Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-03-26
TARIFF AND THE FARMERS
Increased Cost of Raising Crops Un
der Trust and Monopoly Tar'a
Exactions.


The farmers, stockgrowers and cot
ton planters have had a prosperous
veal thanks to good crops and fair to
good prices. In the corn and wheat
belt there has been a boom" in lan1
and an immense amount of the prohts
of the farmers has been invested in
the land enough to pay interest IN
lators. The land sharks now have the
cash and the farmers must, in future,
pay the taxes and try to make out OF
the land enough to pay interest on
their investment. If the farmers are
not able 10 do this most of these lands
will again revert to the capitalists by
the foreclosure of mortgages given for
deferred payment or for loans thft it
will be necessary to make to pay IKE
and provide for improvements.
There has now been a series of good
crops and prices and it is only reason
able to expect that the pendulum will
swing in the opposite direction. and
that poor crops and a fall in prices may
occur. At all events the cost of raising
a bushel of wheat, Or corn, a bale OF
cotton and stock of all kinds will cost
more in the future than in the past.
All the necessaries that the farmers
have to buy have advanced in price far
beyond the average increase OF what
the farmer has to sell. The figures
given by the expert statisticians are
that the necessaries of life have risen
about 40 per cent. during the past five
years and are now at practically the
highest point ever recorded. Farm ma
chinery and tools of all kinds have adj
vanced and railroad freights are also
increasing. 1t is therefore certain that
the profits of farming after plying al
the expenses are liable to decrease and
the savings will not be as large as they
have been during the past two or three
years. We are 10Y on the crest OF the
"boom" in the price of farming lands
, and in view of the fact that these
periodical land booms are always fol
, lowed by depressions, it would be wis'
. for farmers to sell land instead of buy
' ing as they will probably BIZ able be
, fore long to replace it with ether lane
at a lower price.
Nearly everything that is manufac
. tured from raw material is produced
= by a trust or combine and a similar mo
{ nopoly controls the railroads, tn
, steamships, the express companies an
: every avenue of transportation. All o
these corporations are in some way
> directly or indirectly, fostered by tn
5 government, either in the form of
Il protective tariff, or a monopoly by tn
transportation companies. Compel
ton in every case has been pretty thol
Is oughly wiped out. The result is tina
groceries, dry goods, farm machinery
u building material, wagons and freigh
u charges have all advanced from ten
J fifty per cent. and many commoditle
e will probably be further advanced j
e price. The cost of living has so il
l. creased in the cities that the mechal
e les and laborers are receiving and al
L. demanding higher wages, and scores {
n important strikes are under way or al
ii threatened to enforce the deman'
n This increase of wages will again fore
y up the price of what the workmen pr
ID duce and the farmer has to pay h
I'd share of the bill.
lie The protective tariff isat the botto
~ of most of this advance in prices. If ii
s. tariff was reduced on many article
ct there would be a corresponding redu
ton in price, and if abolished altoget
d. err the reduction would be accordingl
y, Competition from England and &c
"a many would compel the trusts to me
Ill foreign prices here, as they now me
them abroad. There would be no &C
he responding reduction in farm produc
he for those countries do not raise a su
he plus, but have to buy, over and abo'
w what they cannot raise themselves,
the United States or some other cou
ry try that produces a surplus. The ia
of that many of the trusts are sendil
an their surplus manufactures to foreis
no countries and selling them there t
lis much less than here, is the best kind
* proof they are charging the people
let the United States more than a reaso
able profit. The protective tariff az
in as a subsidy and allows the trusts
on collect this extra profit of from 20
cir 100 per cent. from the American peoI
ell and the indications are that they a
getting tired of paying it.