The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1902-01-09
THE F4R u ! AND sT.4T .z 81

PRIN % ZEE ON D MI ON: u
THE FARMER md STATISTICS.
In the Cambridge Independent Of
last week we note an editorial reference
land comment on the suggestion that
has been made in the public press Of
late for some system of collecting: up-3
to-date, reliable. and accurate agricul-
tural statistics, and also data on the
cost of raising crops, etc. It is the
desire to determine the exact cost Of
production of the staple articles which
the farmers of the State and of the
northwest produce each year and to
compare the cost of production each
year with the cost of production of the
preceding year or years, and to deter
mine the comparison between the cost
of production and the price which the
articles produced bear to the cost of
consumption.
The Independent says it is not in
formed in whose fertile brain the idea
had its origin. AS a matter of fact
statisticiains, the government and vari-
Gus commercial bodies, have for a long
time been trying to arrive at some
method of securing reasonably correct
data on agricultural production. The
Independent says it looks like scheme
of the stock brokers to control prices
of farm products and thinks it would
be for the best interests of the farmers
to withhold all such information. -
We are surprised that any newspaper
in the State of Minnesota or any other
State, would be so blind to the interests
of both the farming and commercial
world. It is the same old populistic
cry of suspicion and robbery, isolation
and fear, and desire to stand aloof
from the busy, moving and progressive
world, and watch the parade of pros
perity go by. The farmers, we think,
who are prosperous and progressive,
would have no hesitancy in having
all the agricultural statistics possible
made public, because any farmer who
is at all fair and reasonable, will court
publicity. If the publication of farm
statistics is good for the commercial
world, they are equally as good for the
farmer himself, The whole trouble
between the farmer and the business
world has been such rotten doctrine as
the Independent is preaching, and any
newspaper out to know better, for if
any one appreciates the value of COR
rect statistics, it ought to be one who
runs newspaper. The farmer and the
business man have been living too far
apart, and through false theories and
doctrines many farmers have become
imbued with the idea that the business
man, the manufacturer and the rest of
the world are robbers. 1t is, high
time that the farmer was educatedi to
realize the Importance of publicity of
statistics. We are all agreed that
publicity is good thing between the
public and corporations, and the farmer
is not at all backward in any suggest
ions of this character, but when it comes
to revealing to the world the extent of
the farmers crops and the cost of pro-
duction, etc., then some back number
will step up and whisper in moss
covered voice that some broker wants
to rob the farmer. What absolute
nonsense. ~
The Independent inquiries why the
railroads should not furnish to the
State the cost of operating the lines of
railway, the sources of income, ETC.,
and why the coal combine should not
produce statistics to show the exact
cost of producing coal; why the rich
manufacturer should not show the cost
of producing his goods, etc.
All of this information may be OBJ
tanned by any one who wishes to take
the trouble to look up the statistics in
any of the trade journals. A perusal
of the annual reports of most of the
railroad companies and the mining cor
porations of the country, and the mass
of information that finds its way into
the trade and technical papers of the
country, will enable one to get pretty
we'll posted on all these matters. Re-
ports of the Industrial commissions
Investigations and many other sources,
will afford plenty of information. It