Norwich bulletin., 1911-02-18

and there, such aS "tarf6 reform" .indnstlial education good rosd.~ that none Of them is the universy9 panacea, for there is no one undvef- sal panAcea.' Every farmer must "be his own solution" and .afd' in the gen. ail Whatever one the separate and individual farmer may find specially applicable to himself and his afnmedi- ate conditions, and however he may enfhuse over 1t, after all sfhe must pull
 with his brother, deny sacrifice. for. himself before the rural problem will approach solution"
 Taking up, finally, the asssrtiens sf thoso who declare that the farmer ls E fIusf with prosperity, MT. Barrett ad-s mits that this is 10, ito an extent.
 Some farmers are better off. Tho
 mass of farmers do not share in tho
 Improvement. Wouldn't they stop go- l, ing to the cities If they were really I sharing in ftYs And he points out that ! it is for these that co4operation is nee essary. Therein he is right. In every calling there will always be some, poS- gessed of unsual business acumen, lowered with exceptional perseverance. and clothed with phennonenAl energy dry goods or grocefies; t ts so in banking and commerce.; 1t is go in professional life. There are men In all occupations who seem able to perform 1 tine imposstbility of lifting themselves by their own boot straps. But these are uncommon men. Most of us4 are 1 just common folks and must make the best we can of our merely common capacities and opportunities. For us the only hope of achieving real suc- cess lies in mutual helpfulness, in our all boosting each other.
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 The farmer mssts organized oppo sition from the beginning of the year to it's close. The multitudinous armies of the insect and fungus worlds are l greater forces of nature are as often 1 his enemies as his friends. He must ally himself, consciously and uncon. 1 sciously, with all the helpful functions of the natural world. if he hopes to beat the bugs and the blight and the bad weather. When he comes into contact, business wise, with his fel- l low men, he is almost like the single l lamb in a pack of wolves. Buyers and 1 sellers are combined to protect then1- l selves and enrich themselves, at his expense. He, as an individual, has about as much to say regarding the ] prices he shall get for his products, l and the prices he shall pay for his supplies, as the lone lamb in the wolf | pack has to say about what shall bO
 
 1 tal1ow. This is not wholly unnatural. How the common farmer can expect ] his competitors, his rivals, his ene- ] mics, to protect his interests Is and always has been puzzle. They aren't l in that business. He must protect 1 himself or he will not be protected. He l must win success for himself. or he will never succeed.
 And it is just as certain as that ten l 10 moro than one, that he can not pro- ] tect himself or win success against powerful organization unless he meetH 1t with equally powerful organization. There isn't a Trust In the business world which isn't made up of com bfnation of what were once smaller and competing interests. They have sunk their separate existences and | merged their individual characters ir-
 to one greet combination. where no single one does just what he wants to or just what he thinks wisest all the time. He has surrendered his indc- pendence and his right to hunt for himself for the sake of gobbling a
 bigger gorge from the share of the
 packs booty.
 Just at present, of all the consum- CTS and producers ill the land, the l farmer consumer producer is the one 1 who is being most relentlessy ravagedi and pillased by these gigantic buc- I eaneering organizations. This, simply
 because he is the most helpless and 1 least capable of self defense And he l is thus defenseless solely because he i won't organize to meet organization. i Tho thing would be ludicrous-tf 1t were not so nearly tragic.