The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-06-26

III tel Maintenance of Protection.
III nape trainers of the Mckinney bill
4 in that the time is near at hand
frh the vast tracts of fertile grain
~ should be all brought under
lf .Yation. Their existence has been
" aYhain cause of agricultural de-
Ea "aon In the past. For the last
EN Thr of century there has been
" rkodus of Eastern farmers and
It Inimmigrants to Western lands.
Ahe consequence has been that pro-
uucibn has tended to outstrip and
keen ahead of demand, hence the
low prices. But soon all this will be
|cDalEe. The London Miller says:
calculations have been made to
s4otthat By January. 1894, the Un.
tii4si ststes witt have a population of
's2. 000, 900, which will require in sta
pie crops an area Of 226 800, 900 acres,
and allowing an addition of 10000
900 acres to be made to the cultivated
land in the interval, there would be
by the time named deficit of nearly
4 .O00, 900 acres, which, of course. will
make prices 90 upward at d very
rapid rate. If these calculations be
correct they show that American
farmers are about to enter on a new
era of prosperity. which also means
a decrease in the quantity of flour ex.
ported from the United States on ac-
count of better home prices"
DR.. Peter Collier, director of the
New York Agricultural Station, said
recently:
"From 1866 to 1856 the area de-
voted TO our leading crops increased
l27 per cent while our population in
creased during the per od 60 per cent.
and while everything points to the
fact that our arabic land is largely
Occupied-aS witness the haste to
possess Oklahoma, and the efforts to
reclaim by irrigation the arid regions
of the WeSt-there appears to be no
evidence that our population will not
steadily increase.
At present 80 per cent Of our~prod-
uctS are consumed at home or 50 per
cent not counting tobacco and cotton
1t scarcely appears as hazardous
prediction that within five years,
and perhaps even sooner, the hCme
demand may fully equal the supplies
of cur agricultural products, and
then if they are wise. the farmers of
the country will be the masters of
the situation, and those words of Ma
poIeon that Agriculture is the basis
and strength of all national prosper
ity,' will be recognized as sober
truth"
When this time comes, and all
reputable authorities are agreed that
is near at hand. it will be vital to the
farmers interest that his home mar
products of India. Russia. and Ar
gentina. So the Mckinley bill puts
a higher duty on wheat, on oats, on
meats-in fact on almost everything
this farmer raises. A duty on farm
products, unlike duty on manutac-
| turers, results III a positive advance
! in price as soon as demand begins to
get ahead of the domestic supply. A
higher duty on manufacturers will
result in increased production, and
Consequently. IN a short time, will
reduce the price. This is because
there is practically no limit to the
possibilities of the pro iuctiOn of
manufactures. But with farm prod.
ucts the case is different. After al
the land is brought under cultiva
| tion, no matter how high prices go
the production cannot be materially
increased except by a greater proper.
tional outlay of capital and of labor
for each unit of product. Hence the
price cannot be brought down except
by foreign competition. Clearly d
Tariff, by keeping out foreign sup.
plies of grain. vegetable and meats
will haye the positive and perma
nent effect of raising the price of the
American farmers produce. The
farmers have been the mainstay o
Protection for the last quarter of {
century, when immense annual ad
ditions to the grain growing areas
have tended to obscure its benefits
They would be very foolish now tC
abandon the policy just when they
are approaching point where they
are sure to be more directly and more
particularly benefited by Protection
than any other class of producers.
Thus far we have not touched upor
what is, perhaps, after all, the mos
important phase of the question
viz. the incalcuable benefis tC
American agriculture, which come
from building up factories and indus
tries in all parts of the country, with
the result that the consuming power: