The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-03-18
New York Farmers.

The report of the commissioner of labor
statistics tells doleful story ofthe farmers
of New York. The commissioner sums
up the farmers woes in the following
gloomy paragraphs
1.-The farming industry of our State is
in a most deplorable condition, with ex-
ceedingly poor prospect for recovery or
improvement in the near future. Sum-
med up the correspondence shows that as
a general rule, no interest has been re-
allied from the investment during the
years of 1894, 1895 and 1896; that where
there are no mortgages requiring interest
payments farmer was considered almost
miraculously fortunate if his income from
products could be made to pay the cost of
production, and where that degree of sue
cess was only attainable by stinted allow
ance for household expenses and by
starving the soil; and where the farmer
was hampered by mortgage Indebtedness
he ran behind and incurred the penalty
of foreclosure.
There is no better land in the United
United States for diversified farming than
that in New York. Nowhere is the climate
more equitable, the markets nearer to the
producer, means of shipment more
varied. New York city the natural mar
ket for the products of the State, has
grown enormously, as have the score of
smaller cities which the farmers feed.
Why is it that the condition of the farmer
should grow steadily worse? Why should
the increasing wealth of the non-produc-
ing cities be accompanied by the growing
restitution of the producers of all that is
necessary to sustain life?
The New York Commissioner does not
answer his last question. Perhaps he pre-
ferred that every farmer should seek the
answer for himself
Had Maryland an impartial and truth
full commissioner of agriculture his report
would not differ from the above. The
same report would answer for the farming
industry of every State. The direct an
swer is that the price of farm products is
too low to cover necessary expenses and
bring the farmer and his family out even.
If the farmer is in debt he finds it abso-
lutely impossible to get the load off his
shoulders unless the obligation is very
small.
The advance in the price of wheat,
caused by an almost famine scarcity of
that grain in every other quarter of the
globe, and an abundant crop in this
country, served to give farmers short
breathing spell in 1897 All reports from
the wheat growing countries i'll the other
parts of the world indicate full harvests
the present year, which irsures a return
to low prices of grain and all end to the
short breathing spell TO American farmers
which wheat famine in the old world
gave them last year. and which will con.
tinue till the last crop is disposed of and
consumed.
Farmers have been told, and proof of
the fact impressed upon them, that low
prices must prevail when there is a scar
city of money, as scarcity of wheat caused
a higher price for wheat. The cause OF
this contraction ofthe circulating medium
has also been explained to them, which
is the demonstration of silver, enabling
the gold monopoly to corner money,
make it scarce at their will and decrease
the price of property while the debts the
money class hold rise in proportion to the
fall in the value of property they must be
paid in. All farmers know that the value
of their farm property has decreased so to
rs per cent in the last twenty years, and
there never has been and never can
be any other sufficient cause given for this
NE Al
farmers property except the gold stan
dard and its contracting power upon
prices of all class of property and the in
creasing value of money and debt. This
tends to increase the wealth of the rich,
interest receiving and salaried class, and
as surely to decrease the wealth of the
laboring and producing class. In short to
make the rich richer and the poor poorer.