Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1902-09-25

So rudely and disastrously interrupted
under President Cleveland. but no one
could have imagined at the time that
| this pledge would have been carried out
upon a scale incredibly larger than the
| widest promise
The prosperity of the American peo,
| pie under the Republican administra-
| ton of the last six years, in the ra-
| pidity and unparalleled greatness oi
| our industrial, commercial and agri-
| cultural development. has surpassed the
| imagination of anyone and is un-
| equaled in the history of the world;
| and not cEiy does this prosperity exist
| but it is rapidly increasing. We have
| every assurance and reason to hope
| that if the political and governmental
| policies of the country are not dis
turbed our country will in a few years
! have attained an extraordinary growth
in wealth, population and power.
Only one thing can check this splen-
| did progress. and that is change in
these governmental policies under
| which we can point to these splendid
| achievements No party of our COM
munity has benefited more than have
| the agricultural classes. The farmer
| has in the last five years received a
| greater share Of prosperity than any
other representative of any other oc
cupation. The value of the wheat. corn
and oat crops in 1901 was nearly dOu-
BILE that of 1896, the last year Of the
Cleveland administration. This is a
startling statement but it is based up
on official figures. which cannot be dis
puted. The farmer in 1901 received
nearly double the amount of money
for these three crops that he did in
1896, the last year of the Cleveland
administration.
This increase of farm values under
Republican administration is not aCci-
dental 1t is a matter of history that
rural prosperity and Republican rule
are coincident 1t is equally n matter
Of history that agricultural depression
and mortgage foreclosures and low
prices for farm products accompany
Democratic administration Of national
affairs.
THE FARMER A PIONEER.
1.-The American farmer has been the
pioneer in establishing our Republic,
which, Notwithstanding all its defects,
is the best government the world has
ever known Wherever, courage, skill,
enterprise and labor have been re-
quired the farmer has been foremost
in the fray While other classes have
been persistently demanding legisla-
ton to promote their own interests, the
farmer has been foremost in directing
legislation, not only in the interests Of
agriculture, but for the promotion Of
the well-being of all our people.
For example, in the creation of the
Department of Agriculture, which has
become one Of the most important d.
visions of our national government,
provision has been made not only for
searching every country Of the world
for market for the farmers products,
but provision has also been made for
increasing the productiveness of
American soil by systematic expert
ment and by applying the principles
of science to agriculture, and so the
wealth, prosperity and happiness OF
all our people have been enhanced, for
whatever benefits the agriculture Of
any country must prove a benefit to
all her people.
"The farmers and the Grange in
Pennsylvania have been foremost in Sc
curing legislation for the promotion
and protection of the agricultural in
terests of our state, and, by the Gre
4tion Of the State Department Of Agri-
culture, patterned after the national
department, the farmer Is given repre-
Sentation in the governors cabinet, a
privilege that is not accorded to any
other class or industry in the common
wealth.
When the farmers and the Grange
demanded legislation creating this de-
partment the Republican party prompt
ly took the matter up. and in less than
six weeks enacted 1t into law.
"The organization of any new de-
partment of government is always at
tended with more or less difficulty.
Until some settled policy is reached,
methods which may not always prove
the best must be tried, and oft-times
the best friends Of measure may for
while suffer disappointment
IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE.
There is no interest Of greater i'm.
portance to our country tnan that Of
agriculture. 1t is the fundamental
business of our country; the leading
commercial interest and the most i'm
portant home industry. And not only
are the people of the United States in
terested in American agriculture, but
the whole world, because America is
the granary of the world. Three
fourth of our entire exports are agri-
cultural products. Thirty-seven mil
lions of people of our country are en-
gagged in agriculture. Yet, notwith-
standing all the Importance of agri-
culture to the prosperity of our insti-
tutions and our government, little pro-
lection is afforded to the farmer as
compared with other classes. This is
not so much owing to disposition on
the part of other classes or our legis-
!ative councils to discriminate against
the farmer as 1t is the result of the
growth and development of the re-
sources of our country In transporta-
tion and transmission companies. min
ing, manufacturing, banking and
merchandising.
THE farmers have been the pioneers
Of every country in the world. Before
governments, cities and towns could
exist the lands had to be denuded of
their forests and brought under culti-
Vation to make the development of