Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-09-02
Farmers Are Not Blind to the
Effects Of the Democratic Tariff
tremendous Losses to the Agricultural Interests Have
Followed the Free Trade Experiment

THOSE thousands of farmers who
VIII attend the great picnic of the
Grangers at Williams Grove this
week are not likely to listen with pa
tience TO the Democratic orators who
VIII strive to explain away their
partys broken ppromises and the ser
lous results of free trade under the
Wilson administration
Inc Democratic administration has
oeen In power for a little over a year.
It's hrst important legislative act. the
tariff. has been in effect a little more
than six months. This is a compara-
lively short period. 1t would have
seemed almost incredible. at the time
TINS act was passed, that in six months
thereafter its great feature would
stand out clearly as a great national
olunder. Yet this has come to pass.
And now this blunder is practically
admitted by the leading authority in
the Democratic party in the matter
with regard to which the blunder was
made.
This blunder concerns the great in
dustry of agriculture. AS to Pennsyl-
Vanla, the manufacturers of the State
are so much in evidence that many of
our people do not realize that Penn
sylvania is a great agricultural State
also. But it is noted for the number,
good management and general excel
lence OF its farmers, and for its large
agricultural production.
recent report of the Department
of Agriculture Of the United States
practically admits that in our country
to-day the incentive to more farming
and better farming is wanting. This
report from the Department Bureau
of Statistics says:
However desirable increased pro-
auction OF farms may be from the
consumers standpoint, IL does not
follow that such increased produc-
ton would result in any increase in
the cash income per farm. or per
capita of farm population, or that
prices paid by consumers would be
any lower
In Pennsylvania the greatest crop
is corn, as in so many of our great
agricultural States In 1911 Penn
sylvania had 1,435,0eO acres in corn
and the yield was So. s5S. 600 bushels.
The State has steadily increased its
acreage and yield of corn since 1909.
And to-day it would like to and could
go on to produce much more corn,
as could also our other States But
the Republican duty of Is cents per
bushel has been swept away. and
corn is now on the Democratic free
list. and corn is being brought in in
enormous quantities. principally
through the Atlantic ports, from Ar
gentina and other distant countries.
Without a comparison of the actual
figures IL is hard to realize what this
new competition means. We have
now at hand the government statistics
of imports for the first four months
under the new tariff, from October 4.
1913, to the end of January of this
year. During the corresponding four
months one year ago, the imports of
corn into the United States amounted
to 25S.6S4 bushels, valued at $139,
and yielded some revenue to the
United States Treasury. During the
corresponding four months one year
later, the first four months under the
new tariff, the imports of corn
amounted to the enormous total of T.
004, ,159 bushels. valued at S4,656,216
and yielded no revenue whatever to
the United States treasury but entered
without toll into the American mar
ket.
The farmers of Pennsylvania will