The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1912-06-07
HOYT \. HARDEMAN
Tells FARMERS TO
FORM COMBINATION
STENOGRAPHER IN OFFICE OF
DEPARTMENT OF AGRlCUL-
TURE GIVES ADVICE.
SHOULD FIX PRICE ON PRODUCTS
Says Farmers Are Like Beggars, Ask
ing What You VIII Take? and What
Will You Give When He Goes to
Market for Trading Either Way.


To the farmer:-Yours is the great
est calling on earth, because you feed
and clothe the world, and you, who
ought to be thhe most independent
people on the earth, are, in many in
stances, the slaves to all other
classes. imagine if you will, two
two great balls, rolling slowly down
the planes of time, and single file
of farmers passing between those
two two gigantic balls, one man COM
ing out with eyes scared, one with a
finger broken and one with a toe Off
that is the condition today of the
majority of the farmers in America.
Upon one side you have the trusts
anu upon the ether you have the Ia
boz organizations, and you, who pro-
duCe the food and raiment for these
ciases are the slaves and the SER
wants of these other two. And
why is it? 1t is simply because you
pass between these two great forces
single file. Were you roganized, as
is every other calling, were you band
ed together, were you marching like
an army you would not be ground. as
you are, between these opposing
ciases. II is because you are dis
banded, attempting to combat all sorts
OF organizations single-handed. There
is just simply one method whereby
the farmer is going to be lifted out
Of his present condition, and that is
through cooperation. You can see
combination on every hand. Can you
think Of single article that you buy
that does not come through trust?
Let NC suppose the combined forces
OF several foreign nations we're to de-
clare war against the Omitted States,
and our president should issue a call
for million men and he should say
to them, Take your arms and go
out and battle against the enemy"
What would be the result? We
would be annihilated. In business
sense the farmer is anihilated today.
Like begar he takes his products
to the markets and asks, What will
you give?" And like begar he goes
to buy and asks, What will you
take?" You who produce the bread
stuFs of the world, why don't you
market it, why don't you sell it as
does the man who sells you keg OF
nails or a rol Of wire, or as does any
manufacturer? Your products are
far more necessary for the nation
than are theirs. They consider the
interest on the investment-the in
surance, the taxes, the labor, the sal
aries, the loses. and then fix price.
When you produce a bushel of wheat
barrel of corn, pound of beef or pork,
do you go about it in an intelligent
way and say, my land is worth so
much an acre, must have interest on
my investment, my labor is worth so
much a day, there are taxes, and
wear and tear on the machinery and
use of horses to be considered, and
then do you put a price upon that
grain or beef as you should, and get
il? No; you allow lot Of specula-
tors to fix a price on these comodi-
ties. You could stop their speculat-
ing as well as fixing the price If you
would. But you do not hang to-
gether; you hang separately; yo1 do
not vote together or you would fill
your legislative halls with farmers.
As an illustration OF what great
belelits could be derived from COOP
Grafton, take the tobacco association.
In this we find the farmers have or
ganized themselves together and de-
mand their price for their product,
and as a result, the price Of tobacco
as sold by the farmer has increased
IN value to more than double II 1t
can be done with tobacco, by cooper
alton, why can't we band together
and organize associations for or corn
Our cotton, our vegetables and our
i've stock: These products of the
farm must be had to keep the world
going, and if all the farmers would
combine and demand certain prices
lor their products, they would receive
them just the same as they have for
tobGct.