The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1893-09-22
THE FARMERS AND THE CRISIS.

tDlNlIlOnS. utallN lidil VI N4iC lDtuia-
ton is deprived in whole or in part of
It's power 70 purchase Of the products
Of those engaged in manufacturing in
dustries, the whole commercial and
industrial world suffers from paralysis
the exchanges become dcrangej 4;
boarding ensues. monetary stringency
follows mills, factories, and furnaces
close; operatives, ceasing to earn,
lose their power to purchase Of the
products of their own labor as well as
the labor of others and the circle OF
declining activity constantly widens.
Such are the conditions now exist
ing, and they are largely If not almost
wholly due. primarily 70 the loss Of
the power on the part Of some IS per
cent. of the people to purchase of
other than the veriest necessaries.
As the prices Of farm products have
fallen, so has declined the purchasing
power of that great body Of producers
constituting nearly half the working
force Of the nation, and so has waned
the prosperity of all.
At the taking of the census Of 1870,
81 per cent. Of all the males following
regular vocations were engaged in ag-
riculture, and this was approximately
the proportion Of the people living
upon the farm; but by 1880, owing
to the growth OF manufactures, the
proportion had been reduced below
4o per cent, and is now probably
about 45 per cent.
For more than fifteen years. 1873
to 1895, all the great primary agricul-
tural staples have been declining in
price, although there have been peri
DDS when the price Of some one was
high FOX 4 limited time. This is more
notably true as respects secondary
products, especially meats and lard (;
but the trend OF the whole scale has
been constantly downward, and the
general price le1el at the end of each
year was lower than at its beginning.
In the meantime, there has been no
material reduction in the cost Of pro-
duction. the self-binder. the gang
plough, mower, hay tedder, and hay
loader, and all other great improve
ments in agricultural machinery, hay-
ing come into use prior TO 1873.
Subsequent notifications and i'm
proyements have been in the direc-
ton Of greater facility in operation
rather than of lessened cost. While
II Is true that there has been 4 mater
ial reduction in the cost OF farming
implements. such reduction has not
always resulted in lessening the cost
OF production on the farm, as new
machines have often displaced those
which were but partially worn and
which were quite as efficient 1t Is
probable that upon farms large enough
10 warrant the purchase Of full lines
Of improved machinery, the cost of
production has thereby been lessened
ten per cent; but such farms consti-
tuc.ng less than five per cent OF the
r-ho,e --ea under cultivation. :h- sr
gregate saving from such economies
has been slight, and has probably
been fully Offset by the Progi ess;vely
increasing use Of commercial iertiliz-
ers. which have been found necessary
in all the region east of the Alississ.P-
pi not to increase the fertility of the
land, out amply to prevent further de-
:erioration
While the cost Of producing cannot
have been lessened as much as FIVE
per cent since 1873, prices for the
staple products Of the farm averaged
So per cent. greater during the hle
years ending with 1873 than now.
This is especially true as respects the
FIVE staples corn, wheat, oats, hay,
and cotton, which employ I95,ooo,-
900 out of the 400, ,ooo,o 900 acres now
devoted to staple crops.
The following table shows in ten
year averages the gold value per acre
of the product OF the FIVE staples: