The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-05-31
PROFITS OF THE FARMERS.
Secretary Morton Gives Reasons for their
Decline.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.


Decline.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.
WASHINGTON, D. O., May 17.-There
have been published recently in leading
newspapers and magazines articles on
agriculture, in which the writers argued
that there has been steady decadence
in that field of labor, and thatthe decline
was progressing with disastrous effects in
the United States. A few evenings ago,
while visiting. the Public Ledger bureau,
the attention of the Hon. J. Sterling
Morton, Secretary of Agriculture, was
directed to this subject, and he agreed to
submit to an interview. What follows
was dictated by the Secretary to a sten.
ographer, and, after having been written
out, was submitted to and approved by
him.
"It has been alleged" began the Sec.
retary, "that the general condition of ag-
riculture the world over is much worse
than ten years ago, and that this is true
ofeach country almost without exception.
1t is true that the profits of agriculture
have declined in the United States
very materially during the last
ten years, and while very much of the
depression among farmers may be logi.
cally traced to the protective tariff, which
compels them to buy in market whence
competition is shut out, and to sell in q
market where the competition Of the
world is free to come in, yet principal
cause of the decline of the profits of the
farmer may, I think, be found further
back. In 1866 the Homestead law came
into operation. During that year the
first homestead was given away. Under
the operations of that law in the last
twenty-six years, because of the landed
gratuities of the Government, the plough.
ed area of productive land in the United
States has about trebled, but the market
has not trebled-that is to say, the sup
ply has increased with more celebrity than
the demand.
IMPROVED FARMING IMPLEMENTS.
"In addition to the increased area of
titled fields, farming implements have
been improved so much in the last quar-
ter of q century that one man with the
improved machinery of to-day is caps.
BILE of-producing of all the staple food
products of the farm as much as six men
of twenty-five years ago. And while
foreign governments have not copied the
homestead laws of the United States pre-.
cisely, all have emulated, 80 that Eng.
land has been giving homesteads to her
colonies in every part of the habitable
globe. In Australia and everywhere
else the British Government is bestowiDg
land and gratuities upon colonists. So
far has this gone that even little Belgium
is giving them in the Congo State. Thus
the whole world has ploughed up and
planted more than ever before, aud the
improved implements are in every coun.
try. The world is better and oftener fed
to-day than ever before, and the profits
of agriculture has declined because sup
ply has run ahead of demand. This
condition merely demonstrates the truth
of the economic axiom that the relation
ofsupply to demand is the sole regulator
of value.
DECLINE IN FARMERS PRoFITs-CAUsE
AND EFFECT.
"But, while the farmers profits have
declined, the world has not suffered. The
producers, to be sure, make smaller pro-
fits, but the consumers have less to pay
for everything that enters the household
as staple food, and 1 cannot say this is
bad thing for the race. The fact is,
the profits of all other legitimate voca-
tions have declined, except where artii
cially raised by protective duties or other
class legislation. The heresy promulga'
ted by the propaganda of protective tar
if has taught the public mind to consid-
er almost always producers es the only
benefciaries of Government. Of course,
the money fallacies come in here and
play their part in the general diabolism
of the Populists and other vagarists, who
would have citizens all loob directly to
the Government for extrication whenever
they are in difficulty, financial or other.
wise. Thus the farmers in the West and
South have been made to believe that
there was not enough money per capita
in circulation, and that was the cause of
low prices. They complain that the
money is concentrated at New York, Chi.
cago, Boston, Philadelphia and other
populous centres, but money is mere
measure of value and medium of ex-
change, and It seeks always the places
where the exchanges are to be made and
values are to be measured. During the
year 1887, when town lots in Kansas
City, Omaha and other municipalities
along the west bank of the Missouri
River changed hands two or three times 8
week, always at an advance, there was no
complaint that there was too little mon
ey for the amount of business transacted
ON the contrary, there was plenty of
money with which to meet the demands
of all exchanges-but the real estate
speculations of the West stopped because
the confidence in the high prices which