Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-08-14
Three Humbugs Exposed.

One Of the most interesting featur s
of Senator Vests last brilliant speech
in the Senate was his exposure of three
arrant official humbugs at Washing
toE-Superintenden Porter of the
Census Bureau, Statistician Dodge of
the Agricultural bureau, and Secretary
Rusk. Secretary of Agriculture. These
three worthless had been Gale On to
help the Northeastern proteciionists
pass the higher tariff bill, and they
performed the task by giving, each of
them, an official document whose OBJ
iect was to hide the truth and induce
the public to accept falsehood. 1t
was known that the chief opposition
to an increase of tariff duties, which
are too high already. would come from
the agricultural West, and the duty
imposed on Superintendent Porter,
| Statistician Dodge and Secre tary Rusk
was to delude Western farmers into
| believing that the new bill was one for
| their particular benefit-0ne to keep
out foreign farm products, and give to
our own farmers control of the home
market at better prices. The state
ments they put forth stood unchal' eng
ed for several months till Senator Vest
took them up and tore them to pieces,
and exposed the hypocrisy of the Off
Gals who made them.
Superintendent Porter's paper stat
ed that last year the agricultural
products imported, On which duty W as
levied. aggregated $3.50 200. 00O.n Sta
tistician Dodge went ahead of this, and
stated that 1.-The agricultural imports
amounted, for 1889, to S34S, 600, 900 at
ports fshipment and fully $500 200, 900
with freightc and commissions added"
and Secretary Rusk stated that 1.-The
imports of agricultural products for
the fiscal year ending in 1859 amount
Ell to the enormous sum Of 1856 900 O00."
The intent of the official authors of
these statements was to make our
farmers believe that their home mark
ct was being invaded by foreign rivals,
and they needed higher tariff on for
eign farm products to keep them out
of The country. and reserve the lrivil-
eye of supplying the home market to
themselves. But Senator Vest shows
that the largest item in these imported
products was sugar, 1913 ,000, 900, which
we do not raise, except to a very limit
ed extent, and that only in the single
Sta'e of LOuisiana-sO that it can not
be truthtully said that imported sugar,
which nlneteen-twentieths Of our farm |
ers have to buy. in any degree com-
petes with our own agricultural pro-
ducts. Then, 81, 434 900 ofour ayr .cul-
tural imp ,rts consisted Of hid 8. TIL Sc
do compete with tn products Of West
ern farms-but the joke is, they are
imported free of duty, under the pres
ent tariff, and they are to be- imported
free of duty under the Mckinley bill.
The Massachusetts boot aud shoe and
leather goods manufacturers want to
import free hides from South America
and the new tariff bill gives tn. III
the privilege, at the cost of the Farm
ers Of the West. We imported over
So 600 900 worth of animals for breed
ing purposes. This is an advantage
to our farming interest, and to impose
duty on superior blooded animals
would be tax on farme rs themspIve,.
We import 81 1872, 900 worth of f reign
cheese of kinds and qualities not mad,
in this country, and which do not,
therefore, compete with the products
of cur own dari,s. Our imports of
hemp, flax, jute, silk and other fibres
amounted to $39, 900, 00O-and none OF
these compete with the products of our
farms, for We do not raise jute or silk.
Hemp is cultivated in a very small
way in one State, Kentucky, aud flax
we have never attem pied to raise eX
cept for seed. The tobacco we import
1911 600 00O) is Cuba and Sumatra leaf,
of a totally different kid from that
which we produce; the fruits and nuts
$4,000, 000) we import come from the
tropics and could not be raised ere;
and :he SIS, 100000 worth of foreign
wines we import are also kinds and
qualities not made in this country.
In short, the Missouri Senator COM
pletely eviscerates the statements of
the three administration officials and
leaves nothing, or next to nothing, in
them, by demonstrating that nearly
all our imports of soil products are ar
tieles raised in the tropics. or climates
and regions different from ours and
that so far foom completing with the
produ cts of our soil they are, many of
them, articles which the great body of
American farmers have to buy-aud
the pretense of protecting our agrlcul-
tural interest by higher tariff bill is
all unqualified fraud.-H. Joseph Bal
lot.