Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1906-11-01
THE FARMERS COMBINE
Attempt to Raise the Price of
Wheat.
THE TARIFF PROTECTED TRUSTS

The Farmers Sell Their Surplus Prod
ucts In Competition With other
Countries-The Trusts Are Licensed
to Plumber the Farmer and Other
Consumers.
One can hardly blame the farmers in
the wheat growing regions for organ
izing a combine to hold their wheat I'LL.
til the price advances. A dispatch from
Kansas City reports the price of wheat
as so cents a bushel and less at the in
terror markets in Kansas. There is u
loss in growing wheat at that price,
with all the farmer buys at the pres
ent high prices. The tariff protected
trusts have advanced the prices of
nearly everything the farmer buys
over As per CEN since the present high
tariff law was passed, Sc that prosperi-
ty for the wheat farmer is a myth, al
though Secretary Wilson, who, being
secretary Of agriculture, should know
better, declares the farmers We're new
Ell so prosperous. Secretary Shaw is
making equally preposterous state
ments and states in the speeches he is
making on his partisan stumping tour
that the tariff makes the farmers pros
porous because it protects the home
market from foreign importations. But
facts belle their words, for wheat is
protected in the tariff by a duty Of 25
cents a bushel, but that does not pre-
vent the price from depreciating until
the price in Kansas, as noted above, is
so cents a bushel.
1t is strange that Republican farm
ers swallow such Republican state
ments and vote to continue that party
in power, which protects every trust
that produces what the farmer must
buy and only pretends to protect the
farm products. The tariff includes du-
ties OH wheat, corn, oats, barley, cattle,
hogs and other agricultural products,
but the price Of those farm products
is settled by the law Of supply and de
mand. If there is a surplus Of wheat
and other farm products. it has to be
exported and sold in the worlds mar
kets In competition with the surplus
of other countries, and that fixes the
price here. The tariff duty might be
doubled, and it would have nc effect
on the price, or it might be abolished
and the price would not be affected.
There is no tariff duty on cotton, that
product being on the free list, yet the
price Of cotton is advancing. while the
protected wheat has declined.
No farmers trust or farmers union
can control the price of wheat unless
the combination is complete enough to
prevent wheat being sold to the mills
which supply the flour that the Ameri-
can people require. If the wheat grow
ers could prevent enough wheat being
marketed to supply the mills. the mill
Ing combine at the great flour milling
centers, such as Minneapolis. would
induce the farmers to sell until the
price was too high to manufacture and
ship the flour abroad ut IL profit. When
that limit was reached, you may be
sure the mills would be shut down
rather than run them ut Il loss. TO
prevent the mills shutting down In the
spring of 1905. when there was u short
age of wheat. the administration al
lowed Canadian wheat to be imported
In bond without the payment OF the
duty OF 20 cents II bushel and ground
In the mills at Minneapolis aud ex.
ported as tour. That was the Repub.
lican way OF protecting the farmers
when they had II very short crop apd