The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-04-04
MR.. DONNELLY ANSWERS.
Opposed to the Farmers COmbin'
ing to Raise the Price of
Wheat.
EDITOR REPRESENTATIVE:

Wheat.
EDITOR REPRESENTATIVE:
! am very sorry to see that Hold
your Wheat question brought up
again, for it will never work or win,
and never ought to. The farmers COM
bining to get an artificial price for
their produce is not mite more
Just than it is for the mOnOpolist to
make an artificial price.
The only way to unite the Gordian
knot which is choking the life out OF
us, is to remove the artificial OBJ
stacles to the natural laws of COM
merce, placed there by the hOrdes of
sharpers of different kinds, like net
across a stream to catch the salmon
of human industry.
Amongst these may be mentioned
watered railroad stock, discrimina-
tion in freight rates, cheating in
grades, weights, dockage, and by eX-
cessive charges for handling. 1t
must be remembered that since
India, ustrala, and South America
have become our competitors in the
wheat market, there is harvest all
the year around. and as long as the
home price is set by the Liverpool
price of wheat the only effect of
"hOlding our wheat would be to
give our competitors, not only the
higher price but the market. But
even if we could raise the price, achO
eoould hare to pay 1t? Clearly, the la
boring people in our cities in the en-
HANGED price they would have to pay
for their flour. No one, | hope, is
green enough to believe that the
blood-suckers will take one drop less
of blood until the strong hand Of the
law throttles them off. Their percent
age Of profit ariU be the same ,chethe1 ,cheat
IS 30 cents or 81 bushet.
1t is in the excessive profits our
real grievance lies, remove them and
we shall get the natural price for our
produce. for there is law of prices
as clear as the law of gravitation,
which needs nothing but untram-
meled trade to enforce itself.
We may just as we'll, first as last,
make up our minds, that, as farmers,
we can never win:-neither can the
labOrers, as labOrerS.
The farmers trying to make the la
borers' loaf dear, the laborer voting
for high tariff to make goods dear,
always has. will, and ought to result
in the bottle-holder, the middle
men,-running away with the
''StakeS."
If it is true that nothing endures
but justice" it is equally true that
nothing will engender justice but
justice" figs cannot be gathered
from thistles' yet.
Everybody can see the deplorable
state of the country, but honest, in
telligent people, -most Of us feel it,
cannot see hope for betterment in
a ''devil take the hindermost" policy.
The "key" to the whole situation
is unity that will be unit, of mus
Gle against money.
SETH BOTTOMLEY.
*x*
This is all wrong. Every class has
a right to take care of itself The
farmers are being driven into univer-
sal bankruptcy by trusts and COM
bineS, and now we are told that we
should submit, and go quietly to the
poor-houSe, rather than fight the
devil with fire. And we must starve
rather than run the risk of making
someone else starve! But they will
not starve, for Mr. Bottomley says the
price of the wOrkman'S loaf will be
the same whether the farmer gets so
cents or 81 for his wheat. Then why
shouldn't we have the 81 if we can
get it? If Mr.. BottOmley's argument
is true then it would be wrong for the
workingmen to combine to put up
their wages, lest it might raise the
price of the goods bought by the
farmers. This is all nonsense. The
low prices are not natural prices; but
chiefly the result of villainous COM
binations: and the farmers have as
good right to combine to help them
oAl
rob them, have no patience with
the gospel of patient suffering;- we
must defend ourselves one else
will. And to wait for "a unity
that will be unit" of all men to do
right, is like waiting for s'the
heavens to fall that we may catch
larks." This is not question of
theory or philosophy, but of self-pres-