Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1908-08-26
THE CONDITION OF THE FARMER

A Lafe Young tries to make. out that
the average farmer is member OF
the 400 and that all he has to do is
to ride around in an automobile and
the republican party will foot the bill
II farming under republican policies
is as nice as Lafe seems to, think
why does he not quit the newspaper
business and move out on a farm?
| Lafe refers to Hon. Fred White and
his 500 acre farm as an evidence of
making money under republican pol
icies.'
Fred White came to this country in
1858 and has been just half a cen
tury getting together his 500 acres. He
has never felt able to leave the farm
up to the present time. 1t has ta-
ken his constant care, the most ex-
hausting labor, the most rigid econ
Omy, the most constant self-denial,
long hours and eternal vigilance to
accumulate what he has and he finds
himself at the last exhausted by the
effort.
Lafe Young was a great many
thousands of dollars in debt ten
years ago. 1t was thought by his
friends that he would never be. able
to pull through. He is today. on easy
street, owes no man dollar and
has much more property than Fred
White has earned by fifty years of
tireless effort Lafe finds himself in
his prime and able to enjoy life. He
can take a trip around the world,
capture title of Colonel and fight,
bleed and die for liberty on San Jul
an Hill. He can nominate n candi-
date for yice-president, and finally
see him in first place in. spite of
the handicap. He can go to Chicago
and defeat the state of Iowa in Its
aspirations for place on the ma
,ktional ticket In short, Lafe is alb
lie to "stand pat"
All these fifty years Fred White
has been handicapped He got his
land cheap and the best he has
been able to do is to keep it i'm
proved and the increase in value has
made him rich. He has had to fight
for every inch of gain. When he
built a house or barn or shed he
was bled by the lumber trust and
the nail trust. When he built fence
he was robbed by the wire trust.
When he sold his cattle and hogs the
price was fixed irrevocably by the
beef trust. When he bought piece
of farm machinery the price was fix
ed by the machine trust. The oil
that furnished him illumination by
which he educated himself was sup
piled by the oil trust. Every piece of
furniture was the product Of the fur
niture trust The flour he bought was
furnished by the Q9hr Tnst- The
|raofh hine lsrz III s11nail sss9s s.sa,t
|of the textile trust. The books that
served to. educate his children were
purchased of the school book trust.
Every time he turned around some
trust was waiting for handout.
All of these trusts were built up by
the same republican party. These
trusts contributed literally to the re-
publican campaign funds on condition
that they should be permitted to re-
coup themselves by preylng upon
Fred White and others like him. This
trust in the republican. party was
never betrayed. Every grain: of wheat
and oats and corn raised by. White
had to pay its tribute. Every thread
of cloth he bought paid its tribute.
He never sold anything that the price
was not fixed by the buyer, and he
never bought anything that the price
was not fixed by the seller. Between
these two millstones he was ground
for half century and if he had not
had constitution like German he
could not have survived.
Show us a farmer who .;has sue
ceeded by farming and we will show
you the farmer who has won ihs'spite
of the handicap of republican, prlnci-
pies and policies. The tariff has
robbed him of more money in any on
year than the graft of all the insur-
ance companies since time began.
Lafe has made it his business to.bam
boozle the farmers of Iowa for near
ly forty years. He used to tell them
that The foreigner paid the tax
He has one little smoother now.
He tells them that the good crops
are due wholly to republican legis-
llation-Des Moinas Tribune