The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-02-29
DEST aOY1NG BUSINESS
Democrats Tinkering With
the Tariff Destroys an
Industry

How They Have Worked n Hardship
on Many Citizens Of Cleveland and
Lincoln Counties-A Question and
an Answer.
Editor The Lincoln Times:
some one answer me a few questions
In regard to the prices Of monaZite
For a number OF years mining mona
zite IN this section was very profit
able. and many farmers quit plant
ing cotton for a money crop and min
ed monaZite instead. II was very
profitable as 1t was inexpensive TO
mine. and two good hands could
make franz $500 to $1,000 per day
easily, mining monazite. 1t sold at
s 10 IL cents per pound.
But fer the last few years there Is
NO market at all, the business which
was once our most valuable, and
which brought thousands of dollars
to Lincoln and Cleveland Counties, Is
now dead.
What caused It? Who Is respon-
sible for the destruction of this indus
try among our farmers? And what
is needed to revise the monazite bus
mess? Will you or some one answer
these simple questions? We want to
know.
Yours truly,
c. A. LEONARD.
1t Is true as Mr.. Leonard says that
at one time the monazite business
was very profitable in the upper part
OF Lincoln and Cleveland Counties.
AT that time there was a tariff of 6
cents a pound on monazite, which
prevented Brazilian monazite being
shipped to this country. In Brazil,
monazite is so plentiful and labor so
cheap that it costs almost nothing
there. Steamers coming from there
maui the monazite to this country al
most for nothing, using it as ballast
TO steady the ships. For this reason
American monaZite could not COM
pete with the Brazilian article. Tt
was on this account that the Repub-
llcan party put tariff on our mona
zite.
But of course a tariff is not placed
on any article unless the people who
produce that article want it, So
when our people keep sending men to
Congress who favor a low tariff as a
general principle, we cannot grumble
when we get what we vote for. If
protective tariff man had represented
this district in Congress the protect
I've tariff on monazite would never
have been removed. But it was re-
moved and the result was, as Mr..
Leonard says, to absolutely kill bus
mess that was worth thousands of
dollars to this and Cleveland Coun-
~. Who is to blame? Why, those
men who do not believe that a tariff
farmers and laborers. Our
readers know who they are. How
can the business be revived? By
eiectlng party to power and sending
man to Congress from this district
who favors a protective tariff, not
only on monazite, but on every ar
ticle our people have to raise in con-
petition with other countries. =,
The same result would come from
free trade on cotton goods or any
othef product. Foreign mills and for
a1gn labor would produce the goods
cheaper than our own people could
do 1t and the result would be idle
American mills and millions of idle
laborers. These idle laborers would
have no money to buy the farmers
produce, his market would be de-
stroyed and low prices and poverty
and ruin would again stalk this
like pestilence.
Lew tariff means low prices. That
Is settled And a man who votes for
FoW tariff thereby votes for low
prices. Farmers will some day wake
20 the fact that they want a protect
we tariff. Surely one needs no argu-
nent OF the fact that farm prices are
always high when we have high tariff
and low when we have low tariff.
When you see a farmer who is will
ng to spend half year arguing low
,arif in the newspapers you can
n1hgty nigh bet your last chew of to-
oacco he is trying to ride into some
ofiice on the back of the farmers he
IAN fool. Little does he care, as a
rule, what happens if only he can
and in berth, if only business agent
tor the Farmers Union or any Job by
which he can make a living without