Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-04-23
Farmers and the Trusts.

| Frank G. Carpenter, the veteran cor
respondent, recently called upon Secre-
tary Wilson and procured an interview
which is being given wide publicity in
| the newspapers of the country. Secre-
tary Wilson refused to indulge in gilt
| tering generalities, but gave the inter-
viewer such concise, pregnant SEN
tences as have seldom been excelled in
pressive, for instance, than his remark,
comparing the great trusts of the coun-
try with the American farmers and
their vast annual exports, when he
said, concerning the farmers trade:
The steel trust, the p-building trust
and all other trusts are peanut stands
in comparison with it, The breezy,
slangy western language disposes of
comparisons as effectively as though
Wilson still has the knack of stripping
his sentences for action, as kiplinS
says.
The statement that the exports oil
the American farmer for a decade aS-
gregate more than $1,000, 100000 con-
veys little intelligence to the average
man. who is better acquainted with
hundreds and thousands than with
millions and billions. But when Secre-
tary Wilson announces that every time
the clock ticks s33 worth of American
grown farm products leave this couh-
try for foreign lands, the idea OF tne
magnitude of our export business Is
conveyed to every mind. While the
idea is formulating itself hundred
dollars worth of farm product exports
have left our shores and by the time
the idea is turned over thoughtfuily
more than a thousand dollars worth
have departed and the country is that
much richer. That is Secretary Will
sons shrcwd Scotch-Wcstern way OF
conveying information. Mr.. Carpenter
quotes the secretary as saying:
Have you any idea Of the money
Uncle Sans farmer capitalists bring
into this country every year! The steer
trust, the shipbuilding trust and all
the other trusts are peanut stands IN
comparison with it. l don't mean
what cur farmers sell at home. but
what they sell abroad. The amount is
so enormous you cannot comprehend
it, In the decade ending 1900 it was
more than 81 900 000. 900, or on the
average more than 100000 .0C0 Year.
In 1901 our farm exports amounted to
more than S300.0O0,000, or almost
81. coo 600 for every working day of the
year. That means s125,OOO an hour.
s.. 900 minute and sS3 per second.
Every time the watch licked in every
one of the working days throughout
that working year $50 worth of our
goods were dropped into the lap of
Europe and three so gold pieces start
cd on their way back to the United
States. That was in 1901. Last year
our exports were almost as large. and
so it is going on year after year. You
may talk about your great combina-
ticns of capital. your gigantic monop-
olies and enormous trusts. but, after
all. Uncle Sans most profitable asset
is the American farmer"
The secretaryS interview fairly
bristlcs with such facts, comparisons
and terse statements. He has the
agricultural figures of the country at
his tongues end. 1t required but a
few minutes time for him to point to
the immense resources Of this country.
and to suggest that in comparison the
trusts which are worrying the nation
and making the vital problem of the
day are only peanut stands"