The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-08-22
HOW 1T WORKS.

Is anu space iOr political organs to publish
misleading statements concerning tn
k tariff. Yet it appears that republican
prints seemingly moved by the belle
+ that the people are fools continue t,
misrcprcsent conditions of trade between
@ this country and foreign nations will
the evident purpose to create the impress
G sion that the new tariff is all that wa,
: and is claimed for it and that it is a goot
. thing for the people to tie to. Just how
, good it is and where it will ultimatel,
a land the country every man who car
read and knows the multiplication
table may determine for himself if he
desire to.
I The bureau of statistics of the treas.
ury department has issued a book of 3JC
pages containing "A great variety of sta
t~istics OF the finance, trade and agricul-
turc OF the country, and other important
matters for the present and past years,
and in some cases for the entire exist
encc of the government. 1t furnishes
the fullest and most trustworthy data
the people can have as to these matters,
for much of it is made up directly from
the books of the treasury and other de
partments and all of it is supervised or
prepared by experts. In speaking of it
the st. Louis Republic very pertinent
ly observes that the American farmer
who has been patiently voting taxes on
himself for a quarter of a century at the
instance Of Mr.. Morrill,, Mr.. Sherman,
Mr.. Mckinley and others, in order to
build up a home market, with home
consumers of his products. and who has
been compelling himself, by law, TO pay
these home consumers % per cent more
for what he has to buy than his other
consumers would charge him although
both sets pay him the same price for lis
products should get a copy of this alb
stract and figure on it a little at nights.
If he is good at figures. he can find here
the exact facts for ciphcripg out the date
at which he will get that sufficient home
market, and have the factory by the
farm" to take all his products at home,
and he may refresh his soul amid it's
perpleyities by learning the exact speed
by which he is moving forward to this
long promised destination.
Let us turn for a moment to these
official tables.and see what comforts they
give him. In 1860. out of a total mcr-
chandise export (omitting fractions) Of
S~:IlG,O0O.000 in value. agriculture fur
nished S~2jG,0OO,0O0. or 81 per cent. I'm
1880, out of d total merchandise export
of S~SlJ,OOO.000, agriculture furnished
3~G29,O0O,O0o, or 74ls per cent. Here then
we have the rate of progress in decreas-
ing our agricultural export, and our de-
p%cndcnce upon foreign markets for its
consumption, from 81 per cent. in
1860 to 1ll5 per cent in 1890, or about s
per cent. in thirty years. At this pace it
will take only 80 years more to reach
the vanishing point. when we shall have
a home market to consume all our sur
plus farm products. Why, then, should
the farmer rage and vcx the air with his
unreasoning complaints? Does he ex-
pcct to reach a home market by tcle-
graph or lightning express? Let him be
satisfied and thankful to know that he is
moving toward it and that he is able to
calculate, by ''tiggers'' and the rule of
three, the precise date of his arrival as
accurately as the astronomer fcretells
the eclipses of the sun and moon. After
Just 30 years more. with not more than
thirty-five upward rc~visions of the tariff
meanwhile, in the year of our Lord 22}G :
some future Mckinley will lit the ey- ~,
'Eureka!' and proclaim that he
has at last found a sufficient home mar
for the American farmer. Could
anything be more plain and satisfactory? :
And considering the price he has been
for a home market not more ,
than a fourth or ii third of his annual ,
product could any thoughtful farmer
expect to secure il al an earlier date? J
But il may be suggested by some .
'keptical and hard-hcadcd filler Of the
soil that a wrong data has been taken '
For calculation, and that the correct way !
to find out when we shall reach the !"
home market is not to take the :
percentage Of decrease in the agricul- 7
rural part OF our general exports, for that =
S merely comparing the exports of the i
arm with the exports of the mine and =
and so forth, but to take the !,
percentage Of decrease in our oxporta- !,
ion OF the several staple farm products .
n consequence of the increasing home u
of them brought about by
he tariff. This is probably right. Let /"
Is then see what the tables show as 70 \
hese. They do not go back beyond V
500. In that year out of a total wheat 81
.rop of 2~GO.0O0,OOO bushels was exported 7,
bushels, or something over 81
per cent. In 1889, the latest year u
,iven, out OF a weat crop of nearly 400 IL
80 n