The Topeka state journal., 1900-01-10
THE FARMERS FATE.
Unorganized Supply Tries to Combat
Organized Demand.

Walter N. Allen in his paper before the
Stock Breeders association Tuesday pre-
turaI situation at times of increased
Yields. if the evil of over production con-
ply against an organized demand as he
the United States can corn be grown for
less than 20 cents a bushel-
that the Kansas farmer would haze been
ahead many millions of dollars if he had
burned, insteal of marketed his surplus
corn.
The reader should understand. however,
that notwithstanding Mr.. Aliens distress
ing views as a general proposition, that
in the special case of his own farm, his
q. money maker from his corn crop How
ever peSsimiStic his talk for the "other
fellow" he is prosperous himself Mt.
another one, to organize one syndicate to
| combat another one.
he, claims that he has invented a ma
chine for separating stover from the pith
| the stover will be unimpaired by the pith
and the pith freed for use as an article
| this machine will add $500, 600 900 annually
to the wealth of the farmers OF the Unit
'eThe discovery of the commercial value
| of cotton seed oil was considered a great
| boon to the cotton planters of the south,
| but the price of cotton went down in
proportion to the commercial value of the
| oil extracted from the seed of the cotton
| plant, and the price of cotton was never
SO low as since the discovery of this pro-
| cess.
IF a farmer should raise 1000 bushels
| of wheat on 100 acres of land, and sell it
] IN the Kansas City market at 80 cents
| s1,e00- But from this sum must be de-
! Quoted the cost of harvesting and trans
portation which would not be less than 20
| cents per bushel leaving the net receipts
| $1,000. But suppose next year he should
| raise on the same ground 1900 bushels
| of wheat and the price should go down in
proportion to the increase of his crop,
he OFalNT nnr1fc
bushel; and while the gross receipts
would be $1,000, the same as for the crop
| deducting 20 cents per bushel for harvest
| ing and marketing the 1900 bushels, would
| only be $500, which would make a differ
| enee of $500 in favor of the crop of 1000
| bushels.
1.-The state of Kansas in 1888 produced
| an average crop of corn of 16S, 754, ,0S7 bush
els: The &c crop OF corr corn for that year was
Ing the total value OF the crop of 1888,
IN 1889 the crop of corn in Kansas was
| s 70 sSSo,S2l bushels and, in the winter of
1883 and 1880, corn was worth only 13 cents
per bushel in the home market, and the
bulk of the crop went into the cribs of
| the speculators at that price, which was
| Z cents below the average cost of produc-
the crop of corn in 1883 at 13 cents was
$35, Cos 4S1. difference of $16, 790, ,4S7 in ia
vor Of the crop of 1888. although the crop
/ of 1889 was los, 1874 234 bushels more than
| the crop of 1885, But suppose we assume
that the cost of production of the crop of
| 1889 to be only 16 cents per bushel, then
| the crop of corn for the wear 1889 must
| have been marketed for 3 cents per busb-
| el less than the cost of production, which
Kansas. Now let US take into consider
| alton the cost of harvesting the crop of
4$S9 ass as compiaTsd m t9 the eost Of harvesting
cost to be cents per bushel for huskine
and hauling the corn to local markets
then the cost of harvesting the crop of
1889 was 900 more than the cost of
harvesting the crop of 1855 Add this
IS, ,25OOOO extra cost for harvesting the
farmers of Kansas, from having to sell
their crop 8 cents below the cost of pro-
| duction, and we have total of $13, 466, ,00O
Now then, if the crop of 1889 could
have been placed in the hands of a SYN
troll and, to adjust, the supply to the de-
mand, the crop of 1889 could have been
the price q per b1sReI for the es crop Of
1888, and the farmers of Kansas would
aen T6is woud dSssS have mad adstead d i
erence of SAG, ,261, OILS in favor of the pro-
ducsrs ar c but ut in PLACE of receiving this sum
of $S1, S66, 1876, the farmers of Kansas only
the crop Of 1859 sis, 466. 900.
for fuel. If the farmers of Kansas could
have burned the whole of the surplus OF
105 million bushels that year, then they
io9ing 9G SIS aS 600 ooo Ve0 si'OOOOOO instead OF
This big crop of corn in Kansas in 1885
and the big crops of 1895 and 1896 broke
down the prices of corn in all the state
AND this uncontrolled supply of the crops
of Kansas cost the farmers of the corr
growing states untold millions Of dollars
Corn sold in the markets of Chicago IN
September, 1896, as low as 1917 cents pei
bushel. There is not a corn growing state
+ in the union that can produce corn foI
less than 20 cents per bushel. These facts
and results ought to arouse the farmers
of this country, to a persistent effort tc
find remedy for the evil.
New conditions must be met with new
methods. The stock yard and elevator
system of marketing farm products have
been instituted since the close of oul
civil war. Government crop reports ant
boards of trade, are also the growth OF
the last thirty years.
These several institutions may have
been instituted in good faith in the aiC
| of trade and commerce, but they are al
now practically under the control O.
gamblers and spectators to the grea,
injury of the agricultural interest,"