ITS CAUSE AND REMEDY 13 



into the United States since the repeal of 

 the McKinley law. 



Placing hides on the free list in 1872 

 caused a great hardship to the stockmen 

 without any benefit to the leather user. 



On January 1st of this year our farm ani- 

 mals were valued at $3,675,389,442 as com- 

 pared with a valuation of $1,655,414,612 on 

 January 1st, 1897, the last year of the Gor- 

 man-Wilson tariff. 



This is achieved with only partial protec- 

 tion of the farmer. If the Federal Govern- 

 ment will protect the farmer's bushel of 

 wheat equally with the protection granted 

 the other industries, then the farmer will 

 be relieved of one of the worst oppressions 

 ever imposed on a civilized race of people. 

 I write this not in the spirit of selfishness, 

 for I raise no wheat to sell. I raise products 

 that are protected and which bring a good 

 price, but I know that wheat is the unit of 

 value of every article raised on the farm 

 to a certain extent, and if an export bounty 

 of 25 cents per bushel were paid the farmer 

 for every bushel of wheat exported and a 

 commission appointed to see that the farm- 

 er, and not the shipper, received that 

 bounty, then the products of the farm would 

 be increased in value to the amount of 25 

 per cent, or in round numbers our wheat 

 would be worth $150,000,000 more than at 

 present, our corn $300,000,000; hay $150,- 

 000,000 oats $75,000,000; potatoes $30,000,- 



