Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-05-01


the export is on the other hand estimated
at the price at the port of shipment in oul
country, that to the former must be added
Transportation, commissions, exchange and
dealers profits, which. without the duty,
would add fully twenty five to thirty pei
cent more to arrive at its value at the point
of cOnSumpton-this would bring up the
cost to the consumer. of our agricultural i'm
ports, to nearly $500 900, 000 or estimating
solely .-ch as could be, with proper encour-
agement grown on our own soil, we have a
value of not much less than $3.50 000, 900 as the
| possible reward of diversified agriculture a
sum almost equal to our agricultural ex-
ports, estimated at farmers prces-that is
| less cost OF transportation and commiss 10 8
or other shipping charges to point of ship.
| ment.
COMPETITION ON OUR OWN soII.
| Before leaving this subject, a glance at
| the competition which our farmers have
| our own soil, viii be found most in resting
of the s7001,OOo or IS, 900 00) worth of live an
alna,s nm ported into this country, the
| ketaDie stock, as contra -distin guished from
pure bred stock imported for brecdin. pur-
poses ana admitted free. OF all other ami
mai products, including wool, there ia not
| one that can not now indeed that is nOtnOw
Delng raised upon our own soil and vet in :
! Guiding wool and hides, the imports Of thes e
| animal products amounted in the year re-
| lerred to, to over $40 900 900; to this add
$z,OoD,t0t Tor fruits SS,0J0.0J0 for barley; over
| $-,ooJoo Tor nay anu hops; $500 900 tor rice
| SllOO),0o0 for tobacco; $3,0l10)O for oils ::
| S-,'JO,V90 worth of vegetables, the same of
| eggs, over $1,000, U0) worth of cheeSe-the5e
/ represent some OF the imports, agSregating
| nearty >ll5,0l0,0o), which, in spite OF the pro-
| ductlVene5s OF our own soil, are brought in
| 20 TINS country and sold in competition
| with our farmers. The region of the United
| states where this competition is doubtless
| most severely felt, is in New England. the
| seat of manufacturing enterprises which
| owe their existence to the fostering care of
| protective tariff laws, and what Is the re-
suit: That year after year, farms in the
| New England States are abandoned and al
| lowed to run to waste, while in some of them
| so startling has this evil become, that legis-
lators are cudgeling their brains to devise
| some method of repOpulating their aban-
| doned agricultural lands.
| One glance at the comparative rates of
duty levied upon agricultural compared
with other products, one glance at the free
list, the greater portion of which consists of
| agricultural products, either grown or which
could be grown upon our own soil, and
| comparison of these figures with the average
| rate of duty levied upon anufactured arti-
| Giles, ought to DE sufficient to silence forever
any opposition to the demand l have made
| on behalf of the American farmer in my
nual report na1neIy-that by a wise aDr1Iica-
| ton of our admirable protective system al |
the benefits OF our home market be secured
to him for every thing he may be able to
| produce.
FOREIGN MARKETS
Accompanying this principle of protection
to the American farmer Is tnat of reciprCc-
ity, VIII .ch should invariably be applied
whenever that of protection Is relaxed. Ii
| there are products grown to better advan-
| tage IN other countries, remission of duty
which would seem to be in the interest of
| large portion of our population, such remis-
sion should only be accorded as the result
of reciprocal concession in the way of re-
| mission of duties by such other countries on
products more readily grown here. Many
| of those countries which would be speci ally
benefited by remission of the duty
| sugar by our Government, would afford an
| excellent marke for bread stuffS and
dairy and meat products, were it not for the
| high duties imposed thereon by them. SO
with other products, and whenever duty on
such products is lowered or removed and
| the protection to our farmers thus dimin-
| iShed, it should be the price of conces-
sions IN tde to us in the tariff of other coun-
| tries in favor of our own farm products. In
| this way, and in this way OAly, can our
farmers be adequately protected, new mar
ketS being thus thrown open to them for
those products which they can most easily
and chcaply produce.
To farmers producing, as do ours, vast
surplus of agricultural products the ques-
ton of foreign markets is and should be
deeply interesting. Not only do they offer
an outlet for this surplus, but if untrammel-
ed by irksomc restrictions and uncontrolled
by combinations such It's / have referred to
elsew here, they serve as usual checks upon
those who might otherwise succeed in con
trolling our home markets. Unfortunately,
irksome restrictions do exist, and especi al
ly is this the case with reference to our live
stock industry. Evidence il not wanting
that demand exists in Great Britain for
our live stock, and but for the oppressive
restrictions imposed by the British Govern
ment. and said to be necessary owing to the
alleged existence of contagious diseases
among American cattle, there is little doubt
but a large proportion of our product of live
cattle would find there a protitabl market,
thus greatly relieving our home markets.
SO with our pork products, oppressed by the
embargoes placed upon them by certain
European Powers, with the result of
enormous decrease during the past six
years in our exports of bacon and hams for
whereas these exports in 1879, 1880 and 1881
averaged about 49, 10000 pounds, they had
fallen in 1888 to less than 400 0s0 900, and until
last year never exceeded 420000,0)0
REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS
The effect of this has naturally been to
greatly restrict competition among pur-
chasers, and to seriously deprcss the price
of our hogs Aided as the farmers and
cattle growers must be by supp lying them
with authentic statistics as to supply and
demand OF their products, much remains for
them to do directly thsoug IN their own intel
ligent and active cooperation directed to
an intelligent control of the supply This is
a matter worthy of the earnest attention of
our numerous farmers organizations On
the other hand. the National Government
owes it TO the farming and cattle growing
secure a removal of those restrictions upon
our livestock and m,at trade which we
known to be unnecessary, and therefore
feel to be unjust. FRS. of al. we must Ipain-
tain an absolute and efficient control of cat
tie diseases, and pursue with the utmost en-
ergy the course which has resulted to- day i'll
the almost complete eXtirpaton from Amer
lean soil of the most dreaded disease of all,
cOnta giOuS pleurO- pneumonia The ener-
getc application of efficient measures must
effectually stamp out this disease from its
last remaining stronghold, and once ban
ished from American soil it must be kept
out by the most rigid regulations. AS to our
meat products, l can see but one way to
complish the desired results, and that is by
the enactment of IL thoroughly efficient
meat-inspectIon law
II
guarantee the immunity of our lives took
from disease and the healthfulness of our
meat products. we must then protect them
from unjust allegations on the part of for
eign competitors and, as not infrequeutly
happens, of foreign governments or their
represen tatives. To do this it becomes
necessary that We should maintain, at
| tached to some of the American legations
| abroad property qualified officer repre-
| scnting the agricultural interest, whose
| special dut" it shall be to watch over the
| interests of American agricultural products
| in foreign markets With the proper CO.
| operation on the part of our COnsulS and
| others, such an officer could be of incalcu-
| liable service in the manner indicated,
| we'll as in supplying valuable information Il
| to the demand existing in foreign countries
| for such products as our farmers are able to
! supply. as to the best manner of preparing
| the same to meet the wants of foreign con
! SumerS, etc.
| TAXATION.
| 1t seems to me that our system of taxation
| demands Improvement in certain directions.
| The cost OF supporting the Government
| needs to be more equtably adjusted among,
! the different classes of our people. vt pres
| cnt in many States the burden of local tax
alton presses heavily upon farm property,
| its very nature rendering it easily assess
| able. Every corporation created by the
| State, and to whom special privileges are
| granted either by State, county or incor-
| pOrateu village city, should be taxed in
| proportion to its earnings, and in all ways
| the principle of taxation should be to place
| the burden of maintaining the Government,
| whether State, municipal or atlonal, upon
| the luxury and comforts which the wealthy
| enjoy, and reduce it to il minimum in its APP
| plicatlon to the hardly earned property or
the poor man.
| No doubt many more causes could be
| signed for the present agricultural depreS-
| sions, still less is there any doubt bat that
other and more efficient remedies than those
| suggested might be found, may say will be
found, to relieve it. | have merely tried so
| indicate what seemed the