Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser., 1890-06-20

of recognizing a common interest in the
general welfare, have been divided into
warning classes, each striving to secure for
itself some peculiar advantage at the ex-
pense of all the others.
| The prevailing theory is that the indi-
vidual citizen must not rely on his own ef-
forts in the transaction of his private bust.
ness, but that he has right to appeal to
the Government for financial assistance iu
every emergency, forgetting that the Gov
eminent has not and never can have any
money except what is realized by taxation
in some form upon the people OF the United
States. 1t is a theory which grossly mis-
construes and perverts the powers of the
Government, paralyses individual effort
and destroys that seilit of self reliance aud
independence " hich is an absolutely essen
tial qualification tor good citizenship in a
free republic. 1t not only demoralizes the
people, but if perslsted in will convert the
Government itself into patriarchal des
potism, with absolute control over all the
financial. industrial and personal interests
of it's citizens. The farmers of the country
have been taxed so long for the benefit oi
other classes, and have seen so much leg
islation for the aggrandisement of corpo
rations and syndicates, that their patience
is exhausted, and, finding it impossible
for the time being at least, to abolish the
system which has oppressed and despoiled
the greatest industrial interest of the
country, they are now demanding that the
very policy which they have heretofore
denounced as unjust and ruinous. shall be
applied to them, or rather part of them
for no scheme has yet been suggested that
would operate alike upon all the farmers
That they have been oppressed and de-
spoiled by unjust legislation must be ad-
mitted by all who have given any atten-
tion to the subject, and when they SEE
measures tavorably reported to Congress to
tax them still further for the purpose oi
raising money to pay subsidies aud boun-
ties to wealthy steamship corporations and
to the producers of sugar and silk, which
are among the least important of oIr do
mestic products, it is not at all strange
that they should become more dissatisfied
than ever, and more urgent in their de
mands for relief; but no evil can be cor
rected, no wrong can he rigbted by increas
ing its magnitude and extending the scope
| OI ltS OpeT6tloUs. ucIC 10 oUt tuC
ual remedy for the evil which undoubted-
| ly exists. and that is to reverse the policy
which produced it.
The demands made 10y the farmers in
some parts of the country have been form
ulated, and at their request bills have been
presented in the House and in the Senate
which many of them think will afford the
necessary measure of relief l need not
undertake to state all the details of these
plans, for whatever the particular provi-
sions of the measure may be, the whole
scheme, in its general form and design. il
vicious in principle, and if adopted would
prove in practice ruinous to every interest
it is intended to benefit. The plan to
which you alluded in your letter is tC
establish what are to be denominated sub
every county 10 the United States which
produces and sells annually more than
$500, 600 worth Of wheat, cOrn. oats, cotton
and tobscco, aud permit the owner o.
these products, whether farmers or no., to
deposit them iu these warehouses aud re
ceive from the Government in treasury
notes, to be issued expressly for that pnr
pose, eighty per cent Of the market value
of the products. OF course there mus. bt
officers aud employees to take charge o
these warehouses aud their contents, re
ceivc and receipt for the products de
posted, pay out the money to deposi'ors
receive the money when the products are
redeemed, sell unredeemed property, aud
generally TO exercise the combined fuuc
tions Of warehousemen. bankers. auction
GERS and executive officials.
All these officers and sm aiass.. sAasi h-
compensated for their services either by
fees charged to the depositors OF products
or by payments out of the public treasury
and all, or neNly all will he parts ms ol
the Administration in power. because
under the Constitution. they cannot be
chosen 10y the people. but must I've ap'
pointed 10y the President. or The head OF a
department or the iudg of the Cni,ed
States courts.
II is proposed to appropriate the SUM
of $50. 600. 900 at once, To begin the erec
tiou of these warehouses, and while We
have no accurate data upon the subject, il
10 perfectly safe to say that they would
cost altogether many times that amount
all which must be raised 10y taxation on
the people. the farmers themselves. under
our system, paying much more than their
equal share.
There are more than 2400 counties in
the United States. But not more than
one-third of them if that many produces
and sell annually more than $500, ,OOC
worth of wheat, corn, oats, cotton and to-
bacco, and therefore not mere than one
third OF them could possibly avail them
selves of this plan il it were adopted. II
will be seen, therefore, at the very outse,
that it is plan to compel the Government
to issue azd distribute money for the ben
eft of the people living in the rich and
productive counties at the expense OF the
people living in the poorer and less pro-
ductive ones. Moreover, it is plan to
enable inscriptions spectators to take
advantage OF the farmers pecuniary neces
stiles and extort exorbitan, prices for food
from people who reside in cities, towns
and villages, and from people who reside
in the country but do not own these par
| ticular agricultural products. 1t is eviden!
that no farmer will subject himself to the
labor and expense of transporting his
property to the public warehouse and to
all the other charges which he must pay
for storage, for handling, aud for taking
care of them while there when he has
barns and granaries at home. unless he is in
debt and absolutely needs the money
which the Government is to advance, aed
if be is 10 that unfortunate condition from
what source is he afterwards to acquire
the means to redeem the products by re.
turning the money and interest and paying
the warehouse charges In great major.
ity of case he will never be able to redeem
them, but will be forced to lose the remain.
ing 20 per cent Of the value of his pro-
ducts or sell his warehouse receip's for
whatever he can get for them, which will
be very little; for it must be remembered
that after he gets his warehouse receipts
he has a re.naining interest Of only 90 pei
ceot. 10 the product. less charges for inter