Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1910-11-03
HOW THE FARMERS HAVE. BEEN
BENEFITED BY REPUBLICAN
RULE

The farmers of South Dakota and
their brethren in other states have
prospcred greatly under republican
rule in the state and nation, and at
the election in November will vote
to continue such rule, not caring to
experiment with ineffective democrat
ic rule in the lower house OF con-
gress, which always has been follow
ed by period of depression and low
pricse of farm products
Congressman Martin in a speech
delivered i'll congress last May. call
ed attention to striking facts disclosed
by table prepared by the de oartmen
r,.-.t,.eice anu 4apor, showing the
purchasing value OF unit OF iar4n
products in 1897 as compared with
the same purchasing value in 1903,
expressed in almost all commodities
that the farmer must buy Mr.. Mar
tin spoke in part as follows:
This period OF 1897 represents the
termination Of the experience of the
country under the Wilson German tar
if, the only democratic tariff for fifty
Years. and the beginning of the era
of republican tariff under the Ding
ley bill aud now continuing under the
Payne tariff bill.
- vii: ;s:;;!!ii attention few
items only. Wheat has less variation
ed with other commodities than any
other article produced on the farm,
as the table shows.
THE market given-because some
market had to be selected-was The
market value in New York. A bushel
of corn. as shown by this table, in
1897, would purchase ! pounds of
sugar. do not give the fractions.
The same bush Il of corn will now
purchase 16 pounds of sugar. or more
than double the quantity. A bushel Of
/, corn would purchase in Illuminating
/ oil, according to the table twelve
years ago, > gallons. At the present
time it will purchase IL gallons. EN
! pressed in purchasing value in coffee
1 in 1897 a bushel Of corn would pur-
/ chase 5 pounds of coffee, and in 1903
10 pounds of coffee. In barbed wire.
bushel of corn in 1897 would pur-
! chase Is pounds. and at the present
j time it would purchase 33 pounds.
"A bushel of oats in 1897 would buy
! pounds of sugar, now 10 pounds. 1t
would bly, 5 gallons of oil, now gal
Ions. 1t would buy pounds of cot
fee, now s pounds. The bushel of
oats would buy Is pounds of barhed
wire in 1897, now - pounds of barb
ed wire. A sheep in 1897 would buy
40 pounds of sugar, now the sheep
I; will buy So pounds of sugar. 1t would
buy 20 gallons of Illuminating oil, now
it will buy g. gallons. The sheep
would buy 10 pounds Of coffee in 1885,
and now it will buy 50 pounds of cof-
lee. Then it would buy 100 pounds
oil barbad wire. now it will bay 17a
pounds. The average hog in 1897
would buy 81 pounds of granulated
sugar, now it will buy 1a2 pounds
the hog IN 1902 would buy 65 gal
TT t1YY,
puy l39 gallons: in 1897 ii would buy
~ pounds of coffee. now it will buy
ilo pounds of coffee; then it would
BUY 221 pounds Of barbed wire. now
VIII buy 3S1 pounds. A comparison
Oh the purchasable value of the av-
erage horse in 1897 and 1909 sup
plles some most int resting figures. In
1897 the horse would buy 700 pounds
OF sugar. now he4swill hly pa
pounds. or more than ton: he would
buy 1.754 ponndsAof harbed wire in
1897, now he will buy 1856 pounds
and so on through the list
Surely the farmer has at length
come into his own. These relative
conditions are likely to continue. Inc
vast areas of native fertile soil IN the
humid regions of the United StaLes
are now largely appropriated me
utilization of new lands suitapie lol
dsflcuiture can scarcely heep r..
with the increase in our popu'atloi,.
We must depend in large part upon
more intensive cultivation of our IaIli
lands and the reclamation OF hmls .s
areas by Irrigation and swamp uIa.n
age to meet the needs Of the fleop.<e
Tor food supplies. ,,,,aer
South Dakota has prospeIsu ,tent
rule to greater .,nion.
Inan any ori,er = /. : s,,.:i
This iswhy the people are tno osrs Il
" satisfied and q the e., w. =, nver-
=, ai p ma iority declare IN favor
~ s. nnnttnmation OF Wise ana cons
servative republ rule.
Z; r..,..sr4erald: soule. |