Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-10-02
A Michigan Farmer Plainly Reviews
Our Country's History for
Fifty Years,
And Shows the Splendid Achievements
Wrought by the Protective
System.
A Home Market Has Been Made for
the Farmer - Other
Blessings.


Its readers my knowledge of the financial
and commercial aifailS of the country.
SOME ffty-hve years or more ago, my ear
| Hest recolechons, | think about 1882,
| there was lack of money III the country
and all business was carried on by giving
orders on the store or giving the product
of the farm, with the exception of taxes.
which had to be paid III money. good
COW could be bought for IS to $40; a pair
of oxen that were fat would bring from
| $40 to $50 cash, and were driven to Phila-
! delphia. where they were sold for
beef. Wheat, oats, rye, and corn, butter
and cheese paid the store debt and also
paid for our groceries, etc Wheat sold
for 40 cents to 80 cents per bushe; oats,
| 10 cents to 20 cents. and corn about 20
cents; butter, 6 cents to 10 cents per
pound; eggs, cents per dozen; cheese,
from cents to 3 cents per pound, all in
trade.
Among my earliest recolections of
money matters was hearing my father talk
ing with neighbor to whom he wished
to sell a COW for the money to pay his tax
the coming winter. Now, why such
dearth OF money? you will naturally ask.
! 1t was because it had to be sent out of the
country to pay for our manufactured goods
All of our clothing, except such as our
mothers made, was imported; also nearly
| all our cutlery was manufactured abroad,
which was paid for in cash and exchanged
for the product of the farm. while our
merchants shipped it to New York and
there received their money and bought
more goods.
Years passed in this way and | was
growing to manhood. Now for nay first
month of hired work My work was most
Iy blowing; did q mans work, but did
not get a man pay, toI he would have re-
ceived SO, while only received S..
When | mad completed my work of TWEEN
ty-six days, received an order on a store
SIX miles away. In my purchase bought
cloth for a pair of pants, for which paid
Is cents per yard, and can get better goods
to-day for 25 cents That was in the
spring of lS4l. Later on, in AS and AZ,
! was in the mercantile business. We
sold prints at from IA to % cents yard,
and sold at the Cleveland prices. All other
imported goods were equally high, except
coffees, pepper, and spices, which were
much lower than they are now, We paid
A cents for wheat; corn, shelled, 20 cents;
rye, 20 cents; buckwheat, 20 cents; oats,
, Is cents.
I'VE did thriving business, averag-
ing about-two horse loads of grain per
day during the Seighing, but after that it
was not SO lively. Later on, about 50 or
'53, | bought prints that cost me 25 cents
per yard, while the cheapest was 10 or II
cents per yard. At this time there was
more money aHoat- Gold was found in
large quantities in California, and many
; farmers bought cows and went into the
dairy business. Cheese sold from 5 to g
cents, part cash, and cows sold from sl4
to S25, while oxen sold from $50 to 500,
but all of this time our tariff was only "a
tariff for revenue, consequently our manu-
featured goods were imported and our
gold had to pay for them as foreign ma
! tions woul not take our paper, and often
our democratic friends were opposed to
state or national hanks Our imports
We're enormous while our exports merely
nominal. In 1856 our imports were s3l4,
639, S42. while our exports were only Sl6,-
: 379, 57S. The next year was little greater,
but The ratio was about the same, as also
fer years before. No nation could get
along and prosper in that way. In order
to prosper our exports should be greater
than our imports. will go back to the
year 1857, which many people remember
as The year of the crisis, or crash. Many
frms that were considered to be wealthy
went to the wall, while numerous banks
broke You would meet with sad faces
wherever YOU turned; even the nation be-
came nearly bankrupt. Our revenue was
so light that President Buchanan had to
borrow money to carry on the government.
He had 10, II. and Ia per cent. interest,
and ran the nation In debt nearly S62. 000,-
600 with no improvement. Nearly all of
this time the nation was run by the demo-
Gratis. In four years more of such rule we
would have been bankrupt and some for
eign nation would have owned US but fate
had sealed the fate of the democratic party
and we were saved, although we had to
wade through the most gigantic war that
the world ever knew, and our country was
saved, thanks to the republican party and
protection.
/; 1T is the richest nation in the world.
IT has made home market for the farmer;
p also machinery aud implements for him.
, 1t has raised the price of grain and lower
ed the expense Of raising it; also lowered
the price of manufactured goods, and our
exports are increasing yearly, until they
slightly exceed our imports. Now, all
goods machinery, etc, manufactured at
home is a clear gain Of leo per cent. for
we have the goods. also the money that is
paid for them, and have saved the trans
porta'lon.
The democrat says the tariff is tax,
and | say the same, but ON whom does it
fall, surely not on the people of this
country, but on the manufacturer and i'm
porter of goods Hence the hue and cry
of England, Germany, France, with ether
countries. While protection has nearly
paid the war debt and filed the treasury,
it has lowered the price Of merchandise
, one half The democratic party is a party
of objections 1t objects to protection be-
cause it fills the treasury, making it pos
; sible to build war ships, etc. objects to
the election Law because it intends to Sc
cure honest elections; opposes the silver
bill because ii originated on the republican
side of the house; yes, the protective tariff
is tax or toll and heavy one on the for
eign manufacturer.
lin conclusion, would say to my broth
ers of the farmers alliance. to study the
history Of the political parties for the last