Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1910-08-26
FARMERS PROFITS
GO TO MIDDLE MAN
Prof. Bailey of Roosevelt Commits
sion Wants Laws to Protect
Tiller of Soil.

"All the people are beginning to
feel that something must be done to
make country life as progressive, ef-
fective and permanently satisfying
as city life. We can not be a great
people II one-half of our society is
more highly developed than the 9TH
er half"
Thus declared Prof. L. H. Bailey,
OF the country life commission ap-
pointed by President Roosevelt
shortly before the expiration Of his
term, In his address before Sanger
field Country club at Sangerfield, N.
Y, on July 20.
THE so-called country life move
ment is slowly forming opinion
that something really fundamental
must be done to put rural society
where It belongs" continued Prof.
Bailey.
ITO make farming profitable Is
no longer a question merely of rails
Ing more produce. We have passed
that point. We now have know
ledge and experience enough to
enable us to greatly increase our
yields, II only we put the knowledge
into practice.
Government Should Interfere.
Now, It Is the business OF every
government to protect its people. We
are beginning to protect the people
from the overlooking Of railroads.
from unfair combinations In trade
and from the tyranny of organized
politicians, It is just as much the
business Of the government to pro-
tect its people from the rapacity of
dishonest and tyrannous middlemen.
II am glad to see the farmers
union and other organizations at
tacking the middleman abuses, but
no organization can permanently
handle the question unless the or
ganization Is all the people. The
present agitation ought to compel
congress to pass law to correct the
evils, and the organizations then
should keep such touch on the situ-
alton that the laws will be enforced.
But the enactment OF a law, even
of a good law, Is only another step
in the solution. There must be a
continuing process of government
with which to work out the reform
and to settle each case on It's merits.
There are three steps In the con-
troll of the middleman (D An
aroused public conscience on the
question; (2) good fundamental
law for interstate phases and similar
state laws for local phases; (3) good
commissions or other bodies to which
any producer or any consumer OF
any middleman may take his case
No Private Right TO Swindle.
"Of course, some Of the middle
men and associated trades will con-
tend that all this interferes with
business and with private rights, but
no man has a private right to OPP
press or swindle another. There is
little danger that the legitimate busi-
ness of any honest middleman, and
these are hosts OF honest and de-
pendable middlemen, will be inter
fered with.
II know that commissions have
not always been wholly successful.
This Is because we have not yet had
experience enough, have not con-
sciously trained our people for this
kind Of work, and have not been able
to make water-tight laws, But there
Is no other way whereby the lndivld-
ual can be protected against combin-
ations, lawyers and politicians,
mo government can expect to
throw back on the producer the
responsibility of controlling agita-
tion to awaken government to the
necessity Of doing what II is plainly
It's duty to do"