Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1913-06-06


merely interest and wages.
Let US see whether we can discover
the operation of this law in its re-
lation to agriculture. According to
the census of 1909 the average cap
ital invested per farm in the United
States was $6,444; the average gross
income per farm, 1881; the average
gross expenses, 1926. This leaves a
net farm income of 1855. If we as
sumo that money invested in agrieul-
ture is worth AYE per cent interest,
we have left a labor income of 1865
as the average for the $50. ,502
farms in the United States. But this
labor income includes unpaid labor
by members of the farm family,
which in number Of surveys made
by the office of farm management
has averaged about 500 per farm.
II also includes farm produce con-
sumed by the farmers family, which
is, on the average, about another
hundred dollars. Deducting these,
the farmer himself gets cash in
come for his labor of about $l65
year. He works at productive enter
prises, on the Average, about half
the year. We see, therefore, that he
gets about a dollar a day for his la
Dor, which is approximately the av-
erage price for farm labor in this
country. This is not exactly u
pricely sum, but we must remember
that in addition to this dollar a day
for the time he works the farm fam
lily gets paid for work done by other
members of the family and it has, in
addition, that portion of the food of
the family furnished by the farm. In
addition to this, it has the interest
on the capital invested. In all, there
fore, the farm family has seas which
1t can use without impairing the cap
itdi lH'eoteu III tue ItTm.
In order to compare this figure
with some others to be given below,
let US recall that the labor income,
including the food furnished by the
farm and of the labor performed by
members of the family, on the av-
erage for the whole United States,
is 1865. For the State Of Illinois
the figure is 1860; but in addition TO
this the Illinois farmer has $697 a
year AS interest or his investment,
so that he is able to live fairly well,
provided he does not save anything.
In the State of Alabama the amount
the farmer receives i'll produce from
his farm and as pay for labor of
himself and family is $345. In addi-
ton to this he has $63 interest on
his investment. In the State of New
York the average farmer receives, in
produce from his farm and as wages
for himself and family, an average
OF $243 per annum. in addition to
which the family have at their dis
posal 1903 interest on investment.
The reason for the smaller labor
income in New York is found in the
greater expense of farming there
Thus, comparing New York and H.
linois, although the Illinois farmer
has over $4,000 invested and the
New York farmer has less than ST.
900, the amount expended for labor
in Illinois is, one the average, $444
per year. In New York it is 1892.
The feed bill Of the average Illinois
farmer is S56; on the average New
York farm $l37, and there are other
similar differences in the various
items of expenditure on the farm.
The relative price of land in these
two States reflect this difference in
the cost OF farming.
These figures show that the eco
nomic law above stated applied to
agriculture in the United States in
1909. We may add that it applies
generally, although there may be per-
iods when the income of the farmer
will be somewhat higher than this, as
well as periods when the income will
be somewhat lower.
Let us now consider the operation
of this law in its application to the
results which may be accomplished
by organizations for marketing farm
produce. We might here use concrete
examples, but those for which data
are available are not quite applica-
BILE to the problem in hand. | shall
therefore use a hypothetical case.
Let us suppose, for instance, that
the truck growers of Texas form an
efficient organization for marketing
their products to the consumer at a
minimum cost, all unnecessary ex-
penses and profits being eliminated.
Provided the Texas producers do not
increase their output, the stuff they