Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1890-06-11
AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS.
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| WASHINGTON, May Si.y-To Z. F. How
ard, of Tuskagee, Ala, Senator G.slisl
has written lengthy letter, in response t.
Mr.. Howard's request for the Senator
views on the Agricultural sub tressur,
! proportion as contained in the bills before
Congress, to provide for system of ware.
houses for farm produce throughout the
country, to be operated by the Government,
which is to issue its notes upon the products
stored therein. Senator Carlisle says that
Mr.. Howard's statement that he and those
associated with him are in favor of equal
Justice to all and special favors to none, en-
bodies some Democratic doctrine, and if it
had been strictly adhered to in Congress in
the past twenty five years, the evils of
which the farmers and others justly COM
plain, would have been averted, and the
whole country would now be prosperous
and contented. But, says the Senator, the
farmers have been taxed so long for the
U6u6ub VI JULIET CldobCS 1Iu AdFO SFOA 81
much legislation for the aggrandizemeut of
corporations and syndicates that their pa
tience is exhausted, and finding it impossi-
ble for the time being at least, to abolish
the system which has oppressed and despoil-
ed the greatest industrial interest of the
country, they are now demanding that very
policy which they have heretofore denounc-
ed as unjust and ruinous shall be applied
to them, or rather part of them, for no
scheme has yet been suggested that would
operate alike upon all farmers. But no evil
can be corrected; no wrong can be righted
by increasing its magnitude and extending
the scope of its operations. There is but
one effectual remedy for the evil which un-
doubtedly exists, and that is to reverse the
policy which produced it.
The Senator, after rehearsing the features
of the proposed sub-Treasury plan. and not
ing the facts that the farmers themselves
will pay more than their fair share OF the
cost of erecting warehouses, and that the of
ficers connected with them will be partisans
of the administration in power. says: There
are more than 2400 counties in the United
States, but not more than one third of them,
if that many, produce and sell annually
more than $500, 600 worth of wheat, corn,
oats, cotton and tobacco, and, therefore,
not more than one-third of them could pos
sibly avail themselves of this plan if it were
adopted. It will be seen, therefore, at the
very outset that it is a plan to compel the
Government to issue and distribute money
for the benefit of the people living in rich
and productive counties at the expense of
the people living in the poorer and less pro-
ductive ones.
Moreover, it is plan to enable unscru-
Ia 10 ko1x rIryo TIM 0ff f1,A
farmers pecuniary necessities and extort
exorbitant prices for food from the people
who reside in the cities, towns and villages,
country, but do not own these particular
agricultural products. 1t is evident that no
farmer will subject himself to the labor and
expense of transporting his products to pub
lie warehouses, and to all other char ges
which he must pay for storage, for handling
and for taking care of them while there,
when he has barns and granaries at home,
unless be is in debt and absolutely needs
money which the Government is to advance,
and if be is in that unfortunate condition,
from whatsource is he afterwards to acquire
means to redeem the products by
returning the money and interest
and paying warehouse charges? In a
great majority of cases he will never
be.able to redeem them, but will be forced
to lose the remaining twenty per cent. of
the value of his products, or sell his ware
house receipt for whatever he can get for it,
which will be very little, for it must be re-
membered that after he gets his warehouse
receipts he has remaining the interest of
only 20 per cent, less charges for interest,
storage, etc, ard this is all he can dispose
of, He will find the time rapidly approach
ing when he must have money to redeem
his products or sell his small remaining in
terest in them OR allow them to be sold at
public auction by tho Government, and this
will be the golden opportunity of the spec
ulators, whose agents will swarm all over
the country ready to take the warehouse
receipts from the embarrassed owners for
merely nominal sum, receipting simply the
privilege of redemption, like pawnbroker' S
ticket, and the farmer, being himself unable
to redeem, will be forced ultimately to dis
pose of it at any price offered. do not
think that any considerable number of in
telligent people in this country will insist On
asking the Government to establish sys-
TEN which will compel in large number Of
cases to sacrifice the products of their labor.
Senator Carlisle argues at some length to
show that the annual expansion and coz
traction of the currency provided for in the
bill would result 10 absolutely destroying
the market upon which the farmer must de-
pend for the sale of his crops, and that the
cotton farmers who are supporting the sub
Treasury plan would be an especial Sufferer
because the plan in the writer's estimate
would close every cotton factory in the
country.
No such facilities at this scheme will af
ford for controlling the markets for purely
speculative purposes have ever existed in
this or any other country, and no more per-
feet system for the oppression of the poor
could be devised. The exact quantities OF
the product on deposit in the several public
warehouses will be known to every com
mercial and financial centre, and combiDa-
tions to purchase and hold receipts could be
easily made, especially when they can be
procured by the payment of small per cen
tum of the value of deposit.
In conclusion, Senator Carlisle says:
have thus given you as briefly as the natnre
of the subject wOuld permit, some of the
reasons why think the proposed plan for
the relief of the farmer would be injurious
instead of beneficial, not only to them but
to all other people of the country. But ii
would be uncandid not to say distinctly be-
fore closing this communication, that even il
it could be conclusively shown that this OF
any other similar scheme would be pecunia.
rily beneficial to any particular class of oul
people, would still be unalterably opposed
to its adoption, because, in my opinion il
would be another wide and dangerous de-
parture from the principles upon which ou
| political institutions are founded. I5 woulG
be, in fact, the longest step yet taken in the
time of peace towards consolidation of pow
or in the hands Of the Federal Government
and the snbjection of the private affairs o
the people 10 the Supervision and control o
central md irresponsible authority.
Tou and are Democrats and as such NJ