Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-04-07
TRUSTS AND THE FARMERS
High Tariff Prices for Necessaries and
Little Protection on Farm
Products.

Some republicans in Minnesota and
other states bordering on Canada are
very anxious for reciprocity with Can
ada, but the American Economist de-
nounces this reciprocity as "a means
of adding to the profits OF the millers,
the jobbers and the railroads" and a
selfish, senseless scheme of cheapen-
ing the domestic market for farm
products. The Economist also claims
1T would break down the price of
wheat at Minneapolis, and for precise
ly that effect and for that reason the
Minneapolis milling corporations and
the Twin City daily newspapers are
urging reciprocity with all their might
and main" AS every farmer knows,
this rude reasoning is based on the
~supposition that the price of wheat is
fixed in Minneapolis according to the
amount of wheat received there. But
the facts are that the price of wheat is
controlled by the combined crops OF
the world and the demand for the sur
plus, after our own and other home
markets are supplied. Those u
tries like England which do not raise
enough wheat to supply their own peo-
pie buy what they need from the
United States, India, Argentine, Rus
STA, or any other country that has a
surplus to sell. The demand for that
surplus fixes the price of wheat all
over the world, and the Canadian
wheat has but a slight influence to
raise or lower it. If The Canadian
wheat does not come through Mime
apolis, where most of it would be
ground into -four in American mills
it would be shipped to eastern Canada
and either made into flour there Of
shipped direct to England. In any
event, the most of it reaches England
and completes in regulating the price
that is paid the world over.
The American farmer las been bad.
ly treated by the protcctionists. He
has to pay high tariff prices for all he
buys and has but little protection on
what he raises. The Economist knows
this and must bolster up it's protection
fallacies by its pretended anxiety for
the American farmer. The Protective
Tariff League, which supplies the mon
ey to publish the Economist, is COM
posed of eastern manufacturers, most
Of whom are now organized into trusts
and combines which are bleeding the
farmer at every pore, and their anxi-
, ETY. expressed through their organ, tbs
Economist, for the protection of thd
farmer is like the love of the lion for
the lamb-to make a good meal of.
This contention amongst the repub.
lican protectionists on the virtue of reel.
procity, which, by the way, was ia.
vored by Blaine and urged by McKin-
ley, and was part of the political creed
of President Roosevelt until the stand
patters' forced him to yield to their
do nothing policy is favored by
many republicans, who see that protec-
ton cannot long exist Unless some OF
it's barriers to trade are lowered. The
democrats may accept reciprocity as a
s means to break down protection, but II
e is not the democratic way of curing
e the evil of monopoly. When the
farmers are relieved from trust xac-
lions by the tariff being reformed SC
g that the trusts can no longer charge
r them much higher prices here than the
S same trust productions are sold fol
q abroad, the wheat problem will be set
t tied at the same time. All the farmer
r wants is to be allowed to buy in thC
q cheapest market and sell in the besI
market the world affords. The farme.
e with the trusts removed from his back
which are now riding him to his undo
ing, will then have equal rights with
$ the ~monopolists who are now enjoying
SneCial privileges at his CXnenSe.