VOL. XXXI.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., NOV. 21, 1896.
NO. 47
B
SIXTEENTH ANNUAL SESSION.
LARGE ATTENDANCE.
Important Papers—Interesting Discus-
sions.
r*-sir
*_r£V.
This dignified and influential body assembled ln ICth annual session in this
city on Tuesday the 10th. The delegates
numbered something over two hundred,
coming from the following States: Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island,
Illinois, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Nebraska,
Maryland, Tennessee, Indiana and District of Columbia. Indiana, Illinois and
Ohio furnished much the largest proportion of the membership and many of the
delegates from these States were associate delegates, entitled to participate in
discussions, bnt not to vote. ' The addresses and resolntions offered and the
discussions had upon many of them were
listened to with deep interest by full
houses. Many of our citizens were present, and extended reports were made of
the proceedings by our daily newspapers,
evincing a wide-spread interest in the deliberations of thelbody. >-■■•■• - .
-»- After-bein-;>Q*-*ene__;;*wlth; prayer by.
""KSv.I) » i.noHu,A_Y tliis city,* llie Congress was welcomed by addresses, on behalf of the city, by Mayor Taggart, on
behalf of the press, by J. G. Kingsbury,
ofthe Indiana Farmer, on behalf of
the farmers of the State by Hon. J. G.
Offutt,of Jackson county, on behalf of the
State by Gov. Matthews. Replies were
made by Sec. John M. Stahl, of Chicago
and by Pres. B. F. Clayton, of Iowa.
We quote from Pres. Clayton's annual
address several paragraphs:
"The natural product of the soil, aided
by Intelligent and well-directed labor, is
the great creative force, tho only source
from which wealth may be obtained to
meet all obligations. The street-car fare,
Interest on bonds, dividends on stock, the
pension of the soldier, the fees of the professions, the dry goods and the grocery
bills, as well as the cost of conducting all
•the intricate machinery of government,
■must be paid by the revenues of the soil
The product of the gold and silver mines
3s only valuable because of the commerce
and wealth created from the farms.
One year of total failure of the product
of the earth and wreck and ruin, starvation and death wonld be the inevitable
result. The vast army of mechanic?, the
. arts, the sciencee, the trades and the professions, have, no doubt, contributed to a
higher perfection of onr productive industries; but they are not producers of
-wealth, they are consumers. The science
«of agricnlture and pur wonderful me-
■ chanical inventions have gone hand in
hand in the onward march of this progressive age; bnt our basal relations remain unchanged, and agriculture must
press her claims with even greater force
-under the new condition of things, as the
trne source of wealth, and as the solid
foundation upon which rests the beautiful and magnificent temple of our success."
«.*      «      *      *      *      *   . *      *'«
''Daring the last fiscal year of the operations of the former law (tariff law) the
agricultural imports on 20 articles the
like of which we produce North and
South amounted to $65, 804,446; during the
firBt calendar year of the operations of
the present law the importation of the
same articles amounted to $134,068,860 or
an increase over the former law of $68,-
£61,314. In the exportation of farm products we find ihe discrepancy still greater
in 27 chief articles produced on the farm.
During the fiscal year 1894 we exported
farm proJncts to the amount of $907,910,-
045, while dnrlng the calendar year 1S05
there were exports in the same products
to the amount of only $751,833,037, a decrease of $156,113,008. Adding the gain in
imports to the loss in exports and the
American farmer loses in one year $224,-
337,322. It may be claimed with some
show ot reason that other conditions
aside from the change in schedules produced this effect; as, for instance, on the
article of hides, on the free list under
both schedules, the Increased importation was $19,102£72; on wool the increase
was $27,062,718, while our exports in cotton and breadstuffs receded $81,122^8.1.
It these figures be true a vigorous remonstrance to these schedules should go
up from this body, and we should demand that the Agricultural Department
investigate each item. Should protection
be the policy of the government, then it
should be applied to farm products, and
the Agricultural Department should recommend to the general government such
changes in tariff schedules as will furnish equal protection to the products of
the farm."
**********
"Notwithstanding the anti-trust laws
now found on our national statutes, combinations of most gigantic proportions
have been formed that bid defiance to the
courts of law and that absolutely control
the purchase and the selling price of live
stock and its produots.. In my judgment
it ia*a<.ark day wjien these com^natlons
' invade any State. Gradually they are
extending their power and fastening
their fangs upon the important trade
centers of the State with a rapacious
greed that threatens to sweep everything
before it. Will any well-read man deny
the proposition that these combinations
can say to the farmer, you shall take
your stock to market and sell it to us at
our price, or to others at a price dictated
by us? They have invaded our country
with the foreign beef caroass. They have
come within the gates of our cities, and
destroyed the slaughter house and driven
the local business man to the wall,
through the siren's song of cheap beef,
and the time is not far distant when they
will as absolutely control the price to the
consumer.
When you get behind the screen that
conceals the grain and the millers' associations you will find the same conditions.
Unless checked by State and national
legislation, the millers' association will
soon dictate to the farmer the price of
his grain and to the consumer the price
of his bread stuff as absolutely as the
whisky trust controls the price of their
goods. The meetings of these organizations are exclusive and clandestine."
********
"By legislation and by the courts we
have settled the great principles that the
public have a right to control these
trusts, and corporations have accepted
the principle. What we want is for the
national and State executives to lose no
time in laying before Congress and the
legislative bodies the evils complained of
and to suggest such remedies as will
check their further growth. We should
say to these combinations, thus far and
no further shalt thou come. We should
ask for no class legislation. We should
demand no favors beyond a legitimate
protection to the farm interest, and we
should be satisfied with nothing short of
the same recognition accorded to all
other American industries."
A committee of five was appointed to
examine the address and prepare a memorial to Congress upon the suggestions
it contained.
At the afternoon session the principal
topics were those suggested by Judge
Wm. Lawrence in his address on "How
the Farmers' National Congress can become a greater political power in aid of
non-partisan legislation, State and national," from which we qnote as follows -
"The census returns of 1890 show the
number ot persons 10 years ot age and
over engaged ln gainful occupations and
in each class thereof as follows:
Males. Females.
Classes   occupation   agriculture.
fisheries and mining  8,333,818    "97,-2"
Professional service     6__.,644   811.8S7
Domestic and personal service.... 2,69___79 1,637,699
Trade and transportation  1,0.7,701    ___8,42I
Manufacturing snd mechanical... 4,(61,031 1.027,-.-
Total.a I occupations 18,821,0**0 3,914,317
"Those engaged in agriculture constitute nearly one-half ot all,and with those
in allied and cognate industries, hold in
their hands the voting power to control
the entire legislation of the national and
respective State governments. They are
but few subjects of legislation by Congress whioh belong to political party
policies. Among these are some questions of:
"1. The power of the President to execute the laws of Congress as to the transportation of mails,troops,national property and interstate commerce in the States.
"2. The monetary policy of gold or silver monometallism, bimetallism and tbe
modes of securing them; and,
"3. The tariff, with IU two forms of (1)
protection and (2) 'for revenue only.'
"With these questions this Farmers'
National Congress, I suppose, will not
deal, except as we may affirm tho position
of the Patrons of Husbandry or National
Grange, that lt Congress adopt* the general poKfey of a«p.*otective taniS the products of agriculture in all forms shall
share its benefits equally with the most
favored of other industries. And if the
general policy of a 'tariff for revenue
only' be adopted, so far as revenue duties
afford a limited and incidental protection
to industries, the products of agriculture
shall not be discriminated against, but
shall equally with others share its benefits.
But there are many, very many, questions to be determined by the legislation
of Congress and of the several States
which do not belong tb the domain of
national political party politics, and generally are not, and properly cannot, be
made the subject of State political party
politics. Among these there are questions for the action of Congress, some of
which are:
"The regulation of transportation companies, so as to prevent unjust discrimination in freight charges, as in the act
known as 'interstate-commerce law.'
"2. Legislation to protect the people
against the sale of oleomargarine as butter, the sale of filled cheese as genuine
cheese, the sale of shoddy textile fabrics
as made of genuine new fabrics, especially if imported.
"3. Legislation for the inspection of
live stock and to prevent the spread of
contagious diseases.
"4. Legislation to facilitate and enlarge exports to foreign countries of such
of the products of the American farms as
cannot be advantageously fully used in
the United States, and to find new home
and foreign markets for these and for
manufactured products, and to open
foreign markets from which to procure
commodities that our own people cannot
make at all or not sulliciently to supply
our needs.
"5. Legislation to increase our merchant marine.
"6. The regulation of charges for interstate transportation of persons and property.
"7. Legislation to regulate trusts and
combinations of capital so as to prevent
extortion.
"8. The regulation of interstate telegraphic service and charges therefor,
especially to prevent profits on watered
stock.
"These are samples only of many subjects which do not properly belong to the
domain of political party debate in Congress."
FARM PRICES TOO LOW.
"Taking the average farm in most of
the agricultural States, including, of
course, the newer ones, for an average of
recent years, and with present farm
values and price of products the income
of snch farm may be estimated about as
follows for a year:
25 acres corn, 900 bushels, 18 cents 11(12 CO
25 acres wheat, 375 bushels, 60 cents  223 00
25 acres meadow har  200 Cu
10 acrea pasture, required for farm  team
without Income
15 acres pasture for stock.  100 00
These are large estimates with total 1637 00
Deduct taxes, cost of labor hire, repairs
of farm implements, etc., $150. Net income, assuming that all products are
sold, $587.
"This is the meager sum to repay for
capital invested, for labor, risk of short
crops and loss of stock by disease and
otherwise. Out of this the cost of supporting a family and educating children
are to come. Farming does not pay.
Something is wrong—the interest on the
investment would swallow up one-thlid
of the net income. The farmer will be
fortunate. No portion of our people engaged in Industrial pursuits are so inadequately rewarded as tbe farmer.
The average wages of a good mechanic
■v.111 not exceed" $3'a &ay, wiil~^;-,-~~~.pIoy-
ment not exceeding on an average _SX.» *
days in a year, or In all $780.
J'The average salary of most of the
county /illooraXu our States. wiH equal*'
abont $3,(_00 even higher than Judicial salaries. The learning skill and ability required of each is no greater than that for
a good mechanic. The farmer ln the case
stated will have Invested in his farm and
farm implements an averago of at least
$3,000. The farmer and the mechanlo
with Incomes about as stated are taxed
to make up salaries on an average more
than four times the amount of the income of either of them. High salaries
are not the only grievance. The local
expenses of cities, villages and townships
are excessive. Farmers share a part ot
their burdens.
"One thing is certain; if the present
low price of farm products and high
taxes and local expenses are to continue,
great injustice will be done to farmers
and mechanics. If low prices of farm
products are to be continued—the result
will soon be tbat official salaries should
be-reduced."
HIS PLAN FOR RELIEF.
"Each year this congress should make
a declaration of views or requests to the
Congress of the United States to enact
such laws as may be deemed neccessary
and just affecting agricultural industries.
It would be well to invite the co-operation and aid of the National Grange. Delegates should be appointed for this purpose and to present the requests to Congress.
"As to legislation in the States: This
congress should provide for the selection
of at least one vice president for each .
county in each State nntil relieved of
duty by the appointment of a successor.
These vice presidents should meet in^
their respective States at the commencement of each session of the Legislature
therein and present request for needed,
legislation. They should co-operate witb
the State Grange in each State. By
uniting the influence ot the grange and
the vice president for each county the
grange could, through subordinate
grange organizations, collect money to
meet necessary expenses incurred in aid
of State legislation and of legislation by
Congress. This is a mere outline of a
plan which may be perfected as it is believed by this Congress."
THE MEMORIAL TO U. S. CONGRESS.
The memorial ordered to be prepared
by.the Congress, and adopted on Thursday, contains the following among other
provisions:
Csullnued on SIHpagw,
il_