Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-09-29

Laugh
How much rye did we import last
year? Sixteen bushels [Laugher and
applause on Democratic side 1t
could all have been raised on a turnip
patch! [Renewed laughter
The chit" he had made on the
cabbage patch was to good too let
pass. 1t was sure to bring down
the house. Itwas splendid Demo-
cratic argument. So, when inter-
est in his dry free trade talk tagged
he came back to it.
Where is our market for wheat and
breadstuffs? What protection are you
giving the farmer? Do not all sing out
in chorus that we have given him pro-
lection of 3 cents head on cabbage?
[Laughter.l This Is cabbage head bill
from beginning to end. Laughter and
applause on Democratic side
Again, as to wheat, and speak
ing OF the tarmer:-
"He knows that the man who can
produce the best article and sell at the
lowest price will drive his rival out of
the market. You have tried to fool
him by telling him you are securing
him in the enjoyment of the home
market" [AppIause.]
This is the way he argues
against putting sugar on the free
list
against this most damaging compe-
tihon the barriers should be put up.
What are these foreign agricultural
products? The first is sugar of which we
import $95,OOO,OOO worth. What did
our friends do with it? Did they "put UP
the bars" as they did for woolens
and cottons, and iron, and steel? While
they were building up the tariff wal
and giving protection to the manufac
turers, and even the refners they die
not walk up up like little men and take
sugar in theirsn' [Laughter.l
This gag" about sugar il
theirs was received so kindly BY
the Democratic side-they coule
see without spectacles the wit o
it, that when things began to drag
he brought it up again. Like the
"cabbages" it was a sure card.
eff we are going into the bounty
business in silk and sugar, and ships
our people in Texas will want a bounty
on cotton. They will want it in kansa
on corn. The people of Illinois anC
Indiana will want it on wheat. The
people of Ohio will want it on pork
The people of Virginia will want it OF
tobacco and we will all walk up to the
counter and take sugar in "ourn.'
Laughter
We think we have given space
enough to Mr. Mills. The farmers
of Wood County can easily SET
the style of argument used in op
position. Now let us see wha
Mr.. LaFollette, bright Wiscon
sin man, had to say in favor O
the bill:
"All agree that the supply and de
mand of every article produced on the
farm will control the price For large
number of products the only market We
| have or want is the domestic market
If the supply for that market is in
creased by importations piled on tor
of our own production the price vii
fall just i'll proportion to the supply
just in proportion to the amount i'm
ported. There is not farm produc,
upon the dutiable list of this bill which
cannot be produced in quantities sutfi
cient to supply our own market if we
will give the farmers of this country ar
opportunity"
Mr.. Mills in his speech steerec
clear of barley and potatoes-you
would never have known from hin,
that such products we're ever hearc
of. Mr.. LaFollette, however, hac
something to say about them
'Take off the duty from barley, fol
instance. Last year we harvested some
thing over 100000 bushels. Under
existing duty we imported nearly one
fifth as much as our entire crop. With
the freights from Europe ranging be-
! tween and ) cents and from Canads
l to , cents, and the duty removed, the
other four-fifths of our crop would be
at once displaced with barley from
Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the
Northwest Territory, England and Den.
mark and three millions of acres OF
land cultivated in barley must be
cropped with wheat for export, adding
60,000,000 bushels more to our surplus
of that product. We do not want tC
see the market for barley taken from
the farmers of this country and given
to foreign producers who pay no taxes
and bear none of the burdens of citizen
ship. So in this bill we have not made
barley free, but have increased the
duty from 10 to SO cents fApplause
on the Republican side.]
This, really, seems to be pretty
sound sense and to the candid
] mind of more value than the bar