Newark post., 1912-09-25
ORGANIZATION FOR FARMER

from the Farm Journal was writ
ten bv Professor Conwell Of Cam
dem, Del. Prof. Conwell will be
remembered here as the Professor
of Latin at Delaware College. He
is now prominent farmer OF Kent
County, keenly alive to the inter-
ests of all phases of agriculture.
As a member Of the last session
of the Legislature Prof. Couwell
often spoke of organization as the
greatest need of the Delaware
farmer.
The farmer is already getting oceans
of advice. If it is good advice, the more
the better, on the principle of cline
upon line, and precept upon precept. -
He is already getting floods of informa-
ton. 1t is pouring upon him in torrents
from the Department Of Agriculture,
from agric lltural colleges, farmers IN
stitutes, various kinds of agricultural and
horticultural societies, from thousands
of professors, lecturers, experimenters
and demonstrators; in phamphlets, cir
cuars and bulletins.
Much of that information is valuable,
and probably the farmer should not kick;
despite the fact that it all tends to in
crease competition over production, 10"
or prices for farm product, higher prize
ed and more worthless farm labor, and
higher prices for what the farmer has
to buy. And, of course, it should be
borne in mind that this agricultural pro.
paganda is not primarily farmers
movement, and that it is benefting Others
more than it benefits the farmers. IN
deed, it is debateable question wheth-
er it is not doing the farmer more harm
than good.
But it can, at least, be safely sai't-
that there is one thing the farmer needs
more than he needs additional informa-
tion-and that is organization. OF the
one hundred and one blessings that Or
panized agriculture could bestow, atten-
tion is asked to five of them:
l. 1t would put more farmers IN
Congress. How humiliating to inteih-
gent farmers in this supposed-to-be rep
resentative government, that there are
so few farmers in Congress! The rail-
roads and trusts have probably fifty to
represent them, where there is one farm
er. This fact is full of peril to the farm
er: and means for him, if it continues,
even less profit from his farm, still few
er comforts to his home, more patches
on his pants and sooner or later-as III
certain European countries peasant
and "serf' as his titles of honor.
2. 1t would make it impossible for
any man in this country hereafter to
get his clutches on hundreds of millions
and leave it to his children and grand
children, either as means for the dis
play of folly or as a weapon where
with to help subjugate tn nation to the
yoke of plutocratic oligarchy.
3. 1t would bring producer and con-
sumer closer together and thereby rem
edv existing conditions under which the
average consumer can hardly live because
of the high price of farm products, and
the average farmer can hardly live be-
cause he has difficulty in getting enough
out of his crops to meet expenses.
4, 1t could reduce the number of of
fees and the salaries attached to then
with their never ending increases ano
thereby head off monarchial salaries anc
conditions, and help to bring 1t abon'
that the average intelligent and capable
farmer could get as much out OF his bus
mess as the average politician and Others
now get out of theirs.
Harriet and t. as Judge Biggl'
sometimes says, ''were talking the othel
evening about neighbor of ours--al
intelligent and very Industrious man, ant
a good farmer of no bad or expensive
habits. He had been farming for fort,
wears and had saved in that time, a
we estimated, about $4 700. At the sam
time we called to mind an unprinciple
politician who was getting more tha
that sum per gear. AS the 'melanchol
Dane' remarked on one occasion, ther
is something rotten in Denmark whe
an unprincipled man, possibly by som
mean or unpatriotic act, can get as muc
in a year as an intelligent, industrlou
and economical farmer can save III Tort.
). An organized agriculture woul
have it in its power to govern TINS coui
try and make and preserve 1T IN fact
in name a government of, for and by TT