St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1910-08-20

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double the yield of wheat. On some
lands it can be doubled without ex-
ira cost. On other lands it will cost
more per acre, though probably less
per bushel
The diversifcation of crops, the
application of more manure to the
soil, the proper preparation of the
crops, all mean more labor per acre,
and therefore more expense.
Where is the additional expense
to come from? Manifestly from
higher prices for farm products. If
the world wants more wheat than
America is raising today, all that
the world has to do is to bid more
for wheat, and the higher price will
induce more men to go back to the
farm and induce men on the farm
to take more care and incur more ex-
pense increasing their crops.
After this lesson has been thor
oughly learned, after the American
farmer, with due regard to Mr.. Hill
and other railroad managers, deter
mines that he will follow their ad-
vice and try to raise more food crops
at more expense, two things happen:
First, there is a general move
ment-what the law describes as a
conspiracy in Sestraint of trade-on
the part of the railroads to advance
rates; that is, to increase the cost
of getting the crops to market, and
to that extent decreasing the returns
of the farmer.
The next thing that happens is an
outcry from Wall street, where the
stocks are tum bling. 1t seems that
the banks in New York have been
called On for money to move the
crops, and they have not as much
money as usual to lend to men who
are carrying stocks. Their loans are
called The price of stocks de-
clines. The men who have been
handling them cry out that the hard
times are due to the extravaganza
of the farmer, and the American
farmer is seriously instructed by the
American speculator in Wall street
that he must curtail his expenditures,
reduce his extravaganza and know
that he cannot always expect to get
S1.10 for wheat and Is cents for
cotton.
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lar and ten cents for wheat is the
Chicago price, SO is the 15-cent cot
ton. The farmer has to raise the
cotton and carry it to these points
to get these prices.
But let us take these prices as
reasonably high prices. Let us con-
slider that the following an advance
comes usually recession in prices.
This is the usual story. The farm
ers understand it fully. They had
long era of 50-cent wheat and set.
cotton, and they were on the verge
of bankruptcy for several years.
Recently they have had their in
nings, but the net results are not
such as to indu extravaganza. Such
profits as have been made on the
farm have largely been put back
into the farms and the no es of the
farmers. They have been buying,
and they will continue to buy, better
farm implements, higher grade stock,
better household utensils, all of
which contribute to the productive
capacity of the farmers family.
Up and down Fifth avenue in New
York go a procession of thousands
of automobiles, costing anywhere
from $1,000 to Sc 900 each, These
are vehicles of pleasure. These
measure the extravaganza of the
times.
On the farm the automobile is
making it's way not as a pleasure
carriage, but as useful farm We
hicle. 1t is new, and it is still in the
experimental stage. Even when a
farmer buy an automobile for pas
senser service for the use of himself
and his family, he does it in order
to save time and money. He makes
his investment in it. He generally
runs it himself, or his son runs it, or
his daughter. He does not paw a
chauffeur SIS a month and s75 more
to keep him in good humor. Let
Wall streets reform begin at home.
The Milk Trust in New York is
paying the dairymen of New Jersey
and New York from 21a to 8 cents
a quart for milk and charging Gus
toners 8 cents.
1t it is desired that the American
farmer raise more milk and wheat