Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 October 1890 — LEGISLATION FOR FARMERS. [ARTICLE]

LEGISLATION FOR FARMERS.

The charge that American farmers pay more for their implements than foreign farmers do has been shown to be false. Precisely the reverse is the truth. They pay less; and this is the result of protection, which has encouraged and developed the production of such articles on a large scale at low prices in the United States. But protective legislation has gone still further, and now by the tariff bill of 1890 has completely defended American farm products against competition from tho cheap lands and labor of foreign nations. The following comparisons will be found interesting and conclusive: RATES OF DUTY ON FARM PRODUCTS. Article. Democratic Rep. Tariff Mills Dill, of 1890. Barley ~loc per bu...30c per bu Buckwheat..... ... ,10per cent,. .16c per bu Corn. .. ..lQc per bu.. 15c per bu Oats .10c per bu....1.5c per bu Wheat i. ,20c per bu....25c per bu Butter..... 4c per lb 6cper lb. Cheese.. 7. 7177..... 74c per 1b.... 6c per lb • Beans .free ....40c per bu Eggs 7 .free .... Scperdoz Hay.... .. $2 per t0n....54 per ton -H0p5............ 8c per lb ....15c per lb Potatoes . 15c per bu....25c per bu Flaxseed, ico. * . .10c per bu....30c per bu Garden seeds. ..'...free ~..2opercent Bacon and hams ... 2c per 1b.... 5c per lb Beef, mutton. &c. .. lc per 1b.... 2c per lb Wool, Ist class . . . .free ....lie per lb Wool, 2d class free ....12c per lb Wool, 3d class free ....32percent Wool, 3d class free ~..soperceut Leaf tobacco, stemmed $1 per lb ....12.75 per lb Not stemmed . . . 775 c per lb $2 per lb All other stemmed..4oc per1b...50 per cent Flax . t . . . . , L rfree- — .... lo ner lh. Plums and prunes.. free 7.77 2c per lb This direct legislation in behalf of farmers has been supplemented by the silver bill, the protective effect of which is already seen in the advance of the prices of the great American staples—nearly 20 cents per bushol on wheat and 15 cents per bushel on corn, amounting in the aggregate to more than $250,000,000 on these two articles alone. In conclusion, the American farmers, constituting nearly one-half of our population, have at last received the consideration they deserve. Under protective laws they are guaranteed against foreign competition, and they are enabled to sell their drops at fair prices and to buy their implements and tools cheaper than they can be bought in any other country in the world.