Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 November 1904 — Protection for the Farmer? [ARTICLE]

Protection for the Farmer?

The steel beam plow, for which the American farmer is asked $11.50, can be purchased in South Africa for $10.35, a difference of 11 per cent. The churn which the farmer uses, manufactured in Boston, costs him $2.47. In South Africa he could buy it for $2.00, 23 per cent less. A corn sheller, for which he pays $4 .20, can be bought at Cape Town for $3.50, a difference of 20 per Cent. The Boston corn planter, which sells here for sls. is sold to the South Africa farmer for sl3, a difference of 15 per cent. A fan mill, for which he pays $21.80, is sold to the farmers of South Africa for $17.60, a difference of 21 per cent. Cultivators, for which the farmer pays $4.90, bring only $4.20 in South Africa. 17 per cent under the price obtained here. A two-horse plow, for which in this country the farmer is asked $5.25, can be obtained by the farmer down in Cape Colony at $4.15, a difference of 25 per cent. Is there road work to be done, the farmer needs a heavy road plow. He pays for it $10.20. Roads in South Africa are made with the same plow, for which the owner pays $8.50, a difference of 20 per cent. The New England chilled two-horse plow, for which the American farmer pays $8.40, is sold to the farmer in South Africa for $7.90, a difference of 17 per cent. Rope, for which the farmer has much use, is sold at 11 cents per pound In South Africa, while 13 cents per pound is charged for it in New York state, where it is manufactured. The difference is 22 per cent. American-made axes and hatchets, which are sold in this country for $7.50 per dozen, can be purchased in South Africa for $6.75, a difference of 11 per cent. Crowbars, which sell here at the rate of 6 cents per pound, are sold in South Africa for five and four-tenths of a cent a pound, another difference of 11 per cent. Bhovels, which here cost $8.25 per doxen, can be purchased in South Africa for $7.25, again a difference of 11 per cent