The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1890-04-09
Facts for Farmers.

The current number Of the .fmerica'
Dsiygmaa lakes up the question Of aeri-
cultural depression. and oIers six rene
dies Tor It. With Two Of these, namely,
the destruction of trading in politics, the
legal prohibition Of speculative gambling
in the necessaries Of life, this article viii
not deal. But the f'n,ss has something TO
say about the other fonr. One Of these Is
the admission of manufactured prod ucts
free of duty: another the admission OF
Manufacturers raw material free a third
the enhancement Of our shipping inter
esis by admitting ship-buildiers' material
free. and a fourth the restriction Of inn
migration.
There is not product Of the farm.
si,s IA DTrymGn. "l,ut what the surplus
over and above home consumption has
10 be sold in the open markets of the
world where there is no tariifto protect
their product, anc everything the farmer
buys, if an imported article, is taxed to
death With hesyylimport duty, and II
Of home manufacture, is equally taxed
from the fact that the manufacturers OF
these home products put every dollar
that they possibly can into the price OF
same. az they know that no foreigner
can come in to compete with them"
" Everything the farmer buys is taxed
IN death IS an assertion that price lists
Of American and English markets and
the American tariff list show 10 be not
warranted by the facts. A list Of thing
the farmer wants would be long one,
but the Pres printed such a list on Au-
gust q. 1855. and showed that the princi-
ia.l articles in il are as cheap here rs m
England because Of the development OF
home manufacture and home supply by
proiective duties The higher the duty,
or The greater the alleged tax, the greater
the domestic production and The cheaper
the article. In further proof Of this the
Prov has printed from time TO time The
annual statistics Of the imports OF Cana
da. showing that that country buys 81
Ter cent. Of iis brass goods, 80 per cent.
of Us copper goods, ~ per cent. oi ITS
cor.laee. SS ger cent. Of lis ginghams, %
,a.r cent. Of iis glass. 30 per cent. OF IFS
rubber. "A per cent Of its carpets, ~ per
cent. Of It's manufactures Of wood. 81 per
cent. Of its iinware, and ali Of It's binding
attachments, grain drills. hay, straw and
spading forks harrows, harvesters, now
ing machines, rakcs and reapers, 81 per
cent. Of its hoes, ~ per cent. Of its plows,
81 per cent. Of Us scvthes, and 63 per
cent. Of iis spades and shovels from the
United States. These figures, even allow
ing for export discounts, show that pro-
lection has made everything that the
farmer buys cheaper than it would be If
the American source Of supply had not
been developed by protection.
Nor does the DaigmGn tell US how the
American farmer could compete success
fully in foreign markets with the ten
cen,s-a-day labor Of India's wheat region.
That cheap labor and the impossibility
of competing with Il would tell the farm
er il his own common sense did not,
shat il was time for him 10 study the
question Of liversifying his crops. What
new crops could he raise instead Of the
old ones. of which there WAS a surplus
lsrexport which foreign markets did not
want Why. here are crops which home
markets 30 want as their raw material.
Crops like fax, hemp, jute, sugar. beets,
special breeds Of wool, special varieties of
caiton: and the Aacricma Ddifymdn cry
ing for free raw materials so that the
farmer won't be able 10 raise them The
manufacturer who gets free raw materials
can stand free trade in producis better
than the farmer can; but if he can't what
will he do? shut up his factory and 80
10 farming, raising at least his own pro-
visions. and to that extent competing
with the farmer And every factory or
workshop that is shut up by free trade
transfers people from the customers side
Of the farmers balance sheet 10 the COM
peiitor's side, and hurts Just as truly as
10 transfer a credit item to the debit
side.
The Dr'rgmri sees this plainly enough
when il talks Of immigration, for its COM
plaint here is that the railroads get land
grants, make arrangements with foreign
nations 30 settle up their lands with
their surplus paupers, and for the time
being taking the products Of these rev
sections at a merc nominal figure. and
placing them in cur principal markets in
competition with the prodrcts of the
farm that cost a great deal more to pro-
dnce" Not only the railroads get big
lani grants, but the immigrants can get
individual homesteaGs directly from the
government, and so can native born set.
ilers. Nou zee how new competitors
hnu the farmer why DO you want TO
torn more OF hjs customers into oOmpet-
itors and to drive him 10 depend on for
eign markets, supplied already by labor
costing ten cents a day?