The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-25
THE FARMERS VISIT
MAJOR M'KINLEY

of the foreign manufacturer and
against the domestic producer. The
total loss in these three items to the
American wool grower and the wage
Garner in American wool mill manu-
factories Is more than $62. 100000. Is 1t
any wonder, my fellow citizens. that
sheep husbandry Is no longer profit
able? So with other agricultural pro-
ducts. During the last seventeen
months of the Republican tariff law
there were imported in this country
1900 tons of hay and during the first
seventeen months of the Democratic
tariff law there We're imported 313,OoO
tons. The Wilson law gave the for
eign producers a market for 233, 900 tons
more than they had enjoyed in the last
seventeen months under the Republi-
can tariff law. This loss exceeds W.
0O0. .0O0 The total wheat. rye, barley.
oats and corn crops for 1895 amounted
to 1856, 900, 900 bushels. or a little less
than four per cent. of the total product
annually, and more than 96 per cent.
was consumed at home. The great
bulk was consumed by your fellow citi-
Zens, your own natural consumers ana
customers In 1Sg2-92. we exported Sl,-
40. 900. 900 worth of agricultural pro-
ducts. In 1886. the first two years
under the Democratic tariff law, we
exported Sl.124. 100000 worth. We eX-
ported. therefore 1896 1000, 900 worth less
i'm the two years under the DemQcratic
tariff law than in the two years under
the Republican tariff law. Depression
in agriculture has always followed low
tariff legislation. 1t was so after the
tariff of 1916 and II has been 50 under
the tariff of 1896. (Applause).
AS TO SILVER.
Can the farmer be helped by free
coinage Of silver? (Cries of no, no. no.
forever no, my fellow citizens. Cries
of Hurrah for Mckinley He cannot
be helped because if the nominal prices
of grain were to rise through an in
tiatiOn of the currency the price OF
everything else would rise also and the
farmer would be relatively no better
off than he was before. Gries of that's
right, MajOr) He would not get any
more real value for his grain than he
gets now and he would suffer from the
general decentralization which would
follow the free coinage of silver. You
cannot help the farmer by the free
coinage of silver. he can only be helped
by more consumers for his products.
You cannot help him b free trade, but
as | have shown. he can he hurt and
of competing products into this coun-
try. Better a thousand times enlarge
the markets for American products than
to enlarge the mints for the silver pro-
duet of the world. tremendous ap-
plause and cries of you're rightD You
might Just as well understand now
that you cannot add value to anything
by diminishing the measure of value
with which the thing Is sold or eX-
changed. Great cheering and cries
Of "hurrah for Mckinley If you can
increase the value by lowering the
measure of value and you want to
benefit the farmer, then make the
bushel smaller .the pound lighter and
declare a legal dozen les sthan twelve
Great laughter)
The home market is the best friend
of the farmer. n is the best market
Ii Is the only reliable market. 1t is
his own natural market. He should he
protected in his enjoyment by which
tariff legislation and his home market
should he permitted to he destroyed by
lessening the demand for American
labor and diminishing the pay of
American workmen and thereby dimin-
ishing the demand for agriculture pro-
ducts. Applause}
Free silver will not remove the com
petition of Russia, India and the Argen-
tine republic. This competition will re-
main IL you would coin all the silver
of the world. Free silver will not in
crease the demand for your wheat or
make a single new consumer. You
don't get consumers through the mints
tGreat laughter and cries of "no")
you get them through the factories
Cries of that's rightD
In 1892. when free trade was the bat
tie cry of our opDonnets. il was said
then the farmers would follow this
heresy. but 1t was not so. 1t was the
cities which followed the free trade
herescy. Cries of that's right.') Th.
country voted for protection. So this
year. the farmers will vote against free
trade ana free silver they will vote
for home market and for a dollar as
good as gold i'm every market. of the
world. Grcat applause.)