Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1906-06-28
RMERs ARE ORGANIZING.
find Protection Worthless and Rebel
Against Teriff-Fostered
Trusts.

IIuslS. |
Those new organizations of farmers
and planters, known as the Equity
and the Farmers union, have
the agowed purpose of increasing the
price Tor which agricultural products
shall he sold. That is a very natural
undertaking of the farmers to try and
benefit themselves by cooperating to-
gether. They see Others combining and
plundering them, why should not they
emulate the trusts and corporations
and put their own price on their W
products like the trusts do? Instead OF
selling their wheat, corn and cotton
at the price the buyers offer, why not
hold ii until the buyers come around
and are willing to pay a profitable
price?
Why 1t looks just as easy as fall
ing off a log or gliding down the cellar
door that a little grease has made
slick and slippery. All you have to
do, say the leaders, is to refuse to
sell until you get your price. One dol
lar a bushel for wheat and 10 cents a
pound for cotton and the price of 9TH
err products in proportion. Eureka!
the world is ours, if we only hang to-
gether. Everything we buy is on the
boom, from agricultural machinery to
zinc paint. Why can't the farmers do
the same?
The trouble is, the farmer, unlike
the tariff protected trusts and com
bines, has no monopoly. His wheat
is sold at the price of the worlds
market, according to supply and de-
mani.. All the surplus wheat of all
the countries goes to, the markets OF
other countries that do not produce
enough to supply their W wants. II
there is a scarcity the price rules
high; if there are bumper crops the
world over, the price is low. II all
the surplus we raise in the United
States was kept at home, when other
countries had good crops, there would
probably be still enough to supply the
LIVERPOOL market, which rules the
worlds price. In that case, WITH
nearly 400, 600, 900 bushels Of wheat or
. our hands more than we could con
t sumo, what would we do with it
What would the price at Chicago b
then? Instead of one dollar a bushe
e it would be cheaper than corn. III
t store all that surplus wheat and avail
an advance in price, through poo
L ..a-z al.oryl,a,o ic on oynpnSjVn nrOn
ess. 1t costs money to store wheat
besides, it will only keep a couple Q
b years without damaging.
1t does not look encouraging for tn
Equity society members as far as tn
price Of wheat Is concerned, and sin
liar obstacles will be met with
trying to fix the price of corn, oats an
cattle.
: With the cotton planter the outloo
is more promising. This country rals'
. nearly all the surplus cotton, and tt
price is greatly influenced, II o Ell
tirely fixed in this country. Cote
ID will keep, merely requiring a goo
h. roof wei it. The greatest danger
from fire, and insurance OF such {
infammable substance is expensive.
Both the southern planter and tt
he northern farmer can, however, pr
tect themselves from the trust his
at prices by uniting for the abolition
Nh the protective tariff, which has fo
IN tered these combines. With reaso
ia able prices for what they buy they G.
afford tc take reasonable prices forwh
bo they sell, and still come out ahef
10. In place of very high tariff rates, as
nc present, there should be a tar1f !
he revenue-that is, enough tariff tax
imports to provide the necessary re
t. enue for the government, and not nj
~. enough to protect the trusts in cha
"a ing their plundering prices.
NJ. 1t will pay the organized farmers
-, talk that important matter OF tai
10 reduction over in their meetings q
in their homes. The Republican pa
1Is has tried to prevent this, by declarl
that ell organizations OF farmers m
"a be nonpartisan, and as far as the
tional Grange is concerned, the
publicsns control it, which has dou
,o less driven the independent farm
g - to join the Equity society and Fal
,l,n ers' unions, where more latitude is
~ lowed for political discussion. Tn
no is no political issue that is SO imE
tant 10 the farmers as the tariff,
NV it fosters trusts and combines WI
~ plumber them. The pretended pro
ton of rs cents a bushel on wheat
cents on corr and Is cents on {
provided in the tariff law has
nv found by the farmer to be emil
worthless, because the surplus OF Il
crops sold abroad fixes the price
home, and the price would be JUS
!. good If there was a tariff duty O
: ~ cents 8 pound, it would not add t
=, reduce the price.