Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1896-09-10
WHY hay IS Low,
TARIFF REFORM EFFECT ON THE
CROP.
Dickinson County Farmers VIII Read
This With Interest for It Affects
Than All-The Reason Given.

llttle prOubcuUh III AiS "e"'"
Now, how In the world could tarin OIL
hav help the Kansas farmerf-lDicklnsoh
County News
Many farmers, as well as our unin-
formed contemporary wonder why the
price nj hay in this county is so low
Good hay is being delivered in Abilene
for $3.50 ton and in some parts OF
the county for 70. This is at least "
lower than it has ever been known
here and there is a reason for it. In
most years Kansas exports a great
deal Of hay, Dickinson county fur-
nishing its share. This has chiefly
gone to southern markets. One firm
Of southeast Kansas has shipped 6'ooo
to 5000 tons year to Memphis and
built up a business Of $4,000 a year.
all paid to farmers. For 10 years IL
has paid on the average for top quail
ty tame hay $3.50 to IS a ton on
board cars in Kansas, or So to $6'oo
for loose hay on wagons-with cor
responding prices, ranging from 81 to
$3.50, for prairie hay. The head OF
this company, Mr.. Alvin Allen OF
Girard, in a letter Of August 8, 1896,
saws that after two weeks Of cores
ponding he has this season secured
orders for only two carloads and his
shipments Of the best timothy this
season have netted him about 70,
when it should have brought IS or
more. He adds:
lit is not often that legislation so
quickly and so forcibly affects any
one line Of business; but the sole
cause Of the ruin Of our hay business
to the southern markets was brought
about by the suicidal tariff law Of two
years ago, known as the Wilson bill
Within 80 days from the date when 1t
became a law we felt its effect in our
hav business. Within 60 it had low
cred the price Of our hay about ~ per
ton. Meeting with such unexpected
changes and losses in business care
fully investigated the matter at the
time and found no trouble to secure
ample evidence to point out the cause
of our losses, which | found to be as
follows
"The tariff reduction on foreign
hav under the Wilson law is " pei
ton. This reduction at once opened
the markets of the eastern states tt
Canada timothy hay
81 have in my possession Montrea
and Quebec price currents and hay
papers of two years ago. lhesf
papers have many editorials in then
telling their shippers Of the situation
and ADVISING them to turn their snip
ments Of hay to the States In man.
places they had two years crops oil
hand stored waiting for this oppor
tunity. At that time their best grad
of timothy hay was quoted at 20 pc
ton on board of cars on the line OF tn
Canada Pacific Railway and 800 pc
ton on board of vessel in Montreal
harbor. We now had to compel
with these prices indirectly with ou
Kansas hay.
1.-The hay dealers Of that countr
at once took advantage Of the oppor
tunity offered. Their shipments c
hay that had formerly gone to Liver
pool and other foreign markets wer
now turned to New York, Buffalo
Boston, and other eastern markets
"This in turn quickly turned tn
shipments of hay from Indiana an
Ohio, that had formerly gone to cas-
ern points, to our southern markets
that had been supplied with thel
hay for years by the states Of Illinois
Missouri and Kansas. Then for th
first time in our many years OF e.
perience in the hay business Ohio ha
was quoted in competition with OF
Kansas hay. The first quotation Q
Ohio hay in Savannah, Georgia, ar
jacksonville, Florida, was 81 per to
lower than the prices we were the
receiving for our Kansas hay. Freigl
rates from Ohio being 500 per CT
lower than our rates from Kansa
the Ohio shippers were able to unde
sell US at all points. The result wi
easily foretold. We were soon force
out of the southern markets. At tn