The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-08-13
NEW YORK SPEECH
The Remedies Favored by Governor
B0ies to Restore Prosperity and
Profits 10 tue Farmer.
DEMANDS or THE FARMERS
Time for Change-Relief for Them
selves and Not for Generations
Unborn Asked.
Why FARMING DOESN'T PAY
lcwa's Chief Exs,u,i7, Speaks in B,hslf CT
tho Agriculturists -rh,y al, Robbed Of
Their share Of Wsalth-Tne Favored
Few Bsa,ft.si =. rh,r Ez,.ns,.

tho AgriculturiSts -Th,y al, Robbed Of
Their share Of Wsalth-Tne Favored
Few Bsa,fsssi At rh,ir Ez,.ns,.
The Governors New York speech de .
Hvcred December. 90. 1890:
Mr.. PRESIDENT: Tne s-nsiman. OF the
toast to which l an invitei ID respond IL one
OF SURPRISING interest from both an economic
and Political stand point.
lis importance when considered with ref
erenee to the nation at large is intensified il
apple To the prairie stases OF tho northwest,
which are to marked degree tho food pro-
ductng districts OF this continent.
A orlaf statement Of the situstion In my
own state will as we'll present the condition
ID the district referred to rs can be done IN
the time IT my command.
According to ne mist reliable statistics at
this time. .early 30 per cent Of tie male pop.
uiation over ten years OF age In Iowa. are en-
gagged In agricultural pursuits, while less
tnnn 3 per cent arc emp.oye1 In manufao-
turing enterprises Of oil AiGos, protected and
unprotected.
Years ago this state had attained the nrst
rank IN this Union - . corn producing state,
and this has carried her 10 the head OF the
column OF states IS q producer OF the best
quality of beef, pork and dairy products; Ia
other respects she 10 not behind tbs most IA
vofed OF her eisters In nearly everything
that pertains to agricultural pursuits IN that
latitude.
Statistics show that the average wages OF
able-bodied men upon tho fer ms OF Iowa are
Sls. 30 per month, or about ~ cents per day.
and board. the lowest price paid any class OF
ike taoOrcrs in the state; aud yet out Ct 800
farmers reporting to cur com Missioner OF la
Atat 80 49,
than 500 claim that this help ut these wages
has been employed 1t n loss instead OF profit
during each of the I've years last past
Out or the same mum Der an equat portion
ASSERT that the actual cost OF producing this
cereal, the most profitable OF al that are
raised within the state, has, during the same
period, exceeded the entire value OF the crop
when harvested, saying nothing whatever OF
inco ne from the capital invested In the land
required to produce It.
1t is estimated uy those making these re.
ports that the cost OF producing an acre OF
corn ready for the market Is S.; thar the ay.
erSge crop for Eve years mas been 80 i bu.h-
els. and statistics show that the aver age price
OF this cora In our local mar ket soon after
havest, during such period has been % cents
per bushei, mi kiug tho entire valuo of the
crop when marketed S1.33. or g. cents less
than the actual cost OF production at market
rates Of labor.
What 10 true OF tho production OF corn In
Iowa 10 equally true OF NIL the grea. staples
raised on her farms. When We consider the
immense capital Invested in the farms Of
single state, and are told that for five whole
years 1t has not paid enough to compensate the
labor employed, IL IL apparent that no other
business In this country could have with stood
such Q condition OF adversely during 60 long
period; and 1t IL equally certain that had is
been practicable for tn. farmers OF the coun-
Aarx r~tet H. tA~l.
or Industry their numbers would have been
greatly reduced, even in the best of agricul-
turAl states.
But this WAS impracticable. and from the
very necessity Of their situation they have
continued . business buraened with loss IN
stead OF yielding profit or the N .rket value
of their labor Is considered out OF which
this nation has gathered thre = four,hs OF allits
exports. and Oy reasons OF wh.:h 1t has been
able to preserve balance OF trade In its fav or
that has constantly added to the aggregate
Of our national wealth.
1t 10, however, when we stop to reflect, easy
to discern that If . chief business OF cou :
try 10 being done At loss, AID yet that the
country as q whole 10 becoming rich, there
must be Some fragrant error in the industrial
system that produces such result.
With the facts demonstrated by statistics a.
they are, that the nations wealth is being con-
stantly increased, that II 10 largely derived
from ito Agricultural resourc es,s and that those
engaged Ia that interests are transacting bus
mess at loss. instead Of proas,i it difficult
TO understand that those who produce the
greater part OF the nations wealth do not en-
joy It?
We can easily see II dozen men were en-
gagged in IS many different pursuits. and
eleven Of them were compelled 10 give up to
the twelfth the entire profits that they
earned. that the Aggregate wealth OF the
fvwn lAht hn efxr ina ncad but Nn
such cases there would be one very rich man
and eleven very poor ones.
II we extend the example, it is equally
apparent that II the great body OF men en-
gagged In Industrial pursuits ia any nation
arc compelled BY Law or otherwise to surren-
der to the few the profits OF their labor, the
nation 90 such may grow rich. but Its wealth
favored few. while the many. robbed Of their
share of the wealth which the labor OF all has
produced, must OF necessity remain poor.
] do not hesitate 70 cay there Is no possible
justification for . system OF laws that pro-
d1ces such = result.
Nd plea for the nations prosperity, how.
ever eloquent that pea may sccome, can
smother the indeiensiole wrong that takes a
single dollar from the earnings Of one class
of its citizens aud bestows 1t as . bounty upon
those Of another.
l will not stop now 10 question whether
the industries OF = nation may or may not be.
come 50 adjusted and elualized that pro-
tective talin could be made equally Adyanta-
yeoua to all.
1t is enough to know that they are not 80
qualified in the United States,
Ii the farmers and laborers of this country
are required to contribute from their earn
ings TO build up lines OF industries in which
they are not engaged, II 10 absolutely certain
that those who give must become poorer
Hhnp Ahr Ia hna vnst asrv, u,Sn .~~
rich from the avails Of labor they do not per-
form, and It requires no stretch OF the inn
agitation to fore ,ee that under such q sys-
tenn time alone Is needed to divide these
classes in this the proudest republic on the
globe, &c the human family Is already d.yi-
del ia tho most arlstocratic nonsrch.es of
the world.
1t Is infinitely better that this nation
should remain poor. with Its property. su Oh
rs Il has, distributed among all Its elias scs
than become the richest on the globe with Its
wealth concentrated In thu hands OF q few. ,
No dream OF . theori.t could conceive OF q
condition moro per feet than one which would
divide and could main tain, with equal effort
on the part OF individuals, an equal distribu-
ton OF nations wealth among all Its citi-
zenS.
This Il impracticable but what can be said
In favor Of system thar smites the very root
OF this equality; that aids by artificial means
Ill preventing the nearest approach to such
equality that the human family IL capable OF
attaining? Certainly nothing II men are just.
Ii this Is the result Of protective tariff, tue
argument 10 ended.
Let us consider further liz effect upon the
farmers OF this country.
Il IL self-eyident proposition that tsriff
levied upon products which nation produces
largely in excess Of lite own wants. which 1t /.
constantly sending abroad because Its own
markets will not take or use them. can have
no possib 70 effect upon the price of such COM
modities. and hence 1t follows that 40 long IS
we ara producing annually hundreds OF MIL
lions in value OF agricultural products In ex.
cess OF our own wants, no tariff levied upon
like products can benefit the farmer