The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-10-02
A WHEAT AND COTTON TRUST
Continued from First PageD

taxing its own people and selling its
credit abroad to replenish the de-
pleted treasures of the country.
Simple as the proposition may seem,
they understand better than we do
that saloon-keeper cannot afford to
pay high license fee for the privi-
lege of drinking his own whiskey, and
that is just what the United States
has been doing during the last thirty
years. We are just recovering from a
national debauch made up of beauti-
1ul Industrial rainbows and protec-
tive pyrotechnics, enchanting while it
lasted but most disappointing in it's
results. During all these years the
nails OF Congress fairly rang with the
claims of 'honest industry" and
IA American manhocd' as exemplified
by the towering furnaces and the
rapidly expanding cities; but no men
tion was made of the fact that ninety
tive per cent of the output of these
factories was being consumed at in
creased prices by the tillers of the
SOIL, who enjoyed no legislative bene-
tits whatever. During the same
period the great metropolitan news
papers, always upon the side of the
advertiser rather than the reader,
fairly teemed with the beauties and
the grand benefits Of that protective
system, their columns frequently filled
with tOwn-lot advertisements fur
nished by the protected manufac-
turer, but they saw no danger what
ever to the country in the rapidly de-
Ginning price Of it's agricultural pro-
ducts. If they descended to speak Of
the matter at all, either editorially or
by the very infrequent privilege of
communication, they invariably an
sWered it by SAYING that wheat and
cotton are commodities, and are
worth no more nor less than they will
bring in the worlds markets." They
would devote column after column.
about election time, to the 'dignity
OF labor and the necessity Of protect
Ing "a american manhood and Ameri-
can Womanhood' against servile in
vaslonS from other parts of the world,
put they saw nothing wrong in COM
pelllng the American farmer, both by
the law OF the land and the law of
trade com bina tions, to sell his pro-
Duct IN competition with that servile
labor. No, they were ali silent upon
that subject. And it is more or less
SO to-day. A ten-dollar bank adver-
tlsement to-day can do more towards
moulding the policy of the average
city journal than ten thousand agri-
cultural subscriptions can. and yet the
former only advertises by reason of
The latter. Ii new combine is form
ed 10 raise the price of iron, coal,
petroleum, wire, bagging, cordage or
any other agent Of commerce depen-
dent wholly upon home consumption,
they go into tasy over it and declare
it to be IAN nmistaka BILE revival Of
business" Who will pay these in
creased prices? The people of the
United States, of course. Will they
get any money from Europe through
the sale of these products at adj
vanced prices? No. Did the Car
negies, the Rockefellers and the other
millionaire manufacturers get any
part of their millions through the
sale of their goods to Europe? No.
Whom did they sell to? To the people
Of the United States. Where did the
people of the United States get the
money to buy these things? They OBJ
tanned it from Europe through the
sale Of wheat, cotton. corn, lumber,
beef and tobacco almost exclusively.
There has been no time in the history
OF the United States when the manu-
toctu1ed products solG abroad erer amount
ed 10 more than one-siath the rolue of the
cotton and breddstuf exports. The pro-
ducers Of cotton and breadstuffs have
not only consumed a very large part
of the output Of the protected factory,
but they have enabled the nation to
maintain favorable balance of trade
with the world and furnished the
that factory output, but they cannot
dO mnNh IOnunr II n10cc fhou va
better prices for their products.
Now comes the question of meeting
this Oriental invasion. Who is going
to do it? VIII it be met by the Car
negies and other who have become
multi-millonaires through legislative
favor? No! Their wage scale has
been already reduced to the lowest
possible point. so they will most likely
turn the sucked orange" Of protect
ed industry-wildcat town lots and
all-over to generous American pub
lie and go to Europe to purchase a
title. Can the heavily bonded rail-
roads of the nation, which have en-
joyed no end Of favors, both legisla-
tive and judicial, do anything to ste m
this threatened tide? No! Their
power, while great enough to pervert
trade and crush it entirely whenever
they see fit. is unfortunately confined
to the American prodct. They are
non-entities in international mat
tiers. They are the house-dogs Of
trade, dangerous only at home. Can
the national bankers of the country
who have grown rich through the
wrongful exercise Of Government pre-
| negatives, do anything towards check
ing this threatened ruin? No! They,
too, are powerless for good. They are
the commercial crows of the nation
They always take flight in the hour of
national peril.
What interest then must the nation
turn to for help in the hour of need?
To the one that founded, fostered and
has even maintained it during the
reign of it's false gods-that of agri-
culture. The United States is still
the granary of the world, and it's only
hope Of future existence lies in that
industry. When that industry dies
the nation dies with it. We can no
more hope to compete with the new
element Of manufacturing-po
ing as it does an average wage rate Of
less than ten cents per day-than we
can hope to discharge our foreign in
debtedness while the world is putting
a price upon our exports, and the
sooner we realize that fact and set
our guns to meet it the better it will
be for the nation. And right at this
time | want to call the wage-earner's
attention to the fact that the sudden
raise in wages in the iron trade is not
due to any great home demand for
these good bit to the fact that Japan and
China are getting ready TO engage IN the
manufacturing business themselves. What
then will become Of the American