The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-01-28
MARKETING FARM PRODUCTS
AND THE PRICES RECEIVED

soldiers at all-only near farmers, at
least once removed. They really rep
resented some other place or some
other place or some other line Of bust
ness han ours.
You see each soldier was in duty
bound to take back some thing of
value, to the location or vocation
whose special champion he really was.
1t takes fight and might to get what
belongs TO you from a republic. It's
being right is no disadvantage, blu
seems unimportant.
There are generally two sides to
every question. No great injustice Is
done any considerable class of people
If they are Watchfull, Vigilant and
keep alive to the tendencies Of both
action I'M thought, and do not con-
Clude that because g. thing Is, 1t ought
to be, or because Of it's long continu-
anCe, it is right. A thing that was
good may become bad. A thing need
ed at one time become an abuse at an
other. A well intended thing may pc
come Viscious. Or a really good thing
may become Objectionable through the
inherent weakness of the people 1t
affects or are affected by 1t.
Laws must change with the change
Of conditions. Governmental policies
and business practices ought to notice
these changes and be 20 adjusted as to
meet the new conditions; abuses
| when discovered, should be stopped,
altered or destroyed. To illustrate,
We are a young state, with ample OF
| everything, but people and capital. To
invite either one or men We must
nave a story telling of our advantages.
Such a story carries more weight II 1t
is an official utterance. So our state,
like some others, interests the asses
sor to ask you and l how many acres
W. forrona fhn no OF SyaaT How TnliH6
grain We raised and how much we
paid for labor. Certainly reasonable
and purposeful questions. Are you
sure the answers given do you any
good? It's the states business to
serve the people living here; not some
one living elsewhere.
Unfortunately, in answering these
questions, the personal equasion comes
in. Each assessor asks his neighbOr
and his neighbours neighbor.
Americans, as a people, are boaStful.
The pessimlst is in the small majority.
All of us like to do, or appear to do,
as well as our neighbor n to be as
big a fellow. So we report that we have
farmed as many acres as is possible to
report, according to the list OF lands
the assessor has. Some times we put
in lands we rent, that may get in twice.
Keeping in mind that we must uphold
the good standing of the community,
and as evidence that we are good farm
ers, we report more bushels than rails
ed, and to show that we are good bus
mess men we place our labor cost less
than it was. We lever allow ourselves
to create the impression that Any crop
costs more than it came to, except the
unfortunate pesstmist, and there r
not many of them. Does this we'll in
tended law fail because OF an inherent
weakness in us? and does it matter?
Yes: 1t tells the grain Spectator, the
importer, the miller and the consumer
really did. that we raised more stuff
than we really did, and we did it for
less than the actual cost.
When the new crop starts, because
we feel we should be a booster, OTIS
p~leasanter to boost than to knock,
wanting to show our loyalty, continue
to report, until u~ndiguised n I'M
questionable calamity OvertakeS us,
that W. have the largest acreage and
the finest prospects since 1 came to
the state-we all use the same express
sion.
We individually and collectively adj
NIT, and almost guarantee, that our re-
| spective farms and localities are each
year going to have the largest crop we
ever raised. First result. The actual
owner of grain offers his for sale. The
| z oSHAOA any ON4 "NAN ~ ~
and sells more actively n aggressive
ly, as we swell our chorus of great
crops, and thereby helps insure a profit
for himself through a lowering Of
prices. The buyer looks for lower
prices and waits.
Result two. Barring calamity we do
have lower prices.
Final result to us. In the fall we re-
new again the paper that in June we
were sure we could pay, when we
threshed. The mortage still sticks. We
have surely boosted, but have we been
loyal to ourselves, our neighbors or
our class? Were you and I using good
business ems when the friendly and
loyal boosting editor, to fiatter us and
boast the community. Inc to show his
heart vas right, published in lily, as
our opinion, that our crop wa bod for
forty bushels, and if we were not self
ish and narrow gagged, We said our
neighbours crop was as good as our
own; or later, when he published that
u crop averaged forty-seven bushels
when in fact it averaged twenty-one
bushels? Possibly you did have two
acres OF potato ground that yielded
thirty-seven bushels, and you added
ten to make yourself good. to boost
your community, and because you are
a loyal boastful, boosting American
citizen and you had a perfect right to
lie about your own crop as 1t was no
ones business to know the real facts.
Does this boosting do any harm? Yes:
Your statement vas copied by other
boosting editors and by some papers
who seek to serve the or are
friendly to the buying interests or in
terested in the very laudable effort to
reduce the cost of living. It was copied
and recopied in the crop news items of
commission houses, and read and re-
read by the short seller gambler, who
sold and resold you wheat and mine
when it was growing, because We were
again going to have our very largest
] crop. 1t was read by the miller, the
importer, the handler Of cash grain in
European countries. Would it tend
to make them anxious to buy at once?
It's the present bid that makes the
market value. Or does the merchant
do himself or you any good when he
passes on your report to him to the
wholesaler, of whom he is asking cred