The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1891-09-10
MCKINLEY EXPOSED.
His Bogus Figures to Fool the
Farmers.
The Bottom Dropped out Of His Niles
Speech on Agricultural Statistics.
iFrom the Chicago Heraldl

Mr.. Mckinley persists in the at
| tempt to fool the farmer into the belief
that he is as much protected as any
body else by the spoliation tariff. In
| the course of his first gun" speech he
| referred to the fact that the farmer has
surplus which he must dispose of in
foreign markets. He did not deny the
fact. He did not state, much less at
tempt to disprove, that the price of the
surplus governs the price of the whole
crop, and therefore no American tariff
can affect the price of the crop because
| it cannot affect the foreign price of the
surplus, or at least cannot affect It fa-
vorably to the American farmer. Ig-
noring all that, with great flourish he
introduced table of the figures show
ing the value of imports of what he
called farm products in 1890. The
total was S79S12,1O2. This Mr.. Nc
Kinley introduced as q triumphant
refutation of an assumed assertion
which nobody makes, that "no products
come into the United States in compe-
tition with American farm products"
Certain facts of the highest import
ance to the argument Mr.. Mckinley
found 1t convenient not to state. For
one thing, he did not state the fact,
which appears In the same publication
of the Treasury bureau of statictics
from which he compiled his table, that
the value of our exports of products of
agriculture in 1880 was S629, ,939, or
nearly eight times the value of what he
| calls farm products imported. For
another thing, he did not clearly state
the character of the products imported.
For instance, he stated the value of
"breadstuffs" imported at $6,034 ,272,
but he did not state that So 5,629, $40 of
this, or all but about 100000, was bar
ley, which is beerstuff and not q
breadstutf. In regard to fruits he
| omitted to state that nearly all
were of kinds which are not produced
| in perfection In this country. And
that fact disposes of nearly S14,000,-
600 more of the $79,S00,O00 of imported
farm products. Over S15,O00,0OO more
was wool, which we import because GER
tain kinds which we need are not grown
in the country, chiefly carpet woods,
which 1t would not pay to grow here
under any circumstances. Of our staple
farm products we import very small
| quantities, and these almost wholly for
use In isolated localities where they do
not affect the general market in the
least.
Mr.. McKinley's array of compare
lively trifling figures did not alter the
great fact that the staple American
farm products are largely in excess of
the home demand, that the surplus has
to be sold abroad, and that what can be
obtained for the surplus governs the
price of the entire product. Itdoes not
alter the fact that the farm supplies
nearly 70 per cent. of all our exports
and nearly as large proportion now as
ever before. 1t does not alter the fact
that after thirty years Of tariff protec-
ton, which was going to give the
farmer home market, he still finds his
prices made in the foreign markets,
Mr.. Mckinley was very careful moi
to touch the figures which prove these
things beyond all controversy. Why
Because he knew perfectly we'll that
they prove that the American farmers
are the victims of his tariff system, anG
if they once come to understand this
they will quickly put an end to his
tariff and his political career. His sys
tenn was conceived in greed and rapac'
| ity, and it is supported only by decep
tiOn, falsehood, sophistry and corrup
bargaining among its benehciaries. l
will not bear the light; therefore it
champions do their utmost to suppress
and conceal the facts which expose III
true character from those who, in tn
nature of the case, must bear the mos
of the burden which 1t imposes.