Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-05-05
The Farmers Hope for Relief.

The farmers of the South in some To-
calties are complaining, and justly, of
hard times. But they are in no such
deplorable conditions as the farmers of
New England, where farms are desert
ed, thus exploding one of the chief ar
guments of the McKinleyites az to the
benefit the farmer derives from the
home market in close apprOximatiOn to
the manufacturer. At the South the
cause of depression arises from the low
price of farm products, the high price
paid for supplies and the enormous tax
upon him for the benefit of the favored
few.
But what is the cause of this depres-
sion in the agricultural interests of the
farmers North and South? Vicious Re-
publican class legislation at the dicta-
ton of the monopolists, by which the
farmer is robbed and plundered, is at
the bottom of it all. Every dollar plac-
ed as a tax on the article or commodity
necessary to the farmers comfort and
use costs him just that much, robbing
him of his hard earnings to fill the cof-
fers of the Carnegies, the GOulds and
their associates. And yet we hear the
the hypocritical appeal made by the
Reeds and McKinleys, the Trays,
Blanches and Sweethearts of the Re-
publican party. to the farmer and the
people that that party is the friend of
the people. What fools they imagine
the people are.
But to the farmers of the South we
would say a word. You have coun-
try rich in fertility, Astounding in re-
sources, amply supplied with transpor-
tation facilities and the markets of the
world at your door. You are blessed
with an equable, genial, healthful eli
mate. Every product of the soil grown
outside the tropics can be protitably
raised within your limits. There is
nothing necessary to your use and COM
fort but that you can produce at home.
You can raise an abundance of every
crop for home consumption and have a
surplus for market. You can raise hay
for less than the actual cost of trans
portation from the Western States to
your own. Every farmer can produce
more corn and grain than is necessary
for home consumption and at compar-
atively very small expense. There is
not a cotton planter in the South but
can raise his corn and hay cheaper
than it costs the Western farmer to
make it and send it to market. Mules
and work stock can be raised at less
cost in Alabama. Mississippi and the
South than can be done in Kentucky,
Illinois or Indiana. 1t costs less to
raise hogs South than in any of the
hog-raising States. In most of the
Southern States the cost of raising beef
cattle is nominal, while sheep flourish
LII ali Vi Tic oOutn- III uO pOflIoH VI
the Union can dairying be carried on
to better profits. 1t only requires prop
err care in arranging for the industries,
followed by judicious management.
The South is admirably adapted to
forage crops. While timothy and some
other grasses are not so well adapted
to the soil and climate of some of these
States, other forage crops take their
place and produce an abundant yield.
Glover does well in nearly all parts of
the South. Orchard grass, rye, bar
ley, fodder, corn and German millet
can be grown profitably all over the
South: Japan clover springs up spon-
taneously in old fields that have been
thrown out and cultivation abandoned,
making excellent and valuable pastur
age for all kinds of live stock. Ber-
muda grass is grown successfully in all
the States south of Virginia. The poor
est lands that will not pay to cultivate
in field crops will grow peas profitably.
which is valuable either for hay or
peas, besides restoring the fertility of
the soil.
But the fault with the Southern farm
er, especially the cotton planter, every
other product is subordinated to cot
ton, and the planter, instead of raising
on the farm everything he needs, con-
centrates on cotton and relies on buy
ing the supplies he can and should pro-
duce in abundance. The result is, he
sells his cotton often at low price,
and buys his supplies frequently at
enormous prices. Last season, for in
stance, cotton dropped lower than it
has since 1912, and corn cost him from
81 to $1.25 per bushel, and other things
in proportion.
Let us get rid of the high tariff en-
acted by Republican class legislation