Bismarck daily tribune., 1911-12-08
(Continued from page 81

Continued from page 3.)
BILE extension Of the acreage actually
cultivated. All of the conditions are
ripe for the Introduction of machine
production, for we now have high price
ofproduct, efficiency of machinery, ant
a possible concentration Of manage
ment. The effect upon the individua
farmer will vary as the conditions
vary, but generally speaking the mar
! gin of land values as he enters into
the field later on will be against him
and on the rent basis there will be
a heavy payment demanded If be en-
ters agriculture as a tenant. More
/ over, the margin of profit is against
him, and this will become greater and
greater as the efficiency Of the ma
chine production continues, and It If
unQuestionably true that the entrance
OF capital into agriculture will mean
larger control of margins for the
producer rather than for the farm
er
Small Farms.
To me all of this indicates many
things. and most of them serious
Larger areas undoubtedly will be
farmed in many instances, and the
tendency will be to hold down the IN
habitants to small numbers, but be.
yond all of this is the possibility OF
the creation of what might be termed
a peasantry class, located on the land
and working for wages. A condition
of that kind would mean a loss IN the
social life of the community, low
ering of it's dignity and incentives
to progress. There is only one al
tentative for this situation, and that
is for the farmer himself to own the
machinery and use it on large scale.
as shown in other industries that
have been organized on a capital1st1c
basis. We ought to have everywhere
thriving communities, with the very
best facilities for marketing the pro-
duct, and a sturdy Independent peo-
pie who have their own views and
opinions about matters Of state and
local interest. A result of this kind
can only come about where there is a
farmer on each quarter section OF
land. but the trend seems distinctly
away from this condition, as shown
Ihy recent figures in the census.
Cooperation Necessary.
There is, however, q solution OF the
problem, solution which can be
found in the second phase of this dis
cussion, namely, cooperation. Co-op-
GRAFTON is the working together Of a
group of people who Jointly share the
product Of the enterprise. It is not
socialism, nor is it commission. Social.
ism hopes to secure joint ownership
through the action of the state, while
communism owns jointly rather than
severally the property Of the group.
With some purpose, therefore, Of fol-
lowing this line Of thought, it is worth
while to glance briefly at various
phases of cooperation.
Association Organized
Looked at broadly cooperation
has to do with what is termed either
distribution or production. The first
is the uniting Of group who will act
for themselves as consumers or as
agents. There are many illustrations
OF this, as for instance the fruit and
grain growers associations, and the
creation of cooperative stores. The
producers cooperative enterprises
are by no means numerous. They are
engaged in furnishing jointly capital
labor and management. It has been
failure In most instances because of
small capital, poor management, and
lack of market for the material. But
If this much may be said of producers
cooperation in the field Of manufac-
ture quite as much may be said Of the
efforts to carry out cooperation in
agriculture. The cultivation Of the
soil Jointly has been limited, 80 far
as l know, to the efforts Of communal
organizations, such as are found in
the Amana Society in Iowa and else
where, SO that little attempt has real.
ly been made to carry on agriculture
or the direct cultivation of the soil
by cooperative methods, while on
the other hand, there have been vari.
GUS methods attempted in the field Of
distribution of the products among
farmers. Perhaps the best example
of this effort is found in the case Of
cooperative creameries. Milk can be
sold to consumers directly or to mid
dlemen and manufacturers, but
where the cooperative creamery is
organized the producers of milk and
the manufacturers of butter may be
one and the same group. So success
full has this movement been, that now
there is tendency to develop a SEQ
ond step through the creation of sales
agencies for the protection of the CO
operative creameries, and this has been
successfully carried out for the last
two or three years. For many years
men have talked about the handling
Of grain and the abuses to the trade
involved in it. Before the sos and
during that decade the weighing and
carting and docking of grain were
constant source Of irritation. There
were calls for the state ownership
of elevators, for their regulation and
while legislators were willing to en-
gage in the latter, they left to the
farmers the development of elevator
companies for themselves Great dif-
ficulties of organization and the mon.
ey market were finally overcome in
many istances, so that today there are
at least 1900 cooperative elevators
In the United States whose property