The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-28
Farmers, organizations.

Combinations, pools, rings and organizations
of various kinds exist in most lines of commerce,
manufacturing, labor, and even in some Of the
higher arts and professions. Agriculture alone
is without the protection afforded by consolida-
ton Of individual interests, and an organized re-
sistance to unjust encro achmentS; yet no other
industry is more in need of such organized re-
sistance to robbery than is farming. In scarcely
one of the operations connected with hHsbandry
is the farmer able to dictate terms to those who
buy Of or who sellto him Y let no class has
mankind than have they who furnish thee daily
bread Of the world BY combining as
railroads spectators and others do farmers
could compel all the world to comply
with their demands, for men must eat.
though the Kingdoms fall and the empires dis
appear. Ships may be built and manned, fac
tories may be filed with machinery and opera
tiyes, railroads may stretch across the land,
elevators may be erected, and spectators, mer-
chants and manufacturers may stand ready for
business and, if the farmer fail to give them
work, there they will stand idle. All are de-
pendent upon the farmer and he alone of all
classes can live independent of the rest Of the
world. Yet, by the sheer force of combination;
the dependent classes have so reversed the nat
ura order that the tiller Of the land is theslaye
toiling for the pittance allowed him from his
own earnings by those who, in the natural
order, should be servants and not masters This
has been the condition of thugs 50 long and 50
generally that it seems now to be the natural
condition of affairs.
Railroad corporations have done much to aid
in the agricultural development of the country,
but they have taken very good care to get full
pay for what they have done as fast as they did
the work. In most cases, indeed they have
managed to get their pay long before the work
was DONE As rule they seem to be following
the very simple rule of charging all the traffic
will bear and the farmers suffer more from this
extortion than does any other class, for all
others manage to secure some profit after paying
the transportation charges. Buyers Of farm
products fix for themselves the prices to DO paid
therefor; and, but for lack of neighboFAy CO.
operation, and of such business combination as
common sense shows, and the example Of others
proves would give farmers power to
control the markets, the latter must
meekly accept whatever price may be offered.
and as meekly pay whatever price is demanded
of them for the goods they may buy. This is
true, as rule of all the operations Of the farm;
and 1t is true simply and only because of lack OF
organized cooperation
Not infrequenty the price to be paid for a
certain crop is fixed months before it will come
into market by the clique which buys the bulk
of that crop. 1t is said that the price to be paid
for the cotton seed, grown this year was agreed
upon months ago by the buyers of that kind of
crop. But if the planters who will grow that
seed should refuse to sell pound, except at
such price as they should set, their action
would be quite likely to change the views of the
buyers considerably, The planters would get
| any reasonable figure they might demand, for
the owners, of the oil mills must buy seed or
they must see their plant lie idle, deteriorating
more rapidly than it would in use.
Farmers accept any price offered for milk by
| the milk peddlers of the towns. The buyers are
| organized and agree upon the price they will
allow the producer, and the figure is always low
enough to leave a good margin Of profit II the
| producers, following the example of the ped
dlers, would organize and conduct their business
on business like pan. is it likely that the re
| tailers would let their men, and horses, and
- -
| other sources of supply or to substitutes fo1
milk; or would dairymen see their factories
stand STILL their skilled assistants disperse and
/ their trade dissolve. rather than yield to any
reasonable demand from the prodncers2
Degenerate commerce has fastened upon agri
| culture sWindling devices almost. beyond mum
Der. Cheating in weights and measures, over
/ charges for carriage, for storage and commits
i Sions false returns about waste and damage
| all the petty tricks that small in themselves,
make in the aggregate vast steal and reduce
the net returns to the producer. 1T was the
sdream Of the Grange to end all this, and it is
| to be hoped that among the possibilities Of the
/ future lie such changes as will bring TO the
4 farmer Just recognition Of his rights, and oil
| his importance as prime factor in the worlds
| progress. But may it not be asked whether
j the farmer is not now, as in past generations
neglecting the very means that would give tc
him that place to which he is entitled by the
| nature of his @worke Is it not education. the
superior power of trained minds, that has shown
/ to the dominant classes the advantages of coop
| Grafton, and given them contro1l Does not the
farmer occupy a subordinate place because he
has spent his life in incessant toll instead Of
! giving part of his time to informing himself
and training his mind? Is not the farmer rob
bling himself as well as his descendants when he
neglects giving his children a liberal education
Does he not deliberately send them out TO fight
! the battle of life against trained soldiers and
neglect or refuse to give them drill Or the
Weapons thew will needf Would not the thor
Ough education of the next two generations of
farmers children do more than anything else can
| to lift farming from the comparatively low
| estate into which it has fallenl
"A Cheap Paint.