The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-10-02

AON
moment what I am concerned to how
ia that the fall has been progressive up
till now, and that it still continues, and
I believe you will agree that by what
have told you up till now I have made
that statement good. But if you do
agree with me, and if I am right in
this, what does it mean to youG
"Now, I must press this considera-
ton very earnestly on your attention,
and WANT to ask this question: When
you are able to make a contract for a
farm, and before you sign the lease,
what is the first thing that you do9
You make a calculation in order to sat
isfy yourself how much rent you can
afford is pay after making a fair profit
for yourself. This profit, of course,
depends upon the returns which you
expect faom the products which you
sell, andthe value of that produce de
ponds again very largely upon the price
which it commands. We'll, you make
YOUR calculations on a fair-I will even
say a Decentralization, after allow.
ing for contingencies Of The prices Of
the day, and thereupon, if your calcu
Iation pleases you, you make your con-
tract and you sign the lease. What is
the next steps You enter on the farm,
you spend your money, you grow your
crops, and, finally, you sell them. But,
after you have done so, and you come
to make up your accounts upon the
next occasion you find that your re-
turns are much less than you thought
they would be when you took the form.
And Why's What is the reason for this
great miscalculation9 Why, simply
this: the prices which neither you
nor any n could possible have fore
seen. Your profits, in consequence,
are gone; very possibly you find your
balance on the wrong side altogether,
and not only that, but you are bound
in the future by your contract, which,
under the new circumstances, may be
losing, and quite possibly, a heavy los
ing, concern to you. And remember,
gentlemen, another thing, that yon in
Scotland are specially affected, more
than any other class of farmers, by
this state of things, because I know it
used to be you practice, and l believe
it is so still, to take your farms on
leases, which are binding for a number
of years, whether the conditions of the
lease turn out well for you or i'll. l
submit, then, gentlemen, and l hope
you will agree with me- that SO far l
have been able to make good the first
afternoon. namely, that the main cause
of depression is the fall in prices; that
the fall has been hitherto progressive,
and as long a it continues VIZ cannot
expect any real and substantial i'm.
provement in the future. (ApplauSe.)
CAUSES OF THE FALL IN PRICES.
"And now I come to the second and
much more disputable question, name
ly: What is it that has brought about
this terrible and unprecedented fall9
I have shown you already that, &C
cording to the index numbers, it
amounts to 40 per cent. as the average
fall which has occurred in the price of
a great number of commodities. Well,
what is the cause of it2 The answer
which springs at once to the lips of
nine farmers out of every ten, certain
ly in England, is this: Foreign com
petition and that the remedy is pro
lection. Well, I used to think so, too,
but I cannot say with truth that that
is my opinion noW-applause)- land 1
say so, for these reasons: There are
many countries at this moment which
impose extremely heavy duties on all
imported agricultural produce. Half
the countries on the continent, not to
speak of the United States, are protec-
tionists to day, and yet they complain
Of agricultural depression; and they
are suffering from it quite as much,
and in some cases, I believe, even more
than we ourselves. (Hear, hear, and
spplause.) Again you must remember
that until the great monetary changes
began to be felt-probably in 1875 or
1875, for they did not begin to take ef-
feet till a year or two after they were
made-agriculture had enjoyed the
greatest and the most unbroken period
of prosperity for five and twenty years
that she had ever known. Many farm
ers have told me that 1874 was the last
real good year they ever had, and all
that time, remember, for twenty five
years previous to 1874, it was under
free trade that we were living. And
mhnn I coo and mhnn I knom AknA H.