Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-11-09
THE FARMERS wealth
Trust High Prices Squeeze
Them of Millions.
PLUNDERED BY CORPORATIONS

PLUNDERED BY CORPORATIONS
More Than 100000 Tillers of the Soil,
According to the Census, Make Less
Than 500 IL Observation-Disclosures
Must Divide With Tariff Fostcred
MOnOpolies.
"The American farmer is the real
Monte Cristo. The world is his" says
the Washington Post after stating that
the value of the direct earth products
$5,O0O,O0O,0 600. Without stopping to dis
pute these enormous figures, the pro-
duction of the statistical bureau of the
agricultural department, which is I'M
what under Il cloud since the scandals
therein, yet the Post and other opti-
mistic souls must remember there
, We're, according to the census reports,
5,737,372 farmers in the United States
in 1889, and there may be more now to
divide this sum between. That only
gives on the average each farmer less
than 1912, and from that he has to pay
his hired help, new machinery or re-
pairs to old, his grocery bills, his cloth
ing, taxes, insurance, perhaps interest
on a mortgage, doctor bills and nan
other minor expenses that will cost a
good many dollars during the year.
After paying all these expenses how
much remains to make the average
farmer feel like Monte Cristo? The edi-
tor of the Post, who cogitates over the
wealth of the farmer at the SWEETEST
Washington club, would find that the
paying for necessities, not luXuries,
would not pay for what the bookkeeper
of the club has him charged with for
n week as simple luXuries.
1t is safe to say that with the trust
high prices that the tariff fosters on
agricultural machinery, on groceries,
on clothing, or furniture, Oh household
utensils and about everything else the
farmer buys, and the high taxes, which
the railroad corporations partly es-
cape, but which the farmer has to pay,
the average farmer just about makes
both ends meet.
That conclusion is forced upon one
by The figures of the last census, which
state that in 1899 there were 1885
farmers who after feeding their live
stock had nothing left to sell, 167,493
farmers who had less than $50 value
Of products after feeding their stock
305,446 had less than $500, 1,247,1 10:
less than $3.50, 1,6O2,375 less than $500
and 1.37S,539 less than $1,000. Those
may be called the average farmers.
But when it comes to the rich farm
ers the figures jump the wrong way
as far as the number of Monte Cristt
farmers is concerned, for there were
but S29, 142 farmers who had a value
Of product of $1,000 and under $4,000
and all the remaining farmers in thu
United States, 153,S29 in number, hat
$4,000 and ove when the stock hao
been fed. Those were the Mont
Cristos, but how few in comparison t,
the whole number!
There is no doubt that the averag
farmer would be making a fair prof
if the trusts could not charge him thei
f enormous profits on what he is com
PEELED to buy, and this the trusts ar
. fostered in doing by the tariff, whicl
protects them and does not protect tn
farmer.
Why, the steel trust alone makes $40,
100000 a year, Of which 500, 100000
extra profit that comes through th
: tariff. The farmers, the rich ones an,
!. the poor ones, all pay a large share o
j that N profit. The Standar'
OIL, the sugar, the tobacco, the glass
the salt and hundreds Of other trust
are similar vampires feeding on til
: $500, 600, 900, 900 made by the farmer
with the sweat Of their brows. 1t ha
. been estimated that 40 per cent of til
profits Of the farmers goes to enric
: the trusts, n yet many farmers vot
t the Republican ticket and stand pa
h while the trusts plumber them.
If any average farmer finds he is no
able to save much OF anything afte
= paying his bills, let him investigat
5 the trust prices he is paying and tn
d tariff schedules that protect the trust
in charging those high prices. If he i
a Republican, let him ask his repre-
sentative in congress and the senator
@ who represent his state why they don
revise this tariff which is allowing hir
to be plundered by corporations. l
their answers are truthful they woul
be compelled to say that the trust
: help the Republican party, and there
fore the party protects the trusts an
y let's the tariff alone.
Helps His Friends.
= 1t is not much Of a surprise to lear
from Senator Foraker that he oppose
p the policy of President Roosevelt i