Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-05-01
CAUSES AND REMEDIES.
Secretary Rusk on the Present Era
Of Agricultural Depression.
The Causes Pointed Out and the Possible
Remedies Advanced Home and
Foreign Competition - The
transportation Question.

sued the following statement on the
present agricultural depression and the
possible remedies therefor:
For months past from all parts of the
country there have reached me communica
tions, many of them from large bodies OF
men, all of them from persons deserving
consideration, and ali of them deeply IN
earnest res speeding the present condition oil
agricultural depression. In most cases the
communications suggest the conviction oil
the writers, not only rs to the gravity OF the
emergency, but as to its cause or causes ana
possible remedies and all of them appea!
to me for some expression of my views on
the subject. To answer each one OF THESE
communications separately would De more
than any one man can undertake to do, and
moreover I am reluctant to send out an ex-
preston OF my views in letters covering
merely a phase portion of the CUES
tfons involved. Such Il course would be un
Just to myself and to those who address me J..
1 can only consent to express my views,
such they are on the entire question, re-
viewing the whole subject and considering
il in all its various phases
1t would be work of supcrerogatiOn at
this time to undertake to prove the exist
ence of severe agricultural depression
This is universally admitted. Representa-
tive farmers and farmers associations are
constantly calling my attention to their
condition, urging the necessity for some
measure of relief. The situation warrants
all the attention which our wisest minds
can devote to il. What is to be done? Such
is the question which cOnfronts every think
ing man. Too many of those who are giving
the matter consideration look at it from only
one point of view. One attributes the diff
Guilty 10 one cause, and one to another. and
most people seem to regard two three
causes at most as entirely responsible for
the present condition of affairs This is a
mistake The fact, however. explains to a
certain extent that some of the remedies
proposed L bid fair. it carried out to bring
about ii result as objectionable as is the pres
ent situation. Great discourasement is very
apt to lead TO extravaganza in deviSing
remedial agencies, and must beware OF
remedies that may be worse than the dis
ease. 1t is only by Il very careful diagnose
OF the case. that we can possibly attain to
efficient remedy.
THE CAUSES.
The present agricultural depression, it
seems to me, can be traced to Il combination
of many causes, so many, that probably no
one man can cnumerate them all. L will
only endeavOr to point out some which seem
to me more directly responsible. They may
be divided into two classes. u Those
causes Inherent to the farmers themselves,
and Tor which they alone can provide pos
sib1e remedy. ~ Those over which the
farmer himself has no direct control, and
far as remedy is possible, by law, and for
such legislation the responsibility devOlves
upon the legislative bodies of the States and
of the Nation.
Will c0nfine myself to a mere enumera
ton of the first class of causes indi Gated.
On many farms. | regret to say. we find Il
depreciation of the productive power of the
land due to careless culture We find Il
want too often of business like methods
due to the fact that in earlier times business
training was not regarded as an essential
preparation for the farmers work, whereas
to-day with altered conditions, when every
penny, and may say every moment of time
has to be protittbly accounted for, and in
the face of the world wide competitor Il sue
cessful farmer must be as well trained and
careful in business as the store keeper and
his equal in Intelligence and general educa-
ton. Nor are the important questions of
supply and demand of market prices studied
with the vigilance which characterizes the
methods of our merchants and manufact-
urers. These last, moreover, have the adj
vantage of transacting their business in i'm
mediate proximity to trade centers, where
the widest information in reference thereto
is readily obtainable. Our farmers organ
izatons are wisely seeking to supplement
this want for the farmer; the agricultural
press is mostly working in the same di-
rectton, and one of the most important
duties devolvinS upon this department con-
sists in gathering and promptly distributing
reliable Information on all those subjects
which are essentially interesting to the
farmer.
THE VALUE OF INFORMATION.
Itremaius for him to avail himself of tue
Information thus supplied as his chief pro-
lection not only against over supply of GER
tain products, but against possible over
reaching the part of purchasers. The
farmer must look with suspicion upon any
attempts to abridge the sources of his in
formation. His advantage will always be in
the fullest knowledge of the facts. He must
carefully study the character and the quail
ity of his products rather than mere guam
tity, and always bear in mind that whether
prices are high or low, it is always the best
the most readily sold. Many of our farmers
have been land greedy, and find themselves
the owners of more land than they can prop
erly care for in view of the comparatively
high price of labor in the rural districts, and
in view of the fact that but small portion
of mankind, comparatively, can prottably
control the labor of others. The prudent
farmer will limit his efforts to that which he
can efficiently perform Again, more atten-
ton must be gwen, cSneCidilN on our W est
ern farms, to the raising by the farmer, for
izei bv himself and his household, as far as
soil and climate Will EermIt
have passed over these various causes
briefly. / do not deem it necessary to dwell
upon them at length, but ill merely reiter
ate the fact, that for them the remedy is
themselves to provide it. No
Iievc them of this responsibility, but am
thankful to say that, owing partly to their
efforts. there exist to-day in many
States valuable Observation-Disclosures capable OF
materially aiding them in their work, and
to-day, in this country, no farmer need be
without all the aid that knowledge and
science can !mpart-
FARM MORTGAGES.
The burden of mortgages upon farms,
MONIES and lands is unquestionably discour-
aging in the extreme, and while in some
cases no doubt this load may have been too
readily assumed, still, i'll the majority OF
cases, the mortgage has been the result of
necessity. / except of course, such mort
cages as represent balances OF purchase
money which are rather evidences of the
farmers ambition and enterprise than of
his poverty. On the other hand, those mort
cages with which land has been Incum-
bered from the necessities of its owner,
drawing high rates of interest often taxed
in addition with a heavy commission, nave
to-day, in the face of continued depression
in the prices of staple products, become
very irksome and in many cases threaten
the farmer with loss of home and land. 1t is
n question of grave difficulty to all those
who seek to remedy the ills from which our
farmers are suffering. At present prices the
farmer finds that il takes more OF his prod
ucts 10 get dollar wherewith to pay back
the dollar he borrowed than it did when he
borrowed it. The interest accumu.ateS
E while ayment of the principal seems utter
ly hopeless. and the very depression wh,Sh
we are discussing makes the renewal OF the
mortgage most difficult Many people are
disposed to associate this phase of the sub
ject with the question of an undue ilmita
ton of our currency. Many carry TINS Ilnt
of argument to extremes, but 1t IS by NJ
means impossible that THESE subjects are
correlated. However the question of cur
rency is receiving special attention
from another branch of the Government;
legislation on the subject is now pending
before Congress and we can no doubt loot
for an early and satisfactory solution OF this
yexed problem.
TRANSPORTATION.
The question of transportation is one o
profound interest to the American farmer
The trouble begins near home. between TIL
would be difficult to estimate the amount q
loss in time and labor. in depreciation AM
wear and tear of horses and conNeyances
entailed upon the farmers by the Wretche'
condition of country roads before arrIyin
Mt the station; he there meets the vexc
question OF freights rates, Il difficult one t
settle satisfactorily TO all parties under an.
circumstances. bus in many eases still fur
Their complicated by the condition OF on
whole railroad system. Many OF the road
were built At a time and under condition
I..aT gN.t,n ~