234: 



FARMERS' NATIONAL CONGRESS. 



the expenditure east of the ninety-eighth meridian 

 of the millions of dollars proposed to be used west 

 of that line, in irrigating and draining farms al- 

 ready in operation, would increase their product 

 by a larger volume than will be raised west of it, 

 for generations to come, under the irrigation 

 scheme." 



At this point the children of the Georgia In- 

 dustrial Home for Unfortunate Children marched 

 upon the stage and sang patriotic songs. 



At the afternoon session a paper on How can 

 we best Build up our Merchant Marine, by F. 

 B. Thurber, of New York, was read. It favored 

 ship subsidies. Mr. Thurber opened his paper by 

 Diving: "Great Britain is our chief competitor, 

 a lid she has consistently followed the policy of sus- 

 taining new lines until sufficient commerce de- 

 veloped to make them self-sustaining, and then 

 .gradually reducing the subsidy. That should be 

 our policy." He said further: "The percentage 

 of American products carried in American ships 

 has dwindled from 90 to 9 per cent. If we are to 

 find a market for American products, they must 

 be distributed by American ships. Steamship-lines 

 work for their own countries precisely as railway- 

 lines work for their terminal points. The original 

 cost of building American ships is greater than is 

 the case abroad; the wages paid to American of- 

 ficers and seamen are very much higher than those 

 paid to the officers and seamen of competing 

 foreign vessels, and the standard of living on our 

 ships is far superior to the standard of living on 

 the ships of our commercial rivals." 



Opposition to ship subsidies was expressed in a 

 paper by the Hon. Oliver Wilson, master of the 

 Illinois State Grange. He began by saying that 

 " in treating this important proposition there is 

 but one fair way, and that is in the interest of the 

 mass of citizens " ; and he declared that " instead 

 of benefiting the masses, it appears that the 

 proposition for subsidizing our merchant marine 

 is a scheme largely to increase the wealth of the 

 few at the expense of the many." He pointed out 

 that the reports of the Leland and other ocean 

 steamship-lines recently bought by American 

 capitalists showed that they did not need Gov- 

 ernment aid to be profitable, that the high sub- 

 sides of the French Government had not built up 

 the shipping of that nation ; that " the latest facts 

 and figures go to prove that ship-building can be 

 done in this country as cheaply as in Great Britain 

 or anywhere else " ; and that while our workmen 

 " receive higher wages, they accomplish more in a 

 given time, so that the factor of higher price for 

 labor is eliminated." 



At the morning session, Oct. 10, a paper on 

 Farm-Products in the Markets of the World was 

 presented by O. P. Austin, chief of the Bureau of 

 Statistics, Treasury Department. He showed that 

 the American farmer is keeping pace with the 

 world's demand for his products and will retain 

 the market both at home and abroad. He said 

 that " the application of scientific methods has 

 enabled the American farmer not only to prevent 

 the deterioration of the virgin soil which made 

 this country the world's greatest producer, but an 

 intelligent understanding of that soil and its capa- 

 bilities, coupled with the use of new machinery 

 and new methods, enables him to make its prod- 

 ucts of more value to him than ever before. The 

 man who in 1867 gave up 1 bushel out of every 

 <5 of his wheat to pay transportation from Chicago 

 to New York, now gets the same transportation 

 for 1 bushel out of every 16." 



A paper on A Bird's-Eye View of the Farm- 

 Products of the World, by John Hyde, statis- 

 tician of the national Department of Agri- 



culture, was rendered specially interesting by the 

 use of the stereopticon. Charts that showed at a 

 glance the relative standing of different countries 

 as regards the principal agricultural products 

 showed also the commanding importance of the 

 United States as an agricultural country, and the 

 great importance of our agricultural exports in 

 maintaining a favorable balance of trade. Mr. 

 Hyde also gave incidentally a history of the pro- 

 duction of the principal cereals. 



At the opening of the afternoon session a paper 

 on The Labor Problem from the Farmer's Stand- 

 point was read by John M. Stahl, editor of the 

 Farmer's Call. He divided his subject into two 

 parts, the first being the labor problem on the 

 farm. He said that of those things the farmer 

 needed, the hardest for him to get is intelligent, 

 conscientious labor. Among the remedies for the 

 scarcity of farm labor he mentioned agricultural 

 education, beginning in the primary school. in the 

 country; better appreciation of the advantages 

 of farm life in developing character; better treat- 

 ment of farm hands ; and the trolley-line to farms 

 from the cities. In treating the second division of 

 his subject the labor problem in the city he 

 pleaded the cause of the " innocent public " which 

 was often the chief sufferer from strikes or lock- 

 outs; opposed compulsory arbitration as imprac- 

 ticable, but favored conciliation, and, that failing, 

 voluntary arbitration; and closed with a denun- 

 ciation of both the open and the subtle lawless- 

 ness that too often appeared in the conflict between 

 labor and capital, which should be good friends. 



The following resolutions were adopted by the 

 congress : 



" That we favor the policy of reciprocity when 

 it can be used to enlarge the markets for our 

 agricultural products, and we indorse the words of 

 the late President McKinley that we ' should take 

 from our customers such of their products as we 

 can use without harm to our industries and 

 labor.' 



" That we express our sincere regret at the pres- 

 ent deplorable conditions of business caused by the 

 conflict between capital and labor, and we de- 

 clare ourselves strongly in favor of settling all 

 such difficulties either by conference or arbitration. 



" That we express our hearty approval of the 

 rural free mail-delivery system, and favor its 

 further extension as rapidly as is consistent with 

 public policy, until the rural population of the 

 entire country receives its mail in this way. 



" That we urge upon Congress the need of the 

 early passage of the bill now pending for the 

 establishment of the Appalachian park and forest 

 reserve. 



" That we favor the speedy enactment of a law 

 by the Congress of the United States to pre- 

 vent the adulteration of any article used for 

 human food in any form; and that such laws 

 should carry sufficient penalties to make them ef- 

 fective. 



" That we favor the discontinuance of the dis- 

 tribution of seeds, except of new, valuable, or rare 

 seeds, which we recommend shall be distributed 

 under the direct supervision of the Department of 

 Agriculture at Washington. 



" That we favor and urge on Congress an in- 

 crease in the appropriation to each State and Ter- 

 ritory for experiments in agriculture by the sum 

 of $15.000. 



" That we respectfully urge our representatives 

 in Congress to make more liberal appropriations 

 for the Agricultural Department, which embraces 

 within its scope of work the largest and most use- 

 ful of all the industries of the Union. 



" That we recognize with pleasure and gratifica- 



