The Saint Paul globe., 1900-02-07
sumers? Geography answers the ques.
ton. China Is

sumers? Geography answers the ques-
ton. China Is
OUR NATURAL CUSTOMER.
She is nearer to US than to England,
Germany or Russia, the commercial pow
ers of the present and the future. They
nave moved nearer to China by Secur-
ing permanent bases on her borders. The
PhinpplneS give US base at the door of
all the East. Lines of navigation from
our ports to the Orient and Australia:
from the lsthmian canal to Asia; from all
Oriental ports to Australia, converge at
and separate from the Philippines. They
are self-supporting, dividend-paying
fleet. permanently anchored al spot Sc
lected na,t,s by the strategy of Providence.
In conclusion, | sincerely hope that be-
fore your association adjourns you will
pass q set of resolutions in no unmistak-
present congress. Remember, politicians
dread your votes.
l have read with a great deal of in
5ames he & aresdn s1er of s r ey
Northern railroad. for distribution among
congressman. Time will not permit me
to read 1t here. have no hesitation in
pronouncing II one of the clearest expo
sitions Of the fraud attempted, in the
so-called Hanna-Payne bill, and an able
and gallant defense of the producing
classes Of this continent. 1t certainly is
the production of wonderful brain and
of man who has the interests OF our
country at heart. 1 believe he Is the first
and only great man at the head of a
displayed a willingness to use his great
brain power and his capital to seek GUS
toners for our produce we never had in
she orient fo Goanry And as one one who
who duly appreciates the efforts Of a
great man of any calling, my most ar
dent desire is that when Mr.. Hill will be
no more and has retired to his celestial
home Ia nf
classes of this continent will erect a
monument to his memory in st. Paul, as
maEs of their appreciation for his ef-
forts in the interests Of humanity.
FREE MAIL DELIVERY.
Another important matter I desire to
call your attention to is the free mail de-
livery In agricultural districts. The farm
ers, in the days Of our fathers, were
considered by the professionals as some
thing like his steers and sheep. as some
thing. to be devoured, and the indigna-
ton is great if he resists. The farmer
Of today Is really a merchant, and he
with the markets of the world. This can
be done by receiving the newspapers
which give the market quotations and as
sist the farmer in disposing Of his prod
entitled to free mail delivery than his
brother in the city, because it means so
much more for him to drive eight or ten
miles to the postof1ce. The city man
delivery system should be abolished.
much easier and with less expenditure
than the man in the country.
This Is q high tribute to the advanced
position Of the farmer of today, but 1t Is
none too much so. The solidity and pros
perity Of the country begins and ends
with the farmer. He is the grand sup
Something like $500, 100000 are paid out
each year to support the government.
Directly the farmer gets the least Of any
free mail is a great assistance to him,
bringing his letters and newspapers to
his door every day. Whereas he was once
an isolated creature. he Is brought into
government and everything else.
Enlightenment Is the key stone in the
national arch. The farmer, as mer,
chant. will not by any means be out OF
place.
POWER OF FARMERS.
What can farmers do as a class for
their own improvement? The greatest
good can be secured by organization and
cooperation. There Is no such propor-
ton of the population engaged in single
calling as there is in this. BY organiza-
ton, local and general, the farmers
should put in the state and national leg
interests. And in doing this they would
advance in the interests of the people.
By organization and cooperation farm
ers could regulate local taxation, i'm
rural mail delivery, buy lower and sell
higher, improve their business methods;
and by discussing among themselves i'm
prove their ability to take part In pub
lay hold of the market end Of their buSi-
ness, study its demands and cater to
them in order to obtain larger profits.
To do this it would not be necessary to
enhance the price to the consumer so
much, but to get the product to him,
without passing through so many hands.
and in a better condition. Consumers
interests call for their cooperation In this
matter. He is the producer OF every dol
lar Of the worlds ordinary wealth that
Is not dug from the mine or is of spon-
the world. while the non-producer alb
serbs his earnings and speculates on
and grows rich out Of his labor. Let him
cease his toll for for a single year fnn ana
tory close its door, and gaunt famine.
stalking the earth, will lay it's whitening
touch upon the heads Of millions. Strong
men will yield to hunger; helpless wom-
en-, stricken with starvation, will fall by
the wayside, and famishing babes, tug
ging at withered and empty breasts, will
sink into dreamleSS sleep.
He feeds the world and clothes the
world. He constitutes about one-half
the worlds population, and yet he Is the
plaything of politicians. and the prey of
greedy Shylocks, the slave of every pass
ing ism. who has not yet shown the
courage or the Judgment to embrace the
opportunity for self-emancipation that IS,
and has all along, at least In the United
States been within his easy grasp. He
seems satisfied to be the newer of wood
and drawer of water-the bearer OF the
worlds burdens for those who neither
toll nor spin.
Producing more than half OF all the
worlds wealth and making possible the
production of the balance. does 1t not
seem to fair-minded mind that he
should be the owner Of at least one-half
of that which he produces? And yet In
the United States. under a republican
form of government, where his condition
should be best and his opportunities
greatest, he is the real owner of less
than per cent of the country's wealth.
SOME FARM STATISTICS.
There Is a business cause for the farm
er's lack of prosperity that is deserving
of more of his attention and careful
scrutiny than all of the political bug
bears that have ever been invented to
frighten him into the support of the dif-
ferent political parties and blind him to
his true condition. 1t is my purpose to
call your attention, to one phase OF this
cause of his business depression.
In 1880 the total value of all the farmS
of the United States was estimated ma eoi ,G by
the census of that year to be 6,232, lSe,lSO
and the total value of the farm products
by the same census was estimated to be
81. AGO, ,1O7, ,454. If the farmer had been 1ree
from debt and been the owner OF the SOIL
he cultivated that year his total wealth
would have been $S.692, ,293. .6A. The total
wealth of the whole country, including
railroads, telegraphss. factories, mines;
every other species of wealth, was $780,
037 091 1gi, of which amount 1t can read
iIy he seen the farmer would have owned