Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-08-28

and for thirteen years thereafter farmer
had their most prosperous period, ant
for six years now we have been coinin,
hundreds of millions of silver dollars
and each day of the period the farmer
condition has been getting worse.
A high protective tariff was enacted
in 1862, and after nearly three decade:
of prosperity it is too late to say that tn,
present depressed condition of agricul
ture is due to protective tariff.
Trusts and combinations have alway:
existed, and while they have done much
to restrict farmers profits by controlling
their products, the effects are only seri
ously felt when adverse conditions make
every additional weight sort of last
straw"
The same may be said of what is
termed excessive and unequal taxa.
tion," for much heavier taxes were borne
for years following the war. If either
or all of these causes have produced the
result, why have they not, being general
in their character and operation, affected
other industries that are now fairly pros
porous, while agriculture is especially
depressed?
DiScarding all these theories as furn-
ishing the true cause for what is recog-
nized as the relatively bad condition of
the agricultural industry, let us see
whether we can,ascertain the true cause,
and if o,see whether remedy is possible.
1t will not be disputed that great i'm
provement took place in the condition
of the agricultural industry of the
country between 1860 and 1880, nor that
there has been decided change to worse
conditions since 1880. The change
both ways was gradual and persistent,
and not marked by any sudden results
produced by general failure of crops;
indicating the operation, in the produc-
tion of both prosperity and adversely, of
some silent but potent force persistently
operating and gradually changing con-
ditions. Why was it? Nothing, in my
judgment, but an interference with the
laws of supply and demand by unwar-
ranted changes in the producing and
consuming forces. The war took nearly
one-fifth of the able bodied population
from the productive forces of the country
and added them to the nOnproducers and
consumers. An unprecedented demand
was created, not for bread and meat
alone, but for munitions of war, cloth
ing, transportation, and the products of
furnace, factory, and workshop. A war
tax on imported products started forges,
furnaces, mills. and factories, and higher
wages drew to these large numbers of
persons. The result was the rapid in
crease of city and town population, con-
tinued from year to year, increasing the
demand for farm products at not only
remunerative but very high prices until
the American farmer was the most pros
porous of American citizens.
This large and persistent growth of
urban population from year to year was
unbalancing population and interfering
with the law of supply and demand, and
continued until it reached the culmina-
ting point in the panic of 1873. All pre-
ceding panics could be traced to defec-
tive credit or unsafe currency, but in
1873 the country was in the enjoyment
of unprecedented credit and an abun-
dant but perfectly reliable currency, and
the farming community enjoying a
splendid prosperity very little interfered
with by that panic. The overcrowed
cities and the manufacturing and me-
chanical labor, however, received severe
shock that it required years to recover
from, and recovered only after several
years of unprecedented emigration from
city and factory to country and farm
The reaction, as is generally the case,
was continued long after the cause was
removed, and resulted in unbalancing
the population in the other direction
and to the serious detriment of the ag-
ricultural industry.
This solution of the problem is clearly |
sustained by figures furnished by the |
various census returns, and by more re-
cent evidence from the National Agri- |
cultural Department, as to the growth |
Of population in farm staples and the
growth of production in the manufactur-
ng industries as shown by the following
official figures, covering the periods in
7olved in the great change of condi-
ions:
Production Loss or Value of Loss or
bushels wheat. gain. manufactures gain.
SEQ SCI SSi Sss Sss 80 inc slSss sSSS1S 5S1s
SO. 9S7, ,690,17S decrease. ,232, ,325, ,442 124
$50 2l4, 81 ,OSS 124 p. c. inc. 5369, l91 20
ss7 .19l2, 10000 IA p. c. dee.
These figures show that from 1850 to
$50 there was an increase of 80 per
,ent., which was about the increase of
population and much larger increase
n the value of manufactured products,
,ut from 1860 to 1870 there was an ac-
ual decrease in the number of bushels
# these staples raised, while there was
N abnormal increase in manufac-
ured products of 124 per cent, show
ng clearly rush from farm to city and
actory. Now mark the change. At
he end of the next decade the farm
tapIe products have been increased 125
er cent, while manufactured products
Increase but 26 per cent, or nearly 10 |
er cent. less than the increase of pOpu-
alton. Returns to the Agricultural De-
show that this unbalancing of {
onditions continued until 1888, when a
everse tide set in.
In confirmation Of these figures and s
s evidence of the correctness of the {
heory here presented, take from tables {
by the Agricultural Depart S
lent these figures as to the number of [
cres devoted to the cultivation of corn s
nd wheat in the years 1874 and 1884.
Acres to Corn. Acres to Wheat. Total
s t5ssss ssssss ss,ss5sss ssisss lSsiastss i5st
er cent. increased "a 4S Sc {
BY these figures it will be seen that {
rom 1874 to 1884 the area of land de- I
oted to the production of these staples
lcreased Sc per cent, while the popula- 5
on only increased 33 per cent. The {
ime tables show that up to 1871 there {
-ere devoted to the cultivation of all '
,aples an area of 93,020,6S4 acres, or {
bout 2.35 acres to each inhabitant and
nat from 1871 to 1884 this acreage was c
lcreased to 161, 1,041,312 acres or 3.51 1
cres to each inhabitant The inevitable 8
esult followed and prices of those sta t
les, and all other farm products began l
} drop because the increased product
IN Lad exceeded the demand for 7