Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-09-23

illustrations. Your beef. Your pork, Your
hay. your grain, Your potatoes are more
or less pcri>hable i'll quality and your
animals. if not sold rapidly, eat them
selves up Yet he who cannot hold his
crop or his product without serious loss,
has put out of his power an almost ncceS>;l-
ry element i'll any attempt by combination
to control markets and prices.
Then consider the number of producers
y wide belt of land stretches across this
continent whose products compete with
those of New Englanl \ million farmers
are raising wheat and corn and potatoes
and cattle and sheep, and making butter
and cheese. The men in trades may have
4 convention. \ few hundreds or Il few
Thousands at the most could represent them
and speaks for them all. But what sort OF
Il gathering could represent the varied in
lu>tric> of the farm? One man i, near,
one is remote from Il market. The
railroad takes one mans freight ut his
door. while the other i twenty or fifty
miles from the station. One man is in the
market ut the earliest moment with his
product in the h.~t possible condition.
and gets the high price that rest always
gives to til" fresh butter of spring. or the
earliest peach Of summer, while his slow
cr nei@hbor waits until appetite has pallel
and prices have fallen with the full supply
of later day. Besides the supply Is Ill
ways uncertain. Your product is affected
bv a hundred chlncrS of atmosphere and
SKY to which most other industries are in
different Blight, frost. mildrw. rust. the
grlsshoppcr, drought. and other influences
more subtle vet scarcely less mi-chicvou~
often turn the f;irc~t hopes Of thc farmer
into disappointment. and spoil the harvest
of which the spring gave abundant prom
i>e. The farmer i in partnership with
tie elements, and vet they are partners
whose control over the product l. almost
absolute, while they are deaf to commands.
cntreatic> or PRAYERS. and spoil Il field II
rcmorsclc>~lv Is the most RELENTLESS invad-
inc army. Dealing with such incon>tant
elements the farmer can calculate with
little certainty on his crop; and thus it
happcn> that wide tracts of country will
occasionally be little better than barrrn
and the labor Of the summer will scarcely
bring seed enough for another Soving. if
indeed. worse does not happen, and I or
lamitv little short of famine does not over
take the dc-olltc,l districts. What can com
binalion do in controlling prices, when they
, are affected by 80 many circumstances ant
, Influences over which the men who ut
tempt to combine have 80 little control
: Yet men prominent III the Grang,
: movement in the West have told tn" farm
Z ers that combination was ~ possible 70
: them a~ for the manufacturers of cloth
p that All they had to do WAS to fix the pric,
, ofthtir wheat and corn and beef AMI moi
t sell under tn tt price: and rs tn world
: must have the wheat and corn and beef i
. would come t. their terms. This i
' cheerful theory. but it j. simply impo~~i
It ble to reduce. it t. practice. Five mil
l. Ion or one million farmers cannot combine
II There can hc no fixed lric" for the farm
7 er, product Quality varies greatly
& Every mile nearer or more remote from
II market increases or lessons the value Z
/ the product One m3n' : t.,rn Will produce
:. with thr same labor double the GRO
d which can b.. crown on ano;hrr> :. acr
V for acre. Then hr,ad>tuli> are groW
t for the world and lay the world. Th
it price of wheat on the shores Of the Blac
Sea j. 4 vitalclcmtnt in the price of Whc:
20 on the banks of the Mississippi and Nj
: 80, RI Whether the farmer Of Minncsot
u shall oct >eycntv-tilc cents. or Il dollar. {
:. Il dollar and fifty cents u hU-hcl tor hi
al wheat i not for linn to ~1E. Y wet Ia
Of vr-c in England or drought on the plain
III Of Southern Russia may add tWcm,y-tiy
It per cent t. hj> return for hi sumner
L work. Indeed the farmer who hl~ n
L. thousand acres of fine wheat land III Nil
of nc>ot;t. near some means Of tran~portatI,
/ to Chica"o. or Il. Louis. j. helped no, Il
all and can br helped not 1t AL by CON
le bination with every "'hrr Wh".t-growe
e does not obli@r linn To ~II against Ii
/ l.. I,,., Ii,- /,
l. ter of the situation II he can br: and
= would b IL Idle for him ;nI hundred {
Il 4 thousand liI, him TO meet in Jun" AMI i
at the prize. ut which they Would sell The
N seasons crop, II it would b. for them
it attempt t. regulate, tire depth of water
e. the Mi~-i-~ipIi IL both viii be establish,
On bv Influences and fac.~ quite beyond th'
g control.
ol But while the farmer has, in fact 80 !itt
or to say rs To the price he Gets for his be
III or hi~ buttrr Ct hi~ com, and while comI
~ nation viii bring little if any cain to hi
II" in this particular. he has generally "
lc rrcat advantage over many other In,l
n tries: indeed. over nearly AL industr
~ where r:,pital-;t~ the word j. genera
IL uecd-dor> not mainly consist of labor I
to land. The dcHlrr in or manufacturer
of cotton or WOODEN f:lhrir~ may ir ruined
tr- Il fall of only Il few cents ward in t
al price OF the fabric. If the farmer "N
lrv hi> land, he i, tolerably >"cIr", ccrt1inlv
or Vermont where variety of crops -ivc> il
cs- food. In any event, n can hardly
ms beaten out Of Il - living, and his chilll
of will not know what it i to want for br(
Mt and warmth and shelter. He may not
Of come rich but thrift and industry V
er> keep hunger and the sheriff from his 'lo
| Al
in he should havt-it i not :ll that intcllig
ifs farming viii give aim. The Grange mo
ter mcnt. a. Il social. educational and e'
-ho political force. may push the farmer.
ich lift him to Il higher level, and make hn
more valuable factor in the commonWca
us and if not directly. Vet indirectly give h
his greater control Over the prosperity of
.ul- countrv-p Ieritv. mean. i'll it, IL
i'm comprehensive sense. and which include
mn its significance the moral and intellect
no. as we'll rs the material progress OF lndlN
be ual>. societies and states.
tier can delay but Il moment to speak
the the value of association. properly u>c!
ral- the Improvement of society. If oar >o
INV natures are cultivated it i, vet not alW
so. in the RIGHT direction Society is quite
Dre- much :, matter of dress and idle. profit
AS conversation 1t ought to bring into |
lys, the most active intellectual 1oFct>' ana
hey an educator, as well rs Il lllrhl>llcf Oh en-
ms tainment. 1t is. perhaps. quite imposs
lost that most of uS should not have a dr>ir
md look well. and to know what or neighl
nts are doing. but thi, need not drgenel
itv. into fashion and gossip intellect :
ruit ru>tS out unie>, 1t has cml'l"Nmtht ;tll
md starves without food.-Why not civ,
of books. the best newspapers, and discuss
her that awake thought and kindlc the fire
the intelligence? Some men and some woi
for GROW in intellectual stature for three Z
the years,-others barely show signs of
and after their school days and exist viii
lay, Development; indeed. they seem often
Ter tellectually like Il @ir'Iled tree with gro