The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1890-05-09
4 Word TO FARMERS.

4 word 10 FARMERS.
Secretary Rusk Sends Out a Circular
81 Letter.
Hc Discusses Agricultural Depression and
suggests Some Rcmcdics-Farmers
hScst be Protected.
;. Secretary r. SIX has sent out to the farmersa
circular lette', in which he discusses agricul-
tursl depression, its causes and possible reme-
dies. He says much of the depression is due
to careless culture, want of business line meth
ods, too large bodies of land, the oppression of
mortgages, the troubles arising from transport
tation, the Intervention of the middleman,
gambling in farm products by exchanges and
boards Of trade, and the opefatiolls of trusts or
combinations. He says that our importsof pro-
ducts sold in competition:with tbose setsal,s.
prodaced on onr. own soil, amount e nearly
: - = Isc>,1e scn}d be pSo1r
IONS. He calls attention to the Wonderful in.T
Crease, totally disprop6rtionate to our increase
!, IN population, of our imports of agricultural
proaacss s In iS5o orr imports of farm products.
were iorty million dollars; in 1889 1856 600 600
an increase of nearly 900 per cent. while the
increase in population in the same period was
less than 300 per cent. Over 20 per cent. of
our total exports arethe direct products of the
soil. During the past decade, in which the
/ greatest increase in imports has taken place.
there has been q steady decrease i'm the prices
OF homegrown products. The reason for this
ne traces to the competition of the pauper,
labor OF Europe with our own. The price of
our wheat, OF which we grow a surplus, is
forced down by competition with Russia and
India, and regulates the price of the entire
crop, Farmers have to use their corn, for
winch thereisa an Insignificant foreign demand,
Roft In md hanx
He continues: "The foreign market for live
cattle which exists in Great Britain is SO ham
pered by the oppressive regulations requiring
slaughter siig ct point Of landing, as to exercise
little or no beneficial influence on the price of
his product, while the obstructive measure.
ADOPTED by several of the Continental coun.
tries IN regard to American pork has reduced
sne exports Of that product since 1881 over
Iorty per cent annually. Under such circum.
stances there can be but one cause assignable
tor the neglect by American farmers to turn
their attention TO other crops In the line Of
such agricultural products as we now import,
even more overwhelming and disastrous COM
petition than they are now confronted with, i'm
the raising of cereals and live stock. The only,
course possible To enlightened craftsmanship
Is to assure to the farmer adequate protection
In the diyersifcation of his crops and produc-
ton of larger proportion of the articles which
we now import.
"These may be summarized as follows the
figures given being for the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1889, and the values those at the ports
Of exports: Sugar and molasses, 933OI ,s94; ami.
mails and their products, except WOO, AZ 263,-
Ola fibers, animals and vegetables, So Ass, 1856;
miscellaneous, including breadstuffs, fruits,
nay. hops, oils, r;cs sssa, , tobacco, vegetables
For obvious reasons omit any reference
here to the ninety millions expended for tea,
coffee and cocoa, but emitting these, we have
still the enormous sum of $266, ,273, ,73s imports
A lsNEa
of which, amounting probably to not less than
240 or $50 millions, could, with proper encour-
be @ on ON, own sSi nm, ss
benefits of home market for all that he may
! be able to produce on our soil. This includes
all the sugar and molasses, all animal pro-
ducts, wool, silk, fax and other fbres, all our
breadstuf1s, fruits, hay, hops, rice, tobacco,
| will never, can never be produced on Ameri-
can soil in competition with the labor of Euro
peah nations, especially when, as in the case of
sugar, the industry abroad has been helped by
liberal government bounties. .
COMPETITION ON OUR OWN SOIL.
Of the seven or eight million dollars worth
| OF live animals imported into this country the
greater proportion were of ordinary marketa-
bic stock. as contra distinguished from pure
bred stock imported for breeding purposes and
admitted free. OF all other animal products,
including wool, there Is not one that is not now
being raised upon our own soil, and yet, in
clnding wool and hides. the imports of these
4 to, to over sixty million dollars; to this add
/ twenty millions for fruits, eight million for
/ barley, over two millions for hay and hops,
three and a;half millions for rice, eleven mil.
lions for tobacco, three millions for oils, two
and one-half millions worth Of vegetables, the
same for eggs, over million dollars worth Of
| cheese-these represent some of the imports,
aggregating nearly one hundred and fifteen
million dollars, which, in spite Of the produc.
uyeness OF our own soil, are brought into this
country and sold in competition with our far
| mers.
FOREIGN MARKErs.
! 1fthere are products grown to better advan.
| tage in other countries, remission of duty on
| which would seem to be in the interest of q
large portion of our population such remis.
| sions should only be accorded as the result of
J reciprocal concession in the way Of remis.
| sion Of duties by such other countries on pro-
ducts more readily grown there. Many of those
countries. which would be specially benefited
by remission of the duty on sugar by our gov.
ernment, would afford an excellent market for
our breadstuffs and dairy and meat products,
were it not for the high duties imposed thereon
| by them. So with other products, and when.
4 ever duty on such products Is lowered or re.
moved and protection to our farmers thus di.
\ minished, 1t should be as the price Of conces.
| sions made TO us in the tariffof other countries
/ In favor Of our own farm products. In this way,
ana IN TINS way only, can our farmers DC
/ thrown open to them for those products which
they can most easily and cheaply produce.
To farmers producing, as do ours a vast sur.
/ plus of agricultural products the question OF
| foreign markets is and should be deeply inter
! ess:ag. Net oily 3o .hey oIss 81. oasits fos
4 this surplus, but If untrammelled by irksome
restrictions and uncontrolled by combinations
/ such rs have referred to elsewhere, they
\ serve as useful checks upon those who might
N m NJ
kets. Unfortunately, irksome restrictions dc
l exist, and especially is this the case with ref
erence to our live stock industry. Evidence i,
not wanting that demand oxists in Great
pressive restrictions imposed by the British
i government, and said 10 be necessary owing Il
\ the alleged existence of contagious diseas,
among American cattle, there is little doub
but q large proportion of our product of liv,