Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-17

clared that under no circumstances will
they sell their cotton for less than a GER
tain price. Conditions have been favorable
and they have kept their word. The same
journals OF the textile trade denounce the
action Of the farmers as piracy, while the
farmers declare their organization and
their purposes to keep up prices is a most
praiseworthy bit OF economic foresight.
This is related by way OF illustrating the
fact that It still makes a difference whose
OK is gpred.
Attempts to fix the prices OF farm pro-
ducts have been made in many countries.
Governments ave sought thus to thwart
the operation OF the law Of supply and de-
mand. Not long ago Brazil, in an effort to
keep up high prices, bought millions Of
bags Of coffee to hold back from the mar
ket. The Russian government is now con-
sidering the advisabllity OF a large pur-
ohage of grain in the hope OF regulating
the amount Of wheat placed upon the
market. Merchants in the United States
sometimes wickedly destroy many carloads
Of good food-stuff rather than permit a
bountiful supply to force down the market
price.
The great difficulty Of controlling the
prices and sale of farm products is that
there are too many farmers and that they
are too independent. Organizations look
ing to the control of a limited product in a
limited section Of territory have been very
successful, as witness the fruit growers Of
southern California, the peach growers Of
Georgia and the truck farmers of various
Atlantic coast communities. The growers
of a certain variety Of dark tobacco in
Kentucky and Tennessee were goaded into
ranw4gn19 kr Nh. ,Wwa,a-aaaa. - Lnnu.-r
which forced down the price of their pro-
duct to the starvation point. But some Of
the farmers refused to come into the
combination, and insisted on selling their
products to the boycotted trust. True the
trust gave them five times as much money
for their tobacco at is gave before the
farmers organized. The result was the
Night Rider outrages.
The success of the dark tobacco growers
in forcing up the price of their product
caused the growers OF Burley tobacco, in
another part of Kentucky, to organize. The
Society of Equity was the medium chosen.
The results were about the same-the price
of tobacco was raised, the Night Rider
depredations have disgraced the LAND and
some men have become very rich.
But the farmers insist that these
troubles are not sufficient to Ttiate their
moral and legal rights to organize. in
view Of the fact that the selling and buy
ing market is organized. 1t is clear, now
ever, that 1t is difficult to persuade all
of the farmers of any section to enter
into an agreement sufficiently binding to
be effective.
Not only is II the purpose of the or
ganizations to fix prices and control the
supply, but also to regulate selling. It
has been demonstrated in the fruit and
trucb-growlng business that land which
produces a bare living when its product
is sold through commission merchants may
yield a handsome profit when its products
are marketed through a cooperative So
ciety, There is excellent reason to believe
that the cooperative system Of marketing
farm products will be established. As to
the other purposes of the organizations,
the history of the past proves. that no
organization can fix prices in defiance
of the law OF supply and demand. 1t is
possible, to a csEtain1 extent to regulate
+ supply and dema9d and to resist for a
time the operation of this immutRble law;
but it Is Impossible utterly to disregard
the basic principles of all trade and bar
ter.
The farmers organizations of the '70s
and sos were the result OF poverty. Those
were the lean years and the farmer felt
the heavy hand of fate. His crops brought
but small returns, his debts were large,
his land was mortgaged and he was the
, easy prey of the INSCRIPTIONS money
lender. Now things have changed. Farm
products command high prices, the farmer
is becoming more and more competent in
the science of agriculture, he ives nc
money, his land is free from mortgages
and he holds up his head, proud master
Of the situation. His attempts at organ
ization when he was the under dog failed
Now that he has money and the conscious
ness Of power the situation is vastly diff.
ferent. The future of farmers ~organiza-
tions may determine. the future of the re-
public.
BY Frederick ]. Haskin.
, Tomorrow-A Canal Anniversary.