Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-09-11
LEFT THE FARM.

The beauties of the protection theory
has been forcibly illustrated in the
state of Vermont. The farmers in
that state, like the farmers in every
other part of this favored land, are
taxed for the benefit of few protected
industries, but the farmers, of course,
were compelled to sell their products
at prices regulated by the unrestricted
markets of the world. 1t did not take
the farmers Of Vermont very long to
find out that while the men in the pro-
tected industries were getting richer
that they were all the time getting
poorer. The farmers of Vermont, a
great many of them at least, did not
form an alliance and go to kicking and
painting things red, and soaring tie
politicians nearly to death as they are
doing in the western and southern
states, but they and their families
arose and took up their beds and other
necessary appendages to Vermont
farm cultivated by pauper farmer,
and wert and ''hired out" to work in
the protected factories. This, of course.
left the man holding the mortgage the
additional burden of holding the bog.
This was greaG loss to the state of
Vermont. What is the use of having
protected industries unless somebody
will work at some other business and
buy the protected goods at high prices?
Protection woul& be NC good if every
body worked in the protected indus
9ries. You cannot make one man a
present of forty dollars unless you take
it from some other man. Somebody
must work for the forty dollars. The
state of Vermont was not unmindful
0Of this truth of political economy; hence
last year the state of Vermont
appointed an emigration commissioner,
who went to Sweden to obtain settlers
for some of the farms that lad been
abandoned by their owners. Arrange
ments were made to locate these. set
tiers without expense to them, to furn-
ish them with cows, pigs and chickens
an0 to supply them with the necessary
&DOls and seeds.
Early last spring several hundred of
Qhese Swedish peasants "came over"
and farms having buildings, fences,
wells and Sometimes cisterns and
orchards were assigned to them. Their
GEAR neighbOrs encouraged them in
every way they could. They helped
them instructions in raising crops that
are peculiar to this country. They
9IldeavOred to make them cOntented
&pd happy
But the Swedes refused to be happy,
@aly so long as it took them to find out
Chat the men in the protected indus
cries were making more money than
Che farmers. Some, if not all of the
american farmers, can be made to
believe that they can become pros.
1erous by selling their products fol
yhat they ars worth on free trade
market, and buying other mems pro
8ucss at price 40 TO 200 per cent
more than they are worth on the same
market in which the farmers are com
aelled tosell, but this theory or fact die
got go downs with Che Swede farmers
That was an American idea which they
Sfere entirely incapable OF comprehend
ing. These Swede farmers were fasci
stated with the prosperity of Wood Pull
Miller and other paper makers and tn
style of their employees. A very large
part of these Swede farmers therefore
donated back Che farms and cow
and pigs and other things and went ou
into the forests nearssh Canadian bor
der to get out logs from which will b
made protected lumber 10 be sold &
the American farmers. Others o
these Swede farmers are now cuttin,
and cdrting wood which is to be solo
to wood pulp establishments. Thes
Swede farmers claimed, when they lef
their farms, that they were too poor t.
farm, and their American neighbo
farmers were not able to give them EN-
ployment at odd times.
1t is the same old story told in new
better than farming and attract t
them not only the capital but the labo
of tie country. Peasants brought fror
the rural districts Of Sweden, locate
OH farms and supplied with animal:
tools and seed, soon learn that they ca
better their condition by engaging i
some industry that farmers are take
to protect. The honest and simpl,
minded men Drought from Swede
were not long in discovering why tt
owners of the farms on which the
were placed deserted them. The
found that the farmers worked lon
hours for very short and uncertain pa.
Persons engaged in manufacturing
however, OF in some industry oOnHecte
with 1t, received large pay, at oertAi
times, for short days work. PeOpl
less intelligent than the Swedes mu
be brought over to work the deserta
farms of Yer rmont.-Wichita Journs