Fortunes for Farmers 



have no politics, but wish to ascertain what would 

 be advantageous for themselves first and then for 

 their country. Our difficulty is that the indepen- 

 dent man has no current source of information. 

 Every one is biased, every paper has its mind made 

 up and thunders forth arguments for its own side, 

 but is blind to the enemy's point of view. Every 

 good Liberal is an ardent Free Trader, who thinks 

 Protectionists foredamned for wishing to batten on 

 the food of the poor, whilst the Conservatives have 

 spent the last year or so hunting out of their camp 

 those who do not think Free Trade dead as a door- 

 nail. 



These people do not bother their minds about 

 what may happen; they don't care a carrot about 

 weighing evidence or deducing trends, for they 

 are certain that they are right, and that their 

 course, if followed, would be the best. But if we 

 are unbiased, if we are citizens (or farmers) before 

 politicians, if we have that curious twist of mind 

 that will not allow us to think every Liberal (or 

 Conservative) idea idiotic because our party lead- 

 ers decide for the opposite; if we belong to that 

 small but growing class who desire to think for 

 themselves, these rabid speeches and foaming 

 papers leave us cold, and we do not turn a hair at 

 their tirades, none of which make the slightest 

 attempt to inform the man who wants to know; 



26 



