The Parker post., 1911-08-12
REASONING In A
CIRCLE, He SAYS
Plain Farmer Believes That High
Cost of Living Is Caused BY Poor
Roads, Great Waste and Large
Profits of MiddIemen.

Irlend, When you ought to cut cross
lots"
Thus, did Sd Hawkins, a plain, un-
tutored,but hard-headed farmer, pune
ture the labored philosophy of a high
browed exponent of domestic econom-
les, who had just climaxed an address
to gathering of farmers with the
statement ''that the cause of high
prices and the high cost of living is
freight rates, and the cure is a re-
duction in rates
Il am only plain farmer" contin-
ued Hawkins, "but |, too, have given
the high cost of living some thought,
not, however in a rocking chair in a
richly furnished study, but in a lum-
Der wagon up to the hubs in mud,
and while walking between the han
dies of plow. That is the college
in which l matriculated and learnde
what l know of economics,
Before this, 1, too, had formed
some opinions from garnished sophis-
try which found in books and speech
es theorists and office seeking politi-
clans, but it was hauling half a load
of hogs to market the other day over
road knee-deep in mud that made
me realize there were other things
than freight rates involved in the
high cost of living l had a case of
q Cid 4,rh
of butter on the other, both bringing
such good prices that mother-bless
her dear heart, she looks better in
calico than other women in silks
cautioned me against reckless driv-
ing.
"That set me to figuring. 1t took
me a whole day with a team and
wagon to haul 1900 lbs. of hogs the
ten miles l had to 60 AT the rate of
$3.50 per day for team and driver, /
easily ascertained that the wagon
haul. without allowing anything for
repairs or keeping of myself and
team, was costing 46 cents a ton per
mile. Great Heavensl that was over
siXty-One times more than the aver
age charge ton per mile by the rail
roads, as shown by the reports of the
Interstate Commerce Commission, an
| yet everybody seeking to reduce the
high cost of living was bitterly in
Weighing against railroad rates and
blindly marching behind blind leaders
to that end. When roads were not
muddy, | hauled $500 lbs. to load
and yet that was % cents a ton per
mile, or over thirty seven times more
than the average charge by the rail
roads. The reports of the Inter
state Commerce Commission showed
that the average cost by railroad was
3-4 Of one cent ton per mile
In a pamphlet issued by the De-
partment of Agriculture, l read that
the farmers of several states, particu-
larly of Pennsylvania, by the con-
struction of good roads had doubled
their wagon loads and thereby de-
creased the cost of wagon transpor-
tatiOn 50 per cent That meant ON
poor roads a saving of % cents ton
per mile, and on the dry roads ba-
sis a saving of Ia cents a ton per
mile
when | realized that this enor-
10 Gus waste applied to all the
great farm crops of this great coun-
tly-for every pound or ton of sur
plus farm products must be moved
by wagon to the cars or elevators at
the railway station-I was staggered,
first at the enormous waste and, sec
ond, a. the stupidity of so-called eco
Eomic philosophy. 1t cost me $3.50
o haul 1900 lbs, whereas with good
loads l could haul 5000 lbs at the
same cost, showing very clearly to me
that on the wagon haul l had a clean
waste and loss of Is per cent The av-
erage amount would have to pay the
railroad for hauling the same load
the same distance is less than
cents. In other words, for what it
cost mo $3.50, the railroads do it for
less than cents, and the average
amount the railroad charges me is
actually less than 3 per cent of the
amount that is wasted in the wagon
haul
81 got 1-3 cents a pound for my
hogs that day ,2S cents for the but
ter and 25 cents a dozen for the eggs
When l computed the cost of wagon
haul on my hogs and ascertained that
it was 2 1-3 cents a pound, and when
just before going home l stopped at
the meat market and paid the butche
SO cents for two pounds of the pork.
which but few hours before | had
sold him for 16 2-3 cents, easily con-
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