St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1900-06-23
PROSPERITY OF FARMERS.
All over the Cost Of Necessnries Goes
Into the Expanding
Tax Mill.

There is not a single occupation,
business or profession to which is not
attached by the republican organs the
label Prosperity" Every individual 'ltli
man knows better than the statistl.
clans whether he is ssplosperous or not,
ansa, it is useless TO expect an aggregii-s d
ton of individuals to loudly express
thanks for prosperity when they DO ]
not come up. I'd the label. The notion
has been going about thatthe farmers
are afflicted with astounding prosper
ity," simply because prices Of farm
produce haze, in the last Two or three
years, partly recovered from the low
level they reached in some previous
years. Now the farmer ought to know,
aadHtIle records of naoltg ga gesin the va
eiussc3unty clerks siand recorders, Of
demonstrates the fact, that adj these
increased receiptssif an nybodycan show
a bank account demonstrating any in
crease, are more than absorbed by the
Increased price he must pay for every.
thing for which the farmer exchanges
his produce. He must pay tribute to
the trust, and no better illustration Of
the truth OF this can be made than in
the case of the American Steel COM
| pany. Six, thousand men We're thrown
out OF employment because of the lack
of demand for supplements which the
farmers could not purchase because
| of their high price. If there was SO
uaach prosperity, why could not the
| farmer afford to purchase the neces-
sary i4nplementsss The fart Is that q
heavy impost is laid upon nearlytevery-
thing the farmer needs IN his house
| aaold and in his business, while the
4 prices of his. own products are the
mercy of spectators, combines, cor
ne1s, etc, The farmer has to meet
the worlds pffee in disposSng of his
4 product, brlt he encounters q different
i State of tsaings when he comes to pur
4 chase for himself. The range of price
xset up By the spectators is artificial
land what they gain in the speculative
/ market they pocket what they lost
they Tnereilesssly force the farmer Is
pay by an Increase of prices in manu-
4 facturcs This seeming. prosperity
1 will be- discovered the more You lool
behind it ets3 be a myth, and although
the rnisforfnnes of the resta9f theearti
have esua;bted the farmer to dispose o
more of his products than formerly
still there ART combfnafions to b
broktsn dawn, trusts to pe abolished
and ahe fsraneial system eliminated be
/ fore, the farmer eun really say tha
a period of prosperity has been E1augu
rated.
Hsyw much of the eTDr nous ssoalane
OF trade in tGvr favor has reached tn
farmer9 Has ne. keen enabled tp.reduc
his mortgages iiy pa yarss1t ofifale prir
efpal, 'ezr evea 10 pay The interest i
,ff1lE without securing an extension G
atf7ne2 Are his wife saTal children BET
dressed, is his farm IN a more fou1
ishiing ngtaund diffuKE. has he purchased an
5,lezy5 car pets, .curF aims, Furniture for hi
fs7htutseh4Id? Is he enabled to emplo
more help to srefieye h1s aching bone
and flIasse of his Evifc,gnd children fror
fsfte:ardRous lai5ur theg continually III
sHEr go teo save fAaeir Efnoanes from til
nra.v of the nIHFt gagees
IA ..t1s,W not and the proof of 1T j
That ibe4ond fise mere means of exist
serresa, whatever he nj kes on earns mus
go into the ever expanding tax mil
M,lEs5h is grinding him into ~povert,
when he is not sgetyi ing INTO the trust