The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1904-01-22
ANNUAL PARLIAMENT OF NORTHWEST FARMERS
A Notable Address by j. j. Hill, i'm which He Out
lines the Importance of Finding New liar
kets for the Products of the Northwest.

Do we ldHu IL ulHlZed lor SHidH idlliis
70. That ali INDICATED state land
grants and INDICATED land scrip shall be
located within a reasonable time or else
surrendered at a fair valuation to the
n~rtional government. No more script of
any kind shall ever be issued.
&c. That every state shall enact laws
that beneficial use is the basis. the
measure and the limit of all right to wat
er. including riparian rights. and that the
right to the use of land for irrigation
shall inhere to the land irrigated.
~. That it should be the law that all
unused and unappropriated waters shall
first belong to tine state where they orig
mate, without regard TO state lines. that
is, the rain falling from the heavens on
the land Of a state, belongs first to that
state.
IS. That the national government
shan preserve its existing forests, plant
new, forests. build safeguards against
foodwaters that now run to waste.
SO: That the states shall enact home
stead laws giving the state lands only
TO actual settlers and that no lease of
state land shall be made
Making New Markets.
Mr.. Hill said that a year ago last VIM
ter, he went to the state of Washington
to attend a meeting of farmers. They
were getting less than soc a bushel for
their wheat. The railroad gave them a
reduction of ten per cent on the freight
rate, but what he tried to impress upon
them was that they needed new mar
ketS. 1nGre were not enough people to
eat wheat in the markets they We're sell
ing in TO consume all they had to sell.
We'll. now. our efforts to find a new
market have been Successful-more sue
cessful than ] had hoped for.
Last February and March the mills In
Minneapolis began. in a small way, to
to Japan. 1t seemed a long way to send
flour TO market-from Minneapolis by
way of the Pacific coast to Australia
but by taking advantage of all the con-
0ltl0nS entering info the nlpSfinn NJ
transportation, loading our cars in both
directions with full loads, We were able
kong of 30 cents a hundred-4O cents a
hundred for 5000 mileS-SS a ton. 1t is
a mill a ton a mile-the owest transport
tation that ever was thought of on the
tation from here to New York q, 800
miles, is 25 cents a hundred, So a ton.
1t is 1000 miles of rail transportation
from here to the Pacific coast, and then
5000 miles of water.
Il have been charged with everything
from being IAN Oriental dreamer to a
times to plead guilty to any intelligent
effort within my power that will result
In getting new markets for what we
produce in this northwestern country;
because every bushel that you take out
of the market here, every bushel YOU
send to a new market, every bale of cot
thing that you send to a new market,
helps what is left, the surplus saved is
so much less, and it is not here to COM
pete with our own shipments to Liver
at is just as much advantage to the
man raising wheat in Ohio that the farm
er in Washington shall send his wheat
to the Orient, or the farmer in Minnesota
shall send his wheat to the Orient, as
that the man in Ohio shall send it, be-
cause that much wheat is taken out of
We'll. now. our efforts in that direc-
ton have been own with remarkable
rtnnno 7 1sDl- 4 IL,
figures that will be of interest to you on
that subject"
He quoted in detail the ports in Aus
tralia and the Orient where shipments of
wheat and -four had been made, showing
that for the fiscal year. ending June
30th, ABS, 1872 bushels of wheat and l.
565, 4SS barrels of flour had been shipped.
"That business has only begun, and yet
the largest orders for flour that nave ever
come to Minneapolis from any quarter
have come from the Orient, So great is
this demand that today. it is making it
self felt in the price of every bushel of
wheat that is sold in this market. The
told me, within a few weeks, that the
lowest stimat that he could make of
the enhanced price of grain. owing to
cents: and he thought that actual figures
would show it to be Z cents a bushe1.
Now, if 1t is 5 cents a bushel on $780,
900, 600 bushels raised in our three north
western states, it amounts to $1,000, 600.
II is worth saving, it is worth making an
effort to bring it about, and we have in
every way in our power tried to make it
POSSIBLE to carry that into effect.
Efforts obstructed by Legislation.
Now. what help do we get? When We
make n rate that is the lowest rate tina
ever was made for transportation in the
world. we have to defend ourselves from
tie state: and from the nation be cause
and applause,) Absolutely defending our
selves from restraining trade" 1t is
said that If We had the power, the power
must be used to restrain trade. They for
get that in order to compete with. the
merchant marine of every nation flying a
commercial flag on the high seas We must
extent we have carried it. Who else
has carried it? WIG else have raised
greater contains the less. The power
to expand a trade and build it up and
make 1t great and make 1T possible to
ship a barrel of -four from here to Hong
kong at 80 cents more than it costs to
send it from here to New York-that
takes some power. The power to expand
trade makes us criminals, and we are de-
Tending lawsuits today because We are
charged with the power to restrain trade;
and because If you have the power to
power somewhere. no matter how you
exercise it. you are a public criminal
against the law of your country. (Laugh-
Now, the time is coming when it won't
be my funeral-it will be yours. Mr..
Chamberlain, a year ago. took a leaf out
of our political economy and started out
a political campaign in Great Britain in
favor of a preferential tariff, in favor of
a tariff under which Great Britain would
admit the agricultural products of her
colonies free, and the colonies in return
would give her free access to their mar
kets, and tax everybody else; Great Brit
ain, on the other hand, agreeing to put a
tariff or a tax on the imports of every
other nation.
"The agricultural industries of this
country are Last year the
by the agricultural department of the
general government, gave three thousand
million dollars as the value of the pro-
ducts of the farms of this country. Great
Britain and her colonies buy from US
above 20 per cent of all our exports.
hushel on our wheat. Remember that the
surplus wheat we export fixes the price
on the entire crop-that which We sell
among ourselves and that which We sell
to go abroad. The surplus grain always
fixes the market price. If your wheat is
taxed 10 cents a bushel, on 180,O 600, 900
bushels in your three northwestern states
have got to pay. These conditions are
not far from you. Every day you see in
the newspapers that Mr.. Chamberlain is
winning his way. He has, made more
progress in the first year than he eX-
pected TO In the first three years when
he took It up a year ago. and 1t is only
a question of time when you have got
to pay this tax if you send your wheat
to Great Britain.
What will you do? What other mar
ket have you got? You may rely on us;
you may say: We are depending on you