Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-09-11
AGRICULTURAL
AND MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS ON A
DIFFERENT FOOTING.

| DIR EhENl fOOllNO.
New York Press.
Congressman Springer, in his second
speech at the Hudson fair last week
during his tariff debate with eXCon-
gresham Russell G. Horr of Michigan
declared that he had laid trap for Mr.
HOrr, into which the latter had walked
If protection built up home manufact-
ures and finally lowered prices through
competition, would not the rule hold
good as to farm products? Would not
the additional duties on hay, barley and
oats, if they had any effect, stimulate a
cut-throat competition? These quest
ions of Mr.. Springer called out the fol-
lowing reply from reader of The Press
ITO manufacture requires permanent
investment of capital in plant which
can be used for no other purpose than
to make the article intended. Manu-
factured articles are generally non-per-
,ishable, can be carried over from year
to year and accumulate without loss or
waste. To illustrate: Manufacturers
can approximately estimate or anticipate
next years trade on the basis of supply
and demand. In manufactures protect
ion against foreign competition CORE
spondingly stimulates home production,
which in turn steadily reduces the price
to the domestic consumer to point as
low as it is possible to do SO without rob-
bing capital and labor Of their just re-
ward. 1t is not healthy condition of
trade, or desirable, that articles of man
ufacture or agricultural products be sold
Without profit or below cost, as all are
buyers and consumers as well as sellers
agricultural products are perishable
They must be consumed in their season,
or else go to waste. 1t is well known
that barley will not malt after the first
year, hence, if carried over, it is worth
less for brewing. Hops are of little
strength and value after the first year.
Oats, corn and wheat are to some extent
carried over, always with great depreci-
alton in quality and value, as in the
farmers granaries the first summer after
harvest they go through seasoning or
sweating process that destroys the life
of the grain and leaves it rank and bit
ter. Such grains are usually consumed
by mixing them with the new crop. The
old saying, That you nor |, nor nobody
knows, how oats, beans and barley
grows though ungrammatical, is too
true; certainly not the skill or wisdom of
the farmer, but largely the state of the
weather,th condition of the atmosphere,
frost, wind, sunshine and rain deter
mine the harvest. The farmers plant
is already created. With him it is only
a question of what acreage shall be left
in grass, what fields to plant and which
to SOW; the weather does the rest. He
cannot anticipate the harvest by even
one month, much less by year. A
frost tonight would ruin the corn, fruit
and vegetable crop of the year. Can he
anticipate it? This years crop does not
determine the next, and, in fact, is no
guide. The question with the farmer,
then, is, when harvested what can he
do with his perishable products that
must be consumed in their season, else
will go to waste, and possibly a total
loss"
The bearing of all of which on Mr..
Springers remarks is that the farmer
needs the home market, and the nearest
market he can get; and that the tenden-
cy of the goods to depreciate prevents
their accumulation as manufactured
goods do from year to year. Free trade
statesmen seem to know as little about
farming as they know about production
and commerce.