The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-03-27

farmer WOu!Q unQ out pTeclSelS "Hil
is wrong in his affairs without much
trouble. AS matter of fact, he does
do so, whenever he rises above party,
and begins to think for himself. In
the proceedings of all these meetings
of oranges and farmers alliances and
boards of agriculture, and agricultural
societies, it is apparent that they all
see the situation in pretty much the
same way-the ruinous taxation upon
the farm and farmer, and his clear IN
ability under present arrangements to
reimburse himself in the prices OF his
own commodities.
The industry is too widely extended
and too easy of pursuit by those not
engaged in it, to permit the formation
of trusts; and there being annually
pushed on for sale more than the coun-
try can consume, it is only in the
rarest instances and for the briefest
periods that local combinations can
make a shade of difference in prices.
In fact, the whole system Of American
taxation, federal and State, has been
devised to plunder farms and farm
ers. They were originally at the bot
tom ofthe monopoly system, land every
new imposition, as of oftrusts,aud Of rail-
road discrimination, and every new
combination to raise tariff taxes
to stimulate artificially some other
industry, lays fresh and more crush
ing burdens : upon them. Now,
at last, We have reached the
point, where, without doubt, relief
must be had, or the great agricultural
interest, which underlies and sustains
all the others, which furnishes the
bulk of our exports and that famous
"home market" for all our manufac-
turers, will be brought to final and
complete ruin, and its collapse will
spread desolation over the land.
We copied last week from the Com
mercial Advertiser the case of large
farmer in Iowa, who having planted
last Spring hundred bushels of pota-
toes and raised a good crop, undertook
to market it in the Fall. He sent
thirteen carloads to Philadelphia, the
ideal home market, but the return from
his merchant showed that commissions
and freight charges had not only eaten
up the whole thirteen carloads, but
brought him one hundred dollars in
debt on the whole transaction. Under
such circumstances, it is not strange
that in Vermont the natives have
abandoned their homesteads and pub
lie authority is seeking strangers to re-
occupy them. Nor is it wonderful
that Mr.. Austin Corbin finds it easy
to secure thirty-fve thousand square
miles of farming lands in New Hamp-
shire to be enclosed for a game preserve.
We have reported from week to week,
as they came to us; the evidences of ex-
treme. distress in the richest agricul-
tural counties in Pennsylvania, such as
Berks, Lancaster. York, Montgomery
and Bucks, surrounded by the most
inviting home markets, within sight
Of the flames which lick the skies from
the smoke-stacks of the most thriving
protected industries. We are now get
ting the returns from New Jersey-a
very hive of protected manufactories-
where, if anywhere on earth, the arti-
fetal home market might be expected
to give the farmer the return which
he has been promised. At the sugges-
ton of Governor Albeit and of the
State Board of Agriculture, county
boards and the farmers generally, in
that State, are examining their con-
dition and reporting the truth. In
Burlington County the cash value of
farm lands has deprecated fifty per
cent. Many of the farms are heavily
mortgaged-four-ffths OF them is one
statement. In Atlantic County the
Secretacy reported that the statistics
he had received from the various
townships showed decrease Of forty
per cent. in the value of farm lands in
ten years, and by the Salem County
board the same report was made.
From every quarter it is the same
low prices for produce, high prices for
produce, high prices for purchases,
lands falling in value, debt and mort
cages. In New Jersey as in Pennsyl-
vania, railroad determinations have
added not..a little to the dead weight of
tariff taxation in accomplishing these
deplorable results.