The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-05-04
A PART THE FARMER DOES NOT
RECEIVE AS REWARD FOR
HIS INDUSTRY.
Some Interesting Figures Regarding
Prices Paid to TilIers of the Soil
for Produce That Is Costly
TO Consumers.


TO Consumers.
While Gt is quite evident that not
all the points made in any argument
can be fully sustained, yet after
making due allowance for flights OF
fancy one must admit that there is
a great deal of truth in the state
ments contained in the following
speech recently made by Senator Nc
Cumber of North Dakota:
You are complaining about prices
paid for beef? Do you ever stop to
think what it costs to produce that
beef-of the years of labor bestowed
upon it?
1T takes about four years to pro-
duce a steer in the best condition for
beef purposes. Before the farmer
could own that steer he must expend
from one-half to two-thirds of his
working life in earning the farm on
which the steer is to be raised. He
must then cultivate that land: he
must raise crops of hay and corn and
other produce to feed that steer He
must then for four long years dance
attendance upon the wants and the
requirements of that animal He
must feed him and shelter him and
take. care of him, with a three-tine
fork at the other end At the ex-
piration of that time he ships him
TO Chicago, pays the freight and feed
and stock yard charges and turns
him over TO the beef truCt
That represents the amount of
labor expended upon that steer by
the farmer. What then becomes of
him? Mr.. President, within 80 min
utes after he goes into the hands
of the beef trust he is beef and in
cold storage and ready for shipment
to the city of Washington or to other
places.
Now, what are the comparative
prices that are received by the farm
er and that received here? I have
before me bill OF fare taken from
the United States senate cafe down
here. I look at that bill of fare and
l observe the prices of steaks. I
notice that the ordinary sirloin steak
will run from S1.75 up to SO per
service. l notice that the tenderloin
will run about the same; and l find
that the porterhouse will run from
50 up to about 81 in the ordinary
restaurant.
Il had meat man a short time
ago give me an estimate of what a
4-year-old steer would bring if served
at one of the restaurants here in the
city of Washington at these rates,
taking all the items that you will
find in this list, and he estimated
that it would bring from $4,000 to
$4,000. The farmers price is about
$50 to $50, with all of the four years
that he expended upon that steer.
With the little additional work, 80
minutes in the city of Chicago and
Transporting him here to the city of
Washington and cooking him at your
cafe he advances from $40 to ST.
500 or ,000-enough to pay half
the price of a farm. Yet the people
who are paying those prices for this
same steer served are introducing
bills in congress and asking that the
tariff or protection be taken away
from the farmers product on which
he has expended all these years of
labor
Let us take wheat, Mr. President,
which probably represents the least
margin of difference between what
the farmer receives and what is re-
ceived for it at the bakery or at
the restaurant The farmer in my
state received about 90 cents BUSH
el for his last years crop of wheat
One bushel of wheat will make about
IS loaves of bread The loaf is or
dinarily about IA ounces in weight,
and it contains considerable moisture
In making up it's weight
Before the farmer became the
owner of that bushel of wheat he
had to spend two-thirds of his work.
ing life in order to become the own
er of the farm on which it was raised.
Then he had to plow that land; he
had to cultivate it; the next spring
he had to seed it; he had to furnish
seed. He then had to harvest the
crop, cut it and bind it, and thresh
it, and pay the expenses, and then
haul it to the elevator.
THAT represents his work upon it.
Now, | want any man to compare the
amount of energy expended in pro-
ducing a bushel of wheat on the
farm with the amount of energy ex-
pended in transporting that wheat to
the city of Minneapolis or to Chica-
go, grinding it into -four, transport
ing it to the bakery and converting
it into bread. I think you will find
that there has been at least double
the amount of energy expended in
producing it than was expended up