96 The Tariff and the Farmer. 



j)etition would be immensely decreased. Besides, there 

 would be a multiplicity of associations caring for the 

 different interests. There would be appeals for legisla- 

 tion. There would be tierce attacks on the protective 

 system as most injurious to the farmer's interest, and it 

 would soon find place in the garret of forgotten things. 

 The interest of a man carrying on several lines of pro- 

 duction is fatallv divided, both in field care and the direc- 

 tion of legislation. 



To secure full attention to the interests of a product 

 there is nothing like having many individuals caring for 

 it as a single specialty. Unfortunately, there is little to 

 cause a division into separate groups, or to cause farmers 

 to pursue single specialties. Probably there are less 

 than thirty different kinds of our agricultural products 

 for which beast or man affords verv extensive markets. 

 The division of those engaged in farming into this num- 

 ber of groups would still leave the number of persons in 

 each too large for successful monopolization. But the 

 effectual bar to the creating of monopolies here is the 

 great similarity of soil and climate throughout the United 

 States. So great is this similarity of conditions that 

 many if not most of our products flourish in more than 

 half our wide domain. But a few products, like cotton, 

 rice, sugar-cane, and sub-tropical fruits, are confined to 

 certain sections of the countrv. At little cost the farmer 

 can turn from the production of one crop to another. He 

 can make the change at once, though fair success may 

 require a year or two of experience. Let monopoly here 

 seize on a line of products and send price to a high level, 

 the very next year the number of growers of those crops 

 would be greatly multiplied. The quantity thrown on the 

 market would not only break the wings of monopoly, but 



