The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-09-08
THE FARMER AND PROTECTION

To the Editor of tie Eagle.
Any person who tells the truth regard
ing the magnificent crops of wheat, oats
and corn in this year of grace must, per-
force, stand up for Kansas"
In good year the threshers and husk
ers invariably demonstrate that the yield
is above and beyond the most sanguine
expectations of the farmers. The usual
cry this year among the farmers, in this
portion of Sedgwick county is, 'My
wheat and oats turned out better than l
expected" I imagined last July that l
raised as good crop of wheat as any of
my neighbors, but the threshing ma
chine turned out but twenty-ni bush
els and eighteen pounds per acre. 1t
was more than / expected and [ was per-
fectly satisfied, until one of my neigh
bors, A. ID. Wilson. threshed a
piece of wheat that yielded forty bushels
to the acre. Oue-third of the unpre-
cedented yield of wheat was hauled to c..
B. Campbell of West Wichita as rent,
and when weighed it overran three
bushels per acre more than machine
measure ; thereby yielding ferty-three
bushels per acre. The land on which
this wheat was grown has been in con-
tinuous cultivation for twenty-one years,
and never received even top dressing of
manure. The veracity of Mr.. Wilson
has never been doubted in regard to crop
production By any of his neIghbors. He
IS one our progressive farmers; is the
owner of mining and railroad stock, and
| venture to assert that the money in
vested in farming by him in this country
gives him a dividend four times greater
than he receives from his mining or
railroad stock. In view of these
and similar facts is not time
to stop the silly bowling of our mis-rep-
resentatives in regard to the poverty of
Kansas.
The men who have been assuring the
world that Kansas is mortgaged for more
than It's worth are our greatest enemies.
They do not stop at maligning and mis-
representing Kansas; they assure us that
the United States, the refuge of the OPP
pressed of all nations, is at 1.-The verge of
moral, political and material ruin" The
world does not believe them. Immi-
grants from the British possessions north
of us, and from every country in Europe
are sundering the ties that bind them to
the land of their birth, and are coming
to these favored shores to partake of our
prosperity. They come to US wretchedly
poor with bowed head and suppliant knee |
the products of European monarchy. |
In few years they become American |
freemen. enabled by the circumstances
which surround them, and with the ex-
ceptIon of few socialists, declare that !
in the land of their adoption riches is |
the rule and poverty the exception. The |
wages which they receive here in ex-
change for their labor is from so to 200 /
per cent more than the starvation wages |
they were accustomed 70 in their native !
land. Not only is their wages increased !
but dollar will purchase more -four, |
more pork, more beef, more mutton, |
more sugar than in their native land.
Tie American system of protection !
made it possible to elevate the wage !
Garner in this favored land to higher !
plane than was ever attained by bis /
competitors in any land beneath the |
broad circle of the sun.
Two years ago we farmers we fright !
ened By the passage of the Mckinley !
bill. We were assured it would raise l
the price of everything we purchased. I
The predictions of calamity howlers |
were not verified. Nearly everything !
we purchase today is cheaper than ia 1
1890, before the passage OF the Mckinley /
bin. Previous TO 1890 we paid to for I
eign farmers from Sl0.oG0, go to SIS
000, 600 yearly for fax seed. We in
creased the duty from 20 to 80 cents /
bnshel and stopped its importation. We |
also increased the duty on hnseed oil I
from % 10 81 cents a gallon. The free I
trader and calamity bowler told US that /
price OF linseed oil would advance pro-
portlonaliy, as-according to their
theory-the tariff was tax paid by the 4
consumer. Now what is the FACT: Pre-
vlous to the passage of the Nc I.
hInley act iinseed oil sold at whole
sale from 81 to % cents a gallon.
and in this year it has been sold from "a
10 80 cents a gallon. The whole product
hy our American mills
viii be sold for s. 500, 0oe less than in
1890, before the Mckinley act was passed.
Every farmer who paints his house and
every Kansas farmer does gets his share
of this great reduction in price.
Ii insratitude and partisan hate will
prevent US from Encouraging the Repub-
lican party which has protected fsaxseei
aud linseed oil and taers.y lowered the
price of the manufactured article, we
deserve 10 be agala placed Ia the nlsi.ian