Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1913-01-31
AN OPEN LETTER ON THE TAR
IFF TO KANSAS REPREsEN-
-TATIVEs IN CONGRESS.

To Kansas Congressman. Gentlemen:
Having been a farmer il Barton
county, Kansas, since 1876, and de-
pending on the price of farm products
for living, and having a vital inter-
est in The tariff question and your
position thereon, and believing it the
duty oil your constituents to inform
you of their desires on important leg
islatiOn coming before you take this
met!Ud of informing you of my de-
sires OF the subject of tariff on the
importation of foreign products, and
ask Klnsans who read and endorse
this letter tC sign it also and mail
it to you that you may know how nu-
merous they are. Kansas, as you
know, is an agricultural state where
in the prosperity of the farmers and
practically all business and profess
sioual people CT the cities depend,
first, upon the maximum price of the
farm products exported and second
upon the minimum price of imported
commodities.
The benefits Of tariff to producers
Il
OF surplus products for expectation
cannot be had unless those producers
form a trust to force the price of
their products to the home consumers
above that which they obtain for the
surplus exported else the exported
surph will form the basis of the
home price. Since the price of the
leading farm products Of Kansas is
set by the expectation price and as it
is Impossible to organize the farmers
into trusts to force higher price to
home consumers, and as it would be
unjust if they could do so, therefore
a tariff on farm products is of no
practical value to the farmers. Those
who produce the things We import
into Kansas being fewer in each line
of products than farmers can and do
form trusts to keep the prices Of their
products higher to the home consum-
er than they get for their exported
surplus, thus getting the benefit OF the
tariff on what they sell to the home
consumer. This puts the people OF
Kansas and all other purely agricul-
tural states in a most unfair, unjust
and unequal position and is an intol-
cradle discrimination against them in
national legislation that we call upon
you to relieve us of. AS the farmers
must sell their products at the price
set in the open world markets in COM
petition with that from India where
it is said farm laborers cost only five
cents a day, and with that from Rus
STA where it is said farm laborers get
only eight cents a day, we ask you
! to equalize our burdens and Opporul-
mites BY making it possible for us to
buy our necessaries and Injuries in
the open world market also. You can
do this and relieve US of the present
intolerable discrimination against us
by repeating all tariff laws and max
ing tie i-~p0rtation Of FL things alb
solutely free from a tariff duty, and
this we beg of you to work for with
all your ability.
w. H. Kerr,
Great Bend, Kansas.
All publications in Kansas are ask
ed to please publish this letter to
give their readers an opportunity to
endorse this request to the congress-
men to work for this great interest
of theirs in particular and of all Kan
sas in general.
That they may know who their rep
resentatives in congress are and thei1
Washington address, l give the list
below:
Senators-Charles Curtis, 1742 S
street. Joseph L. Bristow, 2612 Gar
field street.
Representatives:
, LIST District-D. R. Anthony, Jr.
. 1925 S street.
End District. Taggart, The Con
gressional.
Srd District-P. P. Campbell, 172t
P street.
4th Distinctly. S. Jackson, Con
gress Hall.
9TH District-R. R. Rees, 1S FRS
street n. E.
9Th District. D. Young, House O
Representatives.
7th District-G. A. Neeley, Con
gfssS Hail.,
Sth. District-V. Murdoch, TIL,
| Dresden.
| W. H. KERR
III ENGLISH BLooDHoUNDS.
/ Jacob Koelsch, proprietor Of tn
lust Right Kennels. In Richland fowl