The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1904-09-24
FARMERS AND PROTECTION.
Unlike the Trusts, the Farmers Cas-
rot Raise Prices.

The Society of Equity, the he22~
quarters OF which are III Indianapolis
Is advising tie farmers 10 hold LAeiy-
wheat Tor $l.2U buShel.
Last year the same association eSE
farmers recommended their brotheE
farmers TO sci! for lot less than 81 =
buShei. and quite Il number held cZ.z
for thar price and got il. There Il,
10 reason why the farmers should sSSs
combine and demand 81 buShel Eeg.
wheat and 81 DuShei Tor corn IL l$s~
true there is Il law upon the heI[
eral StaJuIe books known Us the anti
truss law, which makes il 4 crinl13Ea
odenSe 10 combine III restraint OF trade
that IS, combine TO raise prices Thai
is Just what the beef trust, the Co2l
trust, the Standard Oil trust and tl1s.r
steel trust have been doing. Dut tbsA-
law has uot been enforced aSaiNS41
these combinations, unless the inluns>-
tioI against the packers comei1a=
might be called enforcing the law
BuI the beef packers are still runnlIH.:-
their combination II spite of the artlur-
ous efforts OF President Roosevelt aniS,-
his Attorney General to convict them.
so the farmers need have no fear tSStsS
Will be mOleSted.
This is the age of trusts, and tsns@
farmers can hardly be blamed for CON-
spring 70 raise prices on their p-GS&-
ucgS, as they see being done all arosisSz
them. But the trusts that plunder ths4@
farmers Dy ruHUlunS 10 raise the p-ll-s-
of trust products are protected i'll doiis1zs-
SO. the tariff preventing cOmpeuttceta
unless the trusts TalSe their prices bs=-
yond fifty 10 lUO per cent. which Iaaa=
law allows them TO charge. II they g-sN>
beyond that, foreign products would hf-
imported and force The price dowz1-
again With the farmers il is dinec-
ent; the tariff Oh wheat and otheE~
farm products does not protect theeEa
So that they can raise prices, unis-Sas7
there should be such a shortage OF any,
farm product-wheat, Tor instance
that there would not be enough raised
Ill the United States TO supply sks>
home demand Tile trouble with tEs-
farmers is thar they always have IL
surplus that must be sold abroad, aa1SA-
have TO take the price fixed iii tsss=,
markets of the world. Therefore. Esr
farm products are imported into tEsf=
Uaited States unless there is Il faiiuzs-
OF some particular crop, like the failarz-
OF the potato crop IL parts OF te1-
United States i'll 1892. Even that e1-
1raordnary shortage of potatoes ai@d-
not help the farmer, for those in isae
East did not have many or any potSa-
toes 10 sell and the freight rates Gl1S
those grown III the West were tGSEs
high to permit them 10 be carried aa
Il profit to the Eastern cities. TEas>
tariff OF twenty-five cents i bushes 3zEs
potatoes did not prevent the impoFse-
Z; Inn, Of y-l,lr W,Ar nppipG from fnrgN.r-
countries and resulted i'll increasing tkzs-
price that much TO the people i'll tsa.-
cities without protecting the farmers
The high protective tariff allows tEaf>-
trusts 10 piunder the farmers as weEGs
as other consumers, but does not ESy7~-
tect The farmers III getting beftes--
price for what they produce. F5aa-
farmer that votes 10 continue the StGe--
publican program OF the protective
tariff IS only rObbng himself with23E7E-
any corresponding benefit.