Rensselaer Republican, Volume 20, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 March 1888 — A FARMER ON THE TARIFF. [ARTICLE]

A FARMER ON THE TARIFF.

An Article Well Worth Reading by the Tiller of the Soil. K*« po Oold end (Wvw In Oar Own Country ood Aoure* Ot>od W ftffi--InteroAUng Point* In Rotat'd to Wool And tho Claim* of tho Small Fanner.

To the Editor of the Chicego Inter Ocetu: Were oar tariff abolished the American producers would enjoy lew benefits of oar home market that would not be equally open to the people of every othfT country. y r Now, competition between those governed by similar circumstances may reault in good to all concerned, requiring close application to business and the practice of wise economy, but the conditions of the rapid growth and development of our country, the broad field lor labor, together with the protective policy adopted by our Government in the past, “have led to the establishment of a standard of values for tabor and its products, with us, so far above that in most other countries, that, while under this protective policy, we, as a people are highly prosperous; and the lot of our laboring classes better than that of those in any other lands, were we to desert this policv, andauiopt that of free trade, or tnat worse expedient—a tarifl, too low to protect many of our leading industries, which now employ thousands of hands and supply millions of dollars’ worth of products to our consumer?, without taking any money out of our country, would be driven out of existence by the influx of low-priced goods from foreign lands; low-priced for awhile, but, when we were dependent on our neighbors for supplies, we would not always be in a position to dictate as to prices. GREAT MONT POURS AT HOME we can and Bhonld control by proper laws rigidly enforced; but, to the combination of holders of goods in foreign countries, or to the export dutieß which might be levied by the government of those countries we would have to submit i K

The free trader demands tbe right to purchase his goods where he can bay the cheapest. President Cleveland, in his message, sayi: “Those who buy imports pay the duty charged thereon into the public treasury,’’ and seems much grieved to add, “bat the great majority of our citizens who bay domestic articles of the same claa r . pay a sum at least approximately equal to this doty to the home manufacturer. ” or in other words, he seems to regret that the tariff fulfills its purpose by protecting home producer?. If a father should say to his son: “I will give you J 3 to perform a certain piece of work, and you may use the money to buy yourself clothing,” the work would be done and the money kept in the same family; butahould he empty his neighbor s son to do tbe same work for $2, the f 2 would be taken out of hie family, and he would still have clothed his own boy; so our laboring classes must be domed, and housed, fed, and warmed; if they have employment at remunerative wages they support themselvep, and we keep the cost of their labor at home?but if we have OUR W.RK DONE ABUJAH because it is done there more cheaply oar money is taken out of our country, and when our idle laborers have ex* nausted their savings they must be supported by charity. Now, if one person consumes more than he produces, always spending more than he receives, he must at last exhaust his capital and become bankrupt. So if the people of this country should turn the balance of trade against themselves oy importing much more than they export, our medium will be drawn from our use much more rapidly than by the present accumulation ot surplus revenue in our Treaar.iv, and it will be placed much farmer from our reach than are the few millions hoarded in the etrong vaults at the National Capitol. Tne effect of this continual drain of cath ficm our stores; would soon be seen in the scarcity of money here, the increased purchasing power of a collar, and the corresponds j ing reduction in the value of property, j ‘•But. ’save one. “would not the rer t!action in tne value of property remove your objection to free trade by reducing our standard of valnes to level of that of other countries?” Ii would remove the difference in values, but not the ol j*c tions to such a result, nor to the poucy of free trade. Let us consider how such a general reduction of values would affect tbe welfare of three diflernt classes in our country. vir. the debtor, the creditor, and the

OXE WH ) WORKS FOR WAGES. Before considering its effect on the debtor lei as give some thought to the ' great number of this class and the important relations they hold to our business world. An investigation of this subject would surprise many by showing the larjw amount of property that is euca inhered by indebtedness and the number oi enterprises that are being carried on, in part at least, by borrowed capital; it would show that this class embraced a great number of the wage-earners—-laborers who have made partial payments on their furniture or on their homes and are working bopemily to remove the debt which remains, that they\ may know that the roof which shelters them and their families is their own; it wooia show that hundreds of thousands of farms are heavily mortgaged, and that each year thousands of these f irms are pausing from the original—holder- intor the hands of the creditor, to be sold - again, remortgaged, and so on from time to fcimt; aud it would further show that many of our manufacturers,mining and transportation companies are operat icglargely on borrowedcapita I ,'he investigation would also show that they as a class were worthy of just consideration being among our most ambitious, enterprising, and hard-working citizens, whose efforts add largely to our advancement, but whose own reward is oftimes disappointment.

Each of these debtors has so many dollars and cents to pay—the redaction in values would noh-rednce their indebtedness one cent; but as prices were reduced, just at the same rate would the amount of product required ttrpay their interest and cancel their debts be increased; then, too, owing to the reduced value of their property, and . THE tiHEATER DKitANI) FOR MONEY, the lender would refuse to advance so much as forroerjy on the same security, and when his money was due would require part payment, or foreclose his claim. Then it ia plainly seen that the change which oppressed the borrower would, by increasing the purchasing power of a dollar, add to the wealth ot the creditor. The capitalist should have all of his rights protected; but it is no injustice to demand that the conditions of trade shall remain as favorable for the borrower as when these contracts were made. Class legislation should not be tolerated on either side; but when changes are made especial care should be taken that they do not give the strong more power to oppress the weak.

To that portion of the wage-earners who owe no debts, conld their etnplovuent remain uninterrupted, and the reduction in their wages be bo properly adjusted as to exactly offset the. reduction in the cost of their living expenses, the change would bn of less importance, but when we consider the demoraliza•ion in bns’ness which must ensue, caused by failures, the closing of factories, and the general aoandonrpem of contemplated improvements, we know that man v must be thrown out of work for an indefinite time, to say nothing of that dissatisfied class who are always clamoring for an advance in wagis but wno are never willing to submit to a reduction under any circumstancer; to these this state of affairs would afford A FRESH EXCUSE for inciting their followers to strikes and riots; and here let me remonstrate against the statement in the President’s message that: ‘•The profits still remaining to the manufacturer after a necessary readjustment should furnish no excuse for the sacrifice of the interests of his employes either in their opportunity to work or in the diminution of their compensation.”

Now, what reasonable excuse does there exist for radically chancing a policy that has proved so beneficial as has this of protection? It may have enabled some to make more than a reasonable profi:; but the competition between the different parties engaged iu the production of a great staple in a country so large as oars, if kept free from the control of trusts—a new name for monopolies—would be sufficient in the main to prevent the extortion of unreasonable profits from the purchaser, while the comparatively similar conditions under which they are placed gives each a more equal ehance for success than were the people of the whole world acting under different necessities or advantages thrown into direct competition to grind each other to a lower and lower condition. In bpeaking of monopolies I think lam safe in saying that all of the unreasonable profits ever secured as a result of our tariff sink into insignificance when compared with the fx ortions which have been perpetrated under the cloak of our patent laws. Bnt to letnm to that part of this at’icle where I spoke of the necessity of keeping the balance of trade in oar favor. If we protect enongh of those industries which are best snited to our resources to give employment to all, we will yet have to buy many things of foreign production; and to pay for these we mnßt n port an equal valne of our own products —and in addition to this we must export enough to pay the interest or dividends on all foreign capital invested in this country; for although

THB INTECBBT AND DIVIDENDSare not all regularly witndrawn from our country —oeing reinvested here for a time—they are a oart of our expense which we Bhould make provision to pay. Now it is evident that of these articles of ex-port we must produce a surplus at a cost that will allow the producer to sell them in the markets of foreign countries —some of which protect their home pro dneers by a tariff. Now, occasionally some free trader will cite a case where a protected manufacturer sells a portion of his goods abroad at a price lower than that which he demands here, showing that the tariff in his case enables him to exact a greater profit at home than he is content to take abroad; this should be investigated and tbe cause of complaint removed; but U ese cases are rare, and impossible in the esse of the staples of the country except by some great combination, for a limited time. .As soon as we have a large surplus of an article which must find a market abroad, the price which that surplus wilt bring in ttie foreign market practically deter mines the value of tbe entire product here; for ins ance if the price of wheat advances or recedes in England, the price of wheat in this country undergoes a similar change, whether it be for export or home use; therefore, a tariff on an article of which we export the surplus, is practically of no effect, and yet President Cleveland says: “The duties now levied upon foreign grains and products are called protection to these home manufacturers, because they render it possible for those ot our people wno are manufacturers to make these taxed articles and sell them for a price equal to that demanded for the imported goods that have paid customs duty.” Since the producer ol these articles of export can not be benefitted by a tariff on his products, and further, as he supplies THE PRODUCER CP PROTECTED GOODS

with his product at a pi ice regulated by the low standard of values of other countries, and since he must buy of the protected producer such articles of his manufacture as he needs to consume at. the price whieh the tariff enables the protected producer to demand—it is evident that a spirit of fairness should govern the selection oft hose articles to tie protecteff7~gpd" also the" extent ter which their values may oe raised, how it so happens that, of a'l the many mil-" lion dollars’ worth of our exports, by far the larger part is furnished by one class of producers—namely,the agriculturists. By their labor is produced tne cotton and tobacco, the wheat and corn, the beef and pork, the batter and cheese, and man's other articles of less importance; and it seems reasonable that the resources of this department, on which so much depends, should be fostered and its prosperity desired by all.

Everyone who is acqnminted with farming knows that one ot the moetimpprtant requirements toj success is to maintain the fertility of the soil; and this can be done in no other way so practically as by the keeping of live stock—while the raising ot grain will, if exclusively followed, in time impoverish the best of land. For this reason many farmers keep more stock than they otherwise would—even bringing their grain from the newer West. Now ohr beef, pork, and dairy products are among the articles of which Ure export large quantities; but of wool, our sheep C NLY PARTIALLY SUPPLY the home demand, enough being imported to make up the deficiency. President Cleveland eavs in his message: “The duty on the grade of imported wool which these sheep yield is 10 cents escu per pound if of the value of 30 reats or less, and 12 cents if of the value of more than 30 cents.” And further on he says; “Reasons are suggested why the removal or reduction of this duty should be included in a revision of our tariff laws. 1 * If we accept the estimate that our sheep shear six pounds per bead, and allow 30 cents per pound,which is more than it brings the producer, we have $1 80 as the price of one sbeep’B woo); and when we remember that there are 365 days in a common year, we find that the farmer receives less than \ a cent per day in wool for feeding and housing each sheep, to make up for losses,to pay for shearing and for the use of the money invested. -

If any other argument than this is needed to prove that the profits on wool producing in this country are not unreasonably large, one is lound in the fact that while our larmers produce a surplus of nearly all other staple agricultural produce, they come far thort of supplying the home demand with this, and yet these returns the President proposes to reduce by the removal or reduction of the tariff on imported wool. There are many reasons why the wool industry fhouid be fosteredin this conn try. We have much strong, hilly land, better adapted to sheep-raising than sny other purpose;. and there is no other kind of stock which will increase the fertility of the soil on which it is kept so rapidly as this. Kept in small flocks .they are utilized to clean out small enclosures and to keep down weeds after the summer crops are removed; beside, if the farmer keeps a part of each kind of stock, should disease attack one kind, it is not so bad for him as if he had no other. Then, too, THE CARE O* SHEEP is more convenient for some persons than that of any other kind of stock,being quiet and easily handled; among our small farmers are many of advanced age, whose entire inccms scares exceeds}2 0 for the year, keeping steady help on these small larms is with them out of the question, and it is not uncommon to find those wnose hands, from accident or other causep, have become so crippled or weakened as to unfit them for the -care of a dairy; to many of these, their gardens constitute tl e chief source of revenue; again were the farmers assured of protection to an extent 'which would enable them to produce wool at a reasonable profit, an extent which does not exceed that asked for by every pro tected producer for his products, this indu°try would soon advance so as to nearly supply our home demand; thereby keeping millions of dollars in our own country, which must otherwise be paid out for imported wool, at the same time tending to so diversify our agricultural products as to somewhat reduce the surplus of other articles—thus aiding to maintain the demand and steady prices for our exports. To quote once more from the President's meseage, in speaking of the farmerp, he says: ‘ They, of course, are not reminded that the larmer has no sheep is by this scheme obliged in his purchases of clothing and woolen goods to pay a tribute to his fellow farmer.” Now, doubtless there are some farmers who take this view of the question; for instance, a dairyman or beef producer may sat: “Ob, well, so-far as lam concerned, the tarih on wool does me .no good. Xdo not keep sheep; in fact it would b* better for me if wool were 1 free, for 1 have to buy woolen goods, and the tariff makes them dearer.” Rut it is a fact, nevertheless, that A PROrEtt TARIFF

on wool would protect the dairyman and beef producer as a tariff on his own product can not—not bv keeping foreign beef and dairy products ©ot of the country, but by devoting millions of acres ot onr land to sheep raising, which, were ovp wool industry destroyed, would iK3 turned to the production ot beef,, butter, cheese, grains, and other proctacts. tUereby increasing the surplus of tnoee articles. Now. when we give the claims oi the farmer fair consideration, we see no just reason why any one who advocates tbe principle of protection, or who asks it for hie own Denefit, should be mnwilling to grant the same adyantages to the wool grower; or why the free traders should single out this industry as their especial object of attack. I say no just reason—but doubtless the free traders regard this as the most favorable point at which to assail our entire protection policy—first, because moe; of the State* largely engaged in wool-growing belong politically to the party which favors protection; and by antagomiaing their interests they run less risk of losing electoral votes which otherwise might be theirs than would they were they to as vigorously attack tbe leading industries of some 01 the ■» called doubtful States; then again, can if they induce other interests —Buch as the woolen manufacturers, iron manufacturerp, end otberp, to assist in carrying out this part of their programme, of to stand idly by and see it consummated, in the belief that their own busineee may thereby escape molestation, they doubtless hope to bo disgust large numbers of the farmers with the apparent nnfalr-

ness of the workings of protection, that they will turn against that poliev; and their influence may be used,' iater on, to assist in carrying out TQefrenlne pjan. John H. Grace. It Makes a Difference. Baltimore Anieiic*t». _. ■■ oircumßtaucee alter a great many cases. A young lady when asked to do some shopping for the family can stand very little cold, but it the right kind of a young man asks her to take a sleigh ride tne healthiest b’iziaid becomes s tuneful zephyr.