows that the
townships adjoining the pr.nclpl manu-
featuring cities Of Connecticut havo
lost about 10 per cent OF their popala-
ton in ten years
In the State OF New York the farmers
have failed TO share in the general
prosperity that the President boasts OF
Already in ISIS. Mr.. J. X. Dodge. the
high protcctonist statistician OF tho
Department Of Agriculture. reported a.
follows: 'Ncw York farmers are more
N debt tnan they were ten years ago
The average depreciation OF farming
lands is fully one-third in ten years.
Probably one-third OF tho farms in I
State would not sell for more than the
cost Of the buildings and other improve
menta Thirty per cent OF the farms
are mortgaged for two-thirds Of their
estimated value"
The protectionists always make the
same answer to these facts--it il West
ern competition. they say.
but how does the matter stand further
West? Take Ohio. for instance. A
correspondent Of that high tariff organ,
the New York Tribune. writes ! letter
to break tho force Of the recently pub
lished facts as to the decline OF the
farming population OF Ohio. but be has
to make admissions which damage his
case fatally. He had to admit that tho
farm values Of Wayne County had fallen
OF six per cent in ten years and that
the loss Of population 10 still greater.
Every county in the Western Reserve,
no says shows loss Of population IN
the agricultural districtA In view OF !
these facts the Tribune's correspondent |
makes this sorrowful admissions: NC |
one denies that there has been depre-
citation OF the farm lands Of the state II |
the last decade" Then comes the cut
and-dried explanation. 1.-THE attraction
Of the cheap lands Of the West
Apparently we arc not yet far enough 4
West Let US try Iowa The Commits
sioner Of Labor Statistics in that state
has just made public some facts OF I
startling character He has received
answers to his inquiries from I'D farm
ers recommended TO him IS reliable \
persons"
lie finds that ''seventy-six per cent
Of the farmers Of the State are prevent
ed by pressure or their debts from hold. \
ing their grain and other products for
the best market prices Eight per ccae
have lost their farms by mortgage fore
closure since 1ss0." Thirty-elght per
cent Of farmers children are kept out
OF school ffty-cight days each school
year TO do farm work; Cs3 Of these
farmers report that since 1855 farm
products have been sold below tho cost
Of production.
But perhaps our cheerful protection.
ist President looks still further West 70
fisl that this prosperity is so generally
shared in BY ALL Kansas and Nebrasks
are still further West Does he ind the
paradise OF home market prosperity for
farmers in these two States? Is IL not