The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1913-03-03
ONLY WAGES
Farmers are Not Getting All
There Is In the Farm
Business

Bookings, March 3.-"If the Ameri-
can crop producer continues long enough
to ignore the fact that land represents
a capital. he will rapidly become IN
American peasant. 1t costs as much
to raise the average corn crop in the
corn belt as the average corr crop sells
for. The same is true also of the
average crops for wheat, and oats.
In fact, it seems to be an economic
law, that the average crop producer
receives only the current rate CT wages
with nothing left for management.
This is doubtless true Of the average
producer in any line of work"
The foregoing is one of the most ad
vanced ideas that has ever been pre-
sented on the subject of better crops
and was given by DIR. A. N. Hume, Of
the state college, before the Minneso-
ia Field Crop and Corn association at
Mankato.
Professor Hume continued his idea
by stating that, ''the livest. most vi
tai proposition in the United States
today is that il takes a business man to
produce crops. Crcp production has
become a business from an economic
standpoint and no man will be able to
purchase land at current rates and
produce crops and make any more than
current wages, unless he is a mansg
err"
Big business men are becoming aware
of the situation and are cspitalizing the
business of crop producing. This
tendency will make it impossible in Il
few years for the average farmer to
compete with big business in the rails
ing of crops, because more and more
land will be bought by capital under
its control. Capital will then hire
more and more labor to compete with
the average crop producer.
1t is a vital question for the Ameri
can farmsr to solve. whether he will
become better than an average, or
failing in the unequal battle he shall
take his place ia the line of hired la
Dor. No other country possesses ST
large a contingent of independent farm
err citizens, a body which is the
strength of our democracy. "The
serious question before us today and
from now on will be whether this con.
tingent of our independent citizenship
the great body of crop producers in
American, can be preserved. Th,
lest thinkers in the Uuited States az,
farmers. The safest and sanest peopl
In the country are crop producers.
Nevertheless, it is the somewhat
amazing fact that il can be truth
fully written that this great body OF
intelligent American citizens are inert
to the fact that as an average they ar,
not making money" This is becaus
seventy per cent of them do not figure
in interest on their capital, namel,
their land.
DR.. Hume physically called atten-
tion to the remedy namely that farm.
er must produce more than average
crops. He will then find his business
a profitable one as con pan ed with other
businesses. If he will fam on a scien-
tiic basis he can for all tine maintain
bis independence and make money in
competition with capitalistic crop pre-
ducers. That the American farmer
shall always be an American citizen
and not a peasant is the real vital
issue beneath it all. 1T will be ac-
complished in brief by education, not
only OF the man himstlf who raises big
ger crops. but Of the common citizen.
ship of all who participate in the bele-
fits of his TOLL