Owingsville outlook., 1896-08-20


The pinch, and here he is most cas-
lily deceived by the specious falla-
cies of free silver.
The politicians tell you that the
low price of grain is due to the
scarcity Of money; that an increas se
in the volume of circulation will
restore high prices and that will
bring prosperity. This folly has
been repeated time and again in
the history of modern times; al
ways with the same results; a
frenzy to get more money! larger
circulation-a frenzy of specula-
ton; a crash and general ruin.
Let us look closely into this
question and see if there is an cX-
planatlon for low prices clearly
open TO the actual vision and cN-
perience of every farmer and Who'll
ly disconnected with the plenty or
scarcity of money?
Again | revert TO my own expe-
rience and appeal to the personal
observation of every farmer who can
remember some forty years back.
Forty or forty-fivc years ago farm
ing processes Were practically what
they had been for 2O years. Corn
was planted by dropping from the
hand four or five grains in hill and
covering it with hoe; potatoes were
planted the same way; wheat was
sOwn from bag carried about the
neck and thrown broadcast over the
ground. Harvesting of wheat and
other small grain was perhaps the
crudest process of all. 1t was cut
with II sickle, which was nothing but
the ordinary grass hook with saw
teeth, a handful of wheat being cut
at a stroke of the sickle. While one
man cut, another followed him to
bind the wheat, and the reapers were
followed by men who shocked il !;
then it had to be hauled and stacked
until such time as other work would
enable it to be threshed. The thresh-
ing process was this: The wheat was
hauled to a yard, circular path
about thirty or forty feet wide was
marked out; on this was thrown the
bundles of wheat and there it was
trodden out by horses ridden by boys
or men; and what fun it was to the
boys who dreamed not of the expense
to the farmer. AS trodden out the
straw was removed with pitchfOrks,
"A large portion of the wheat going
along with the staw. The grain and
chatf were hauled in wheelbarrows
to the fan, and there the wheat was
separated from the chaff through a
fan worked by the hand of single
man.
The farmer of that day received a
high price for his wheat; il he had
not done so he would have starved I;
il was worth a high price because of
the time and labor that were bestOw-
ed upon ii. But the profit of the farm
er at last was small-far less, / appre-
hend, than the profit derived today
by every intelligent farmer for the
same work. My father who owned
1000 acres of Beargrass land, who
was known to be one of best farmers
i'm the county, was enabled, with
strict economy, to raise his family in
reasonable comfort and educate them
fairly; and with the single exception
of the Ohio river farm, which he pur-
to his descendants exactly what he
had received from his own father.
Today that farm is cultivated by
five tenants. Five families are sup
ported upon it in comfort, and their
incomes combined will largely ex-
ceed what its former owner could
make on it.
1t is simple mistake to suppose
that the high prices of that period
meant a profit 10 the farmers at all
commensurate with what the same
prices would mean today. The whole
process Of farming changed, the corn
drill, the potato drill and planter, the
wheat drill have practically superse-
ded the work which was formerly
done by hand. The sickle was fol-
lowed by the cradle and the wheat
fan was followed by a stationary
thresher worked by horse power. To-
day the wheat machine cuts, binds
and piles the wheat ready for shock
ing. Stacking is a thing of the past /;
the movable steam thresher has BAN
ished the stationary horse power
thresher, as well as the old treading-
out process, and the use of either of
these methods, which were consid-
cred ample within the present gener-
alton, would now excite a smile.
A 100 acre field of wheat which for
merly required twenty-five or thirty
men to cut is now done and better
done by four or five men in less time.
The result is plain and undeniable
and it is known to every farmer of
experience. The production of wheat,
corn, potatoes and all farm products
have Increased enormously in pro-
portion to the number of men and la
borers engaged in agriculture. Pro-
duction has increased beyond the de-
mand.
In addition to this fact, the world
recognizes that the value of farm
products, as of all other products, de
pends upon the cost of production.
If wheat costs so cents "a bushel to
raise, the world is willing to allow
and pay GO cents, 70 cents, or a dollar
as profit of the farmer. If it costs
10 cents a bushel to raise, the
world will not pay price of
more than 30, 40 or 80 cents. These
are facts which you and / know to be
true. They are the true factors and
the main causes of the decline of the
price i'm farm products. The silver
orators may denOunce the "crime of
lS73," they may declaim with vehe-
mence against t"Wall street" and the
"goldbugs;" they may appeal, seek to
arouse the South and West against
the East; but they cannot erase or
hide the plain, simple fact that our
lands have deprecated in value and
the prices of farm products in Ken
lucky have been depressed because
because of the fierce competition
which we encounter from the West
and Northwest and of the inventive
processes which Kentucky farmers
and farmers throughout the world
have adopted for the purpose and
with the effect of reducing the cost
of production.
1t may, however, be suggested that
there must be defect in the argu-
ment because the West is suffering
as well as the South. This is doubt
less true, but to a much smaller ex-
tent than prevails i'm the South. 1t
arises from two main causes.
ID The agricultural production of
the West has been developed and in
creased with a rapidity too great for
the demands of the world.
CD The West and South alike
have encountered an unexpected but
tremendous competition from Aus
tralia, South America, India and
even Russia. Russian jute has en-