Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1909-06-11

millers got little II any Of this. Farm
ers sold their wheat cheap and bought
flour dear. Why can such changes
occur? Certainly they are harmful.
Natural and artificial forces combine
to them. The artificial ones
should be stopped at once. The nat
ural ones should be overcome--and
can I've. Who shall do 1t?
The first difficulty preventing Inn
provement is the fact that farmers do
sell for less than the cost Of produc-
tion. Why? The following are the
most Important answers: (a) they
do because they don't know what the
cost OF production is and therefore
can't set a minimum; (b) even II they
did, they do not understand the mar
ket conditions sufficiently we'll to
know how to do things differently; (c)
they are accustomed to selling their
surplus crops as soon as these crops
are ready, getting what they can and
then starting to prepare for the next
crop; (d) there is need to sell at once
In order to settle the crop Of annual
debts which accumulate; (e) no one
individual could materially influence
the conditions. These and other mi
nor reasons are why farmers are will
ing to sell. Buyers are around not
because they desire to be Of great SER
vice to the farmers--as servants--but
because there is a good chance to gain
profits.
The result of this is that ,agricul-
lure has been the least fortune, for
those engaged in it, OF all great Amer
lean Industries. Farmers work long
er hours and harder and have less of
the travel and comforts Of life than
any other class Of like ability. Their
only important salvation has beer the
fact that the people OF this country as
a whole believe in private property
and therefore many farmers are now
well-to-do because their lands have
increased In value and they claim the
increment. Few have gotten far
ahead On the profits from the indus
try. The result is that many are land
poor and 20 without telephones, good
roads, carriages, sanitary homes, and
other modern necessities. With a
fairer market this could be changed.
At the present time grain dealers
furnish storage facilities at terminal
points and are ready to buy grain at
any farmers gate. They build and
maintain line elevators and are IN
touch with millers and foreign and
eastern shippers. With these facili-
ties they are able to get control OF
the great mass of grain within q lew
months after harvest. Somebody
must make this provision for storage,
look after the distribution and own
the grain until demanded by n
sumers (millers). II the farmers can
not do this intelligently they must be
satisfied to let others do 1t. Careful
organization is essential in order to
deal this surplus out to the consumers
and properly finance the crop. The
grain brokers and their institutions
now do MISUNDERSTANDING abuses
heaped upon them by some whose OPP
position Is SO intense that they are
completely blinded and can see no
good.
But the most important function
ynRe tN chase mn and nr0in az.
changes is to maintain fair and uni
form prices. This they claim to be
able to do in theory; but they fail
absolutely to do it in practice, and
allow so much of evil that some i'm
provement is essential. Violent
changes in price are often produced,
in spite of outside desire for uniform
ity, In the cash market which tends
to follow the speculative market
even when the latter is controlled by
m%anipulators. Spectators play only
for the differences and do not care
whether the price Is kept at a high or
low level. But it must tluctuate.
1t will be possible here to sketch In
q very general way some Of the steps
which should be taken at once II BEN
eficial results are to follow.
The first step to be taken is to as
certain In careful detail the cost Of
producing wheat under all conditions.
Then and only then can a minimum
price be placed IN the grain. Then,
too, the uncertain forces which make
wheat growing more or less hazardous
can be as carefully studied as scien-
lists now study any detail Of aRricul-
ture. Then an insurance system will
be worked out which, applied In a
business-like way, will take away
much of the suffering now found to
result from uncertain climatic con-
ditions and other uncertainties and
at the same time remove much worry.
II is q loss to the farmers II they
sell below the cost Of production and
1t is injurious to society asa whole to
allow 1t; and it Is time that all alike
were taught by the state through its
Institutions Of learning how to avoid
these losses and to conduct all OF
their operations as business men.
But 1t would be equally unfOrtun-