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profits, the State has been seriously injured and is still being injured. 

 It is undoubtedly within the province of the Legislature to do much 

 towards correcting this evil by enforcing an equalization of taxation, 

 and by asking such action on the part of the General Government as 

 will put a stop to this concentration of so much of our public lands in 

 the hands of speculators. 



Another drawback to an immigration of the producing classes is found 

 in the ruling high rates of interest on money in our State. By the 

 increased facilities of trade, our farmers and mechanics are brought into 

 dii'ect competition with the farmers and mechanics of the Atlantic 

 States, and as many of them are compelled to do business on borrowed 

 capital, the high rate of interest demanded by capitalists here operates 

 as a direct discrimination in favor of the Eastern producer. This evil is 

 brought home to the immigrant with greater force when he attempts to 

 purchase land here. If he finds himself unable to pay down the whole 

 of the purchase money for the quantity of land required, the high rate 

 of interest demanded for the balance of the purchase money discourages 

 the investment, and thus is worked another serious injury to the pros- 

 pei'ity of our State. Capital, when properly invested and used to assist 

 labor, is a good and necessary thing in any country, and especially in a 

 new State, with boundless undeveloped resources like ours, but when 

 allowed greedily and blindly to oppress labor and cramp the develop- 

 ment of those resources, it becomes an evil of the most dangerous char- 

 acter, and like any other evil, should receive the attention of the Gov- 

 ernment. 



The high rates of fare and freight demanded by some of our railroad 

 companies, where competition does not tend to correct the evil, may be 

 cited as another drawback on the development of the country. They 

 also have their influence to retard immigration. Intelligent people 

 inquire how much it costs to move the products of a country to market, 

 as well as how much and what that country can produce, and what those 

 products will sell for in the market. All new States have had these 

 same evils, in a greater or less degree, to contend with. A few straight 

 forward and judicious laws enacted touching these subjects, would doubt- 

 less be attended with good results, both as to the development of the 

 country and in inducing immigration. In forming such laws, however, 

 care should be taken not to drive capital from the State or to discourage 

 its coming here for investment. The object of such legislation should be 

 rather to induce it to come in greater quantities, and to show it oppor- 

 tunities for investment, where the profits being more certain and secure, 

 will not necessarily be required to be at so high a rate per cent. If cap- 

 italists can see greater inducements for the investment of capital in agri- 

 cultural and manufacturing enterprises, than in land for speculative pur- 

 poses, or in holding it for high rates of interest, they will not hesitate as 

 to what course to take. If they can see a growing business for addi- 

 tional railroad enterprises, they will not hesitate to build competing 

 roads, thus reducing the fares and freights on all by increasing the 

 business, and without lessening the certain profits of all. 



We would here mention a practice among our capitalists, which has 

 already done a great injury to the State, and which, if continued, cannot 

 but work a direct injury to capital itself. We refer to the discrimination 

 made by our money loaning institutions, in favor of city and against 

 country borrowers. The cities cannot prosper without the country is 

 developed. If any class of men should be favored by capital, that class 

 should be the producers of the country, for they, more than any other 



