Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1903-10-02
THE PLETHORA OF APPLES.

THE PLETHORA OF APPLES.
To the Editor Of The Alexandria Gazette.
In an editorial Of Saturdays issue of
the Gazette you advert to the fact that
thousands upon thousands of bushels of
apples" were lying upon the ground
rotting, in the valley counties, and you
wondered why the farmers of that section
did not take care of them by making
them into cider to be converted into
vinegar. Now, it naturally follows that
no person is better fitted to judge of the
actuality and possibilities of an industry
or business than one engaged in it, one
who has been brought up to, and who
has followed it practically and studied it
all his life. He can understand better
from his standpoint what can and what
cannot be accomplished in his line OF
trade and traffic than any one outside
of it, for he is well acquainted with all
the conditions upon which his particular
branch of industry depends. So, Mr..
Editor, with all due respect, allow me
to say, that while newspaper man may
be entirely au fait in all that relates to
thr printing of his journal, it is not ex-
pected that he can judge of farming
affairs as well as farmer.
You quote the statement that these
apples in the valley can he made into
cider for eight cents gallon. This
statement may look very plausible on
paper, and might be entirely practicable
if labor was cheaper and plentier than
it now is. The making of cider involves
a great deal of hard wOrk-the gather
ing of the apples, the grinding of them,
the barleling Of the juice, the transport
alton and so on. After the cider is
made and converted into vinegar, ten
cents a gallon would be all the maker
could realize for his hard labor, while
the retailer in town and city would get
thirty or forty cents.
DO you know, Mr.. Editor. that nearly
one half of the arabic land in Virginia
and West Virginia has been lying idle
during this season because there have
been no hands to cultivate it; and for
the same reason a great many OF the
farmers in their limited operations on
account of the wage trouble have been
spending two dollars to get one, which
you must know is not very paying
business.
During the last few years there has
been a great focking of the floating
population of the rural districts to the
cities. Farmers sons have gone there
to become lawyers, doctors, parsons,
trafiickers and what not of which there
is lamentable surplus, with the
expectation of living easier than
by following the pillow and the
hoe; and government places have
been multiplied far beyond their
actual necessities; and the pay OF
all officials has been unwarrantedly in
creased. On all government works OF
every description which have been null
tiplied in every direction, the pay of en-
ployees OF every grade has also been
largely advanced, so that, the allure
nlents to feed at the public crib are ire
sistable to such country folk as would
like to try what they consider the easier
life in town. All these temptations
leave the farmer witht ut sufficient help
to carry on his industry. He cannot
pay the wages the government pays and
handle apples and make them into cider
and vinegar, and sell the products at old
time prices, which every body wants
them for. II he could sell all his farm
produce at rates which kept pace with
the great increase in wages, there might
be some show for him to make cider,
corn, wheat, beef and pork and so on.
But the wages he is compelled to pay
have been doubled and trebled within a
few years and the working hours
have been cut much shorter than
formerly, while the prices he gets for
his commodities are no higher than
they were twenty years ago, some OF
them not so high. If it be alleged by
the consumers as is often heard by the
writer's that they have to pay more in
the markets for every thing they buy for
their tables, we can relieve them from a
false impression by telling them that The
producers, the ones who hit the hard |
knocks through summers heats and
winters colds do not get that increase.
That is the share of the five millions of
middle men whom the farmer has to
carry on his back, and who have had no
part in the labor of production. The
farmer, as soon as his wheat is threshe d
out, is compelled to sell it at about
seventy-hve cents bushel, for he must
have the money to support his family,
but as soon as the spectators have
bought it all from his hands, the price
is raised by the cornerers to a dollar; so,
YOU see, the farmer is Disseminated
against by every body and at every time.
And our legislatures and national Con-
gress filed by lawyers and tricksters and
tools of the trusts are continually
making euactments which are oppres-
sivo to him. When the government
allows ten million pounds of bogus but
ter to be put on the market monthly,
and nearly as many pounds OF niied
cheese, both articles made up largely
of tallow from questionable sources, Is 1t
not discriminating very unjustly against
the farmers pure products, as well as
wronging and cheating the consumer
Adulteration of articles of food is going
on all over the land in the factories of
great capitalists to an alarming extent,
and practically under the sanction of
law, and to the great increase Of human
ailments.