The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1897-05-08
FARMERS AND THE TARIFF.


Whether the revised tariff bill that
will be enacted by the present congress
shall result in bringing prosperity TO
the farming classes is question that
just now is agitating the minds of
many firm advocates of the principle |
of protection. for they know that un-
less it does, the death knell of the re-
publican party will be sounded. Hence |
it is that at least some of the leaders |
of that party, are advocating changes |
in many of the schedules proposed by |
the Dingley bill as it passed the house |
and also as it came from the senate |
finance committee. The Western re-
publican senators are not satisfied
with the rates of the Dingley bill, es-
pecially on wool, says Barker's Ameri-
can. They ask that the minimum
duty on carpet woods be raised from 81
per cent ad valorem, equivalent to an
average of less than three cents a
pound, to minimum--of six Genes q
pound. They also ask that duty be
placed on hides. Truly do they as
sert, that the agriculturist is entitled
to more protection than he gets, and
much in need of protection of some
sort he is. And as tariff duties on
wheat and corn and his great crops
will be of no service to him, and as he
cannot get remurerative prices for
these products, the only thing that
tariff protection can do for him is to
encourage him to go into sheep raising.
So, it is argued, all the more reason
for building up higher duties on wool.
The necessity of doing something for
the farmer is emphasized by the recent
drop of wheat, fall from which even
with the help of the warlike European
dispatches, there has been but a partial
recovery. The worlds crops return
ing to something like normal, our
farmers have to look out for a return
of so cent wheat. And wheat cannot
be raised throughout the wheat grow
ing regions for so cents a bushel, for at
so cents q bushel the average acre OF
wheat will yield less than Sc. An acre
of land cannot be plowed and narrowed
and sown and the crop harvested and
threshed for Sc. When the farmer has
to sell his product at~such price, he
is selling at a dead loss. Yet, what is
he to do? Can he stop production?
Not unless he Is ready to abandon his
farm and pursue the avocation OF a
tramp. a tramp begging bread and
work. And can the farmer with
family do this? He cannot of course.
But we hear it said, why if raising
wheat is Improbable, does not the
farmer raise something else? Simply
because he can raise nothing that is
profitable. Corn last year brought the
farmer of Nebraska less than 10 cents
bushel or about SO an acre, that is, all
the corn that could be raised off of a
farm of 100 acres, taking farmer and
Two able bodied sons to cultivate was
$500, pitiable sum to be divided
among three able bodied men as the
remuneration of their years labor.
But now we are told the farmer is
going to be given an opportunity to
raise wool at profit. This is to be
done for him by protection. But how
many farmers can turn to raising wool
at profit, promising even that we
shut out every pound of foreign wool.
The importations of woods for the last
fiscal year amounted to 230, 1000, 900
pounds. Now, suppose this wool was
kept out and market made for this
amount of additional home made wool
at 10 cents pound. This would make
market for less than $35, ,OO0, 900 worth
of wool. But how far would this go
around among our 100000 farmers.
There would be an opening for each
one to raise 81 worth of wool. And is
this an opening that will bring pros
perity to our agricultural classes; would
this opening relieve the pressure of
competition in the cereal and cotton
fields? 1t would be but drop of re-
lief to our farmers who raise even at
present low prices $3.50, 600 worth
of corn, $3.50, 600, 900 worth of wheat,
and 5000, 900, 600 worth of cotton year.
Even this drop would be welcome, but
better prices for our cereal products
and cotton would not bring, for prices
for these products are fixed in England
where We dispose of our surplus pro-
ducts, and the cutting down of our ex-
ports to England would not curtail the
supply in England, and would not in
crease the price, for our competitors
have the ability and the inclination to
supply the whole market at present
prices. So these prices we must meet
and better prices for our great crops
we cannot get until we raise the prices
at which our competitors can sell.
And this we can only do by restoring
bimetalism, which is the only real
protection that can be given our
farmers and planters at this time.