Conservative ,
worthy contributions on this subject ,
some of which wore so well written
that we very much regretted the im
possibility of accepting them. Box
the quarrel up , and let the clods
rattle onto it. So far as The Con
servative is concerned , this is the
last clod.
The objections so
OBJECTIONS fnr raised by oppon-
OVERRULED. ents of the post
check currency are
not sustained ; they overrule themselves.
More than that , they prove that men
who are disposed to be critical find very
little in the measure to criticise adverse
ly. The banker who claimed that a
penny's worth of ink eradicator would
remove the names of the payee and
pay or and make the check again pass as
currency , seemed to have found an ob
jection that was of some importance ,
though not necessarily fatal to the
scheme , as it is by no means certain
that the risk even then would be as
great as is the chance of a raised drafter
or check. But it will be well to remem
ber that while it may be possible to
easily remove ink marks , and it is cer
tainly true that , relieved of all marks
placed upon it by the payer , the check
is at once cashed , in fact cashes itself ;
it must be remembered that there is
still the stamp to deal with , and The
Conservative believes that in the stamp
lies the redemption of the system. To
cancel the stamp with a perforating
stamp , or to out it with a penknife clear
through the check would give absolute
assurance that the note would never
again pass as currency. This same sys
tem has given absolute protection with
the revenue stamps of larger denomina
tion , why not ] with the postal check ?
The Conservative feels assured that a
post check treated in this way could
not be tampered with. A train robber
who at the risk of his life blew open a
mail oar and secured a ton of these
notes would still lack the price of a
night's lodging unless he was possessed
of other funds than those secured in the
robbery , for in the hands of a third
party the check would not be worth a
centime. The only way to realize upon
it would be to have your name appear
in the blank space for the payee , and
then be properly identified at the banker
or postoffice. The Conservative fully
believes that in this scheme lies the
solution of the vexations problem of
how to easily , quickly and safely trans
mit small sums through the mails. If
you find any fault in the system write
us ; if yon find no fault , write , , your
representative in Congress.The matter
is of importance to every business man ,
particularly publicists , and since the
advent of the rural delivery , the farmer
is greatly interested , likewise the rural
carrier , who would no longer be forced
to sell money orders , perhaps in a driv
ing storm , but' the farmer's note to his
favorite publication , containing a re
newal of subscription , would come to
the mail wagon all ready for its jour
ney. In fact , the system would be a
time saver all along the line , and those
who would be benefltted by it should
not fail to aid in securing the passage of
the Post Check Currency bill now intro
duced in both houses.
THE BOON OF FREE SUGAR.
[ By Edward Atkinson. ]
In the discussion of the sugar tax
three men have been forgotten ; tax't '
the American dairy farmer ; second , the
fruit-grower ; and , third , the consumer.
There are no classes in this community
who have a greater interest as producers
to secure sugar entirely free of taxation
than the dairy farmers and the fruit
growers.
It will be observed that the island of
Great Britain , which is a little less in
area than the State of Georgia , each
about fifty-five thousand (55,000) ( ) square
miles , produces neither sugar nor fruit
in any considerable quantity ; yet it
holds a paramount position in the man
ufacture of jellies , jams , preserves ,
coupled with an enormous export of
these products. Think of it , "Dundee
marmalade , " known , the world over ,
made in Scotland from imported
oranges and imported sugar !
Again , Switzerland , with scarcely a
pasture where cows can be left unguard
ed , yet admitting sugar free , holds the
paramount position in the export of
condensed milk , of which sugar con
stitutes one third the weight.
Given free sugar , what would be
our position , even in the State of
Georgia only , in the export of
peaches , nectarines , other fruits , and
berries of every kind ? Extend that
view over the whole area of the
country , who could compete in mak
ing jellies , jams , and preserves ?
If I am rightly informed , there is
even today one establishment making
condensed milk which buys annually
one hundred and fifty thousand I
(150,000) ( ) tons or more sugar than
the largest product yet attained by
Mr. Oxnard and his associates in
their beet sugar factories. Compute
the quantity of beets which the beet
sugar factories claim to use , and for
which they assume to pay four dollars
lars ( $4) ) to the farmers out of each
ten dollars ( $10) ) received by them
selves ; bear in mind the necessity of
child and woman labor in weeding
the beets at the very time when th o
children ought to bo in school ; divide
the maximum sum that they have
ever paid or yet claimed as possible
to be paid to the farmers by the
average product of a farm , and it
will appear that not one farmer in
one thousand could as yet be sup
ported on beet-growing. If it were
to increase rapidly , the' cost would
increase rapidly. Whore are the
women and the Children to come
from to weed tlJe b < $ t8A a process
which cannot bo dond by/machinery ?
Mark , again , tlraV be sugar is
and can only bo proclucod veconomi
cally in Russia , in the 'iTJodres'tJ' parts
of Germany , in Belgium/ and inv
some parts of Franco , whore tlforois
> * * *
* /
a dense population on thoc very'- ' > v
verge of pauperism who can find\ \
nothing bettor to do than to we ed/'S
,
beets.
A s Webster said , ' ' Can we afford
't < do what foreign paupers can do so
well for us ? "
Again , what proportion can the
beet-growers ever bear to the dairy
farmers , and what is the relative
merit or opportunity offered in the
two branches of industry , weeding
beets or caring for cattle , or working
the dairy ? So much for two of the
forgotten men.
Now for the third , the consumer.
The prices of the necessaries of life
have advanced more than thirty (80) ( )
per cent since the year 1898 , while
neither the wages of labor nor the
salaries of the vast number of the
smaller employees in shops and fac
tories , nor the fixed incomes of per
sons of moderate means have ad
vanced in anything like the same
proportion. Therefore it follows
that anything that can be done by.
the remission of unnecessary taxes on
articles of food would be most timely.
Disregarding small fractions , the
consumption of sugar at the present
time is seventy (70) ( ) pounds per head
of the population ; the average price ,
five (5) ( ) cents a pound , equal to three
dollars and a half ( $3.50) ) per person.
The average consumption of wheat ,
flour per head of population is , disregarding - -
regarding small fractions , one barrel
a year. On the latest quotations for
flour in New York , with all tlfe
charges added a thousand miles from
the wheat field , I find it ranging
from three dollars and a quarter
( $8.25) ) barrel . for the lower grades ,
chiefly used by bakers , to four dollars
and seventy-five cents ( $4.75) ) for th'e
fancy tpyes , averaging about three
dollars and a half ( $3.50) ) per head.
Any person who watches expenditure
will find that he pays as much or
more for his family supply of sugar
than he does for his family supply of
wheat flour. What is the conclusion ?
The duty on raw sugar is a hundred
(100) ( ) per cent , or more. What could
be a greater boon to the consumer at
the present time tiian to reduce the
cost of sugar one-third ? Were any
one capable of showing a way to
reduce the cost of the "staff of life"
to the bread-maker one-third , would
he not be entitled to a monument ,
and "Would ho not bo cherished in
thankful memory for all time ?
Whether or not the Congress of the
United States will confer an equal
boon rests upon their capacity to
resist the demands of a small class
who "seek to divert the power of
public taxation to purposes of private
gain. "
