The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-07-14
The Farm and the Farmer
BY William r. sanborn

x. Sanborn
I the Union Stock yards being estab-
lished at Los Angeles, Cal, and the
Southern Pacific Union Pacific and
Santa Fe railroads are having the
survey made.
Indiana Farmers Interested
| Corn belt farmers will he narticn-
| larly interested in the survey because
| anything that leads to the deyelop-
ment OF livestock production In the
western states will have its effect o.
I the livestock production in the central
west states.
| According to an announcement of
tne plans, big stockyard will be To-
ca.eo at Los Angeles and will be de-
oelopeo along the lines of the Union
STOCK yards at Chicago. Livestock
VIII be drawn to the Pacific coasr
market from Utah, Idaho, Nevada.
California, Arizona and New Mexico
wear the stock yards packing houses
Will De built to take care of the uva-
stock coming from these six states
and the practice of sending hundreds
and thousands of range cattle to the
onlcago livestock market will be dis
| continued
| The Tariff on Fertilizer
The American farm bureau has is
sued leaflet devoted to the tariff On
/ 1eruilzer materials, in which ii claims
the farmer to be "the victim of a dis.
eliminating tax" The farm bureau
is especially anxious for free trade
IN potash and gives very sensible rea-
sons In favor of that theory. The ed
ltor of this little bulletin on the pro-
posed tariff, as being now amended in
the senate, says:
Flfteen million dollars Is the ad-
| ded price the farmer will have To nav
1or his fertilizer in the first year of
tne new tariff, if the proposed rates
IN the pending bill are adopted
] Potash, with the proposed duty of $50
ton, will cost 13,500,000 more
| Sulphate of Ammonia, on which
the proposed rate is S. a ton, will be
boosted $1,000,000.
Burlap, if assessed $40 a ton as
proposed, will add 100000 to the in
| crease
In addition to the above there i,
proposed by Senator Lodge, of Mass
acnusetts, tax of $50 ton on nitro
genous material manufactured from
iedlner ano tannery wastes One
nunofed thousand tons of that mate
rlal, chemically prccessed. rendering
II hlghly soluble and available plant
1000 goes into fertilizers, and the
Lodge amendment would, therefore
aCd S5,oO0,OOO more to the annual fer
ullzer Dill, making total tax on the
FARMER for a single commodity that
ne uses, and that he alone uses of
lS1S,Oo0,O0O per year.
These proposed tariff rates ron
not be defended under anv theory of
protection or of revenue raising. They
constitute rank discrimination againS5
the agricultural industry. and single
out the farmer to bear an UNEQUAL and
unjust tax burden"
About Potash Production
The potash we import is water
borne from points where mined 20
our own Atlantic ports. This means
relatively low freight rate. For
elgn potash occurs in huge natural
deposits. and is mined cheaply. while
the production of American potash is
costly process. Because of cheap
ocean rates it is economical to shin
material Of low potash content which
sells to American consumers at =
lower price per unit of potash than
the higher grade salts. America pot
ash makers cannot ship low-grade ma
terlal, but because of high freight
rates from the far west where our
potash is produced, must concentrate
INTO high percentage goods America
produced less than 5000 tons of pot
ASH last year, against an annual con
sumptlve demand of about PC. 600
tons. Under the stimulus of war pri-
ces we actually produced $4,000 tons
OF potash in 1915. but not at a cost
farmers could afford to pay.
Sulphate of Ammonia
With reference to sulphate of am
monla the farm bureau saws: "The
one purpose of tariff on sulphate OF
ammonia Is to increase the price
Whlch American producers may exact
from domestic consumers.
"A tariff is not needed as protection
to home industry, because American
sulphate OF ammonia is successfully
competing in the markets of the
world
A tariff will bring no revenue TO
the Federal treasury, because foreign
producers cannot compete in the
American markets. The imports for
1921 were 1867 tons as against ex.
ports of 102,614 tons.
In the pending tariff bill there is
proposed a duty of SIS ton, that rate
being reduced by the Senate Finance
Committee from S12 a ton, which was
voted by the House. The normal an
nual consumption of sulphate of am
monia in fertilizers is over 100000
tons, so that duty of SIS a ton would
mean an added tax on the farmer of
more than s1,000.00O year for this
one ingredient that he must use as
plant food for his crops"