The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-01-24
THE STATE MUST LIVE

and its editor then adds: "Rome fell
.shen the people of her empire took to
nnddling in cities. Foreigners of
enainence, like the great historian,
errero, say that the United States
may well profit by Rome's example"
The gradual growth of European
cities is easily accounted for by the
complete occupancy of farm lands,
which has so long obtained, and has
left no room in the rural districts for /
energy and intelligence to expand.
Thus energy and intelligence has
been forced to her cities to find op-
portunity to there build up factories
which attract the surplus of labor
from her farms. Thus the growth of +
her cities, in the more intelligent ma
tions, is accelerated through sales of |
manufactured articles to the less in
telligent, or less favored, nations of
the world.
The comparative degree of intelli- |
gence of two nations may be exactly
reflected in the per capita amount of
their sales of manufactured goods to
foreign countries, if the natural adj |
vantages for advancement in manu- |
featuring and farming in both are
equal.
AT all times our agricultural possi-
bilities have been unexcelled by any
nation in the world, and certainly no
| less than the natural advantages pre-
| sented to our manufacturers. And, as
we are not disposed to admit any in
ferior intelligence, it should at once
be reflected by per capita increase
in the amount of our sales of manufac-
tured goods in foreign countries, be-
yond the rate of increase of our own
consumption of such goods (war time
excepted); otherwise, something be-
sides natural causes, or, intelligence,
are at work to build cities. This
something is the tariff, aided by other
things of course.
That the farmers have at all times
had abundant room to expand, is
proved by the enormous increase in
the per capita amount of all the goods
they buy, and that something else
than superior intelligence has been
robbing them (off and on, mostly onl
| for the last forty years is proved by
much less rate in the per capita in
crease of our foreign sales of manu-
featured goods.
Even if business is good in the
country districts, many think it better
to rob by sanction of law than to be
robbed with or without such sanction
Those in the country earn most of
their rewards by hard toll, and they
do not throw coin so freely; and toll
is, after all, but another name for
work. Hence the rapid growth of
cities.
That since 1860 we have been lack
: ing only in political intelligence af-
fords hope that we may yet profit by
the criticisms of many disinterested
economists and historians, whose per-
spective is not obscured by the infinite
details of our national life.
Our farmers are the most independ-
cnt class of our citizens. They are so in
/, fact, and for the good of our nation /
hope they may remain so in spirit,
and that that spirit may hereafter as
sert itself, as political force, to bet
. ter serve their real interests than it
has in the last fifty years. am not
farmer, nor am l engaged in the
: business of throwing bouquets.
| Our farmers have not been as
. shrewd, or as far-seeing, as were the
English farmers when they were q
factor in English politics, for there
they went to extremes for many years
, in opposition to even many needed re.
forms. They were ever ready to fight
proposed laws to regulate child labor
or hours of labor in trades, as they
: well knew that all such injured then
class and only benefited other classes
Against the real welfare of that ma
: ton they stoutly maintained the, now
IOIIS 1OISOLCSH, CdI HI > vi al iii pO1 tCt
grain, for the same selfish reason
= which leads our manufacturers to sup
port our tariffs to protect their trade
From the vantage grown of expert
, ence any one may now see that in very
many instances our farmers have gon,
: to the other extreme in support of far
reaching measures which carried great
;, | benefit to other classes and great cos
to themselves. Those policies which
: have built up large cities at the ex
pense of our farmers could never have
been adopted without very substantial
aid from the farmer vote.
= The tariff laws, the railroad labor
bill, the eight-hour law for govern
: ment employees, child labor laws, anc
almost all laws to regulate any trade
or business, carry the least of benefit
and the most cost to our farmers. This
is true even in the case of public regu-
lation of railroads and freight rates
considered as a whole, except only
;, such as may reduce freights on pro-
ducts which are to be shipped to for
eign countries. I have not yet said
:. that any one of such policies do the