The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1914-12-11
WAR SHAT
TIERS KING COTTON'S
THRONE
FlEEcY STAPLE MUST PAY RAN
soM INTO THE GOLFERS OF
WAR.
Nation RInss With Cries Of Stricken
lndustry.
BY Peter Radford

6y Peter Hadforo
Lecturer National Farmers Union.
King Cotton has suffered more from
the European war than any other ag-
ricultural product on the American
continent. The shells Of the belliger-
ents have bursted over his throne.
frightening his subjects and shatter-
ing his markets, and, panic-stricken,
the nation cries out God save the
king"
People from every walk OF life have
contributed their mite toward rescue
work. Society has danced before the
king; milady has decreed that the
family wardrobe shall contain only
cotton goods; the press has plead
with the public to buy a bale;
bankers have been formulating hold.
ing plans; congress and legislative
bodies have deliberated over relief
measures; statesmen and writer's
have grown eloquent expounding the
inalienable rights of "His Majesty"
and presenting schemes for preserv-
ing the financial integrity of the
stricken staple, but the sword of Eu-
rope has proved mightier than the pen
Of America In fixing value upon this
product of the sunny south. Prices
have been bayoneted. values riddled
and markets decimated by the battling
hosts of the eastern hemisphere until
the American farmer has suffered a
war loss of 100000, 900. and a bale
of cotton brave enough to enter a
European port must pay ransom of
half its value or go to prison until the
war is over.
Hope Of the Future Lies In Co-opera-
ton.
The Farmers Union, through the
columns of the press, wants to thank
the American people for the friend
ship, sympathy and assistance given
the cotton farmers In the hour of dis.
tress and to direct attention to CO.
operative methods necessary to per-
manently assist the marketing of all
farm products.
The present emergency presents as
grave a situation as ever confronted
the American farmer and from the
viewpoint of the producer, would seem
to justify extraordinary relief meas
ures. even to the point of bending the
constitution and straining business
rules in order to lift portion of the
burden on the backs of the farmer,
for unless something Is done to check
| the invasion of the war forces upon
the cotton fields, the pathway of the
European pestilence on this continent
| will be strewn with mortgaged homes
and famine and poverty will stalk over
the southland, filling the highways OF
industry with refugees and the bank
ruptcy court with prisoners.
All calamities teach us lessons and
the present crisis serves to illuminate
the frailties Of our marketing meth.
DDS and the weakness Of our credit
system, and out OF the financial an
guish and travail of the cotton farmer
will come volume of discussion and
a mass of suggestions and finally a
solution of this, the biggest problem
In the economic life of America, IT,
| indeed, we have not already laid the
foundation for at least temporary re
| lief.
More Pharaohs Needed In Agriculture
Farm products have no credit and
perhaps can never have on a perma
nent and satisfactory basis unless W,
build warehouses;. cold storage plants
| elevators. etc.. for without storage and
credit facilities. the south Is com
PEELED to dump its crop ON the market
at harvest time. The Farmers Unions
in the gotten producing states have
for the past ten years persistently ad
vccated the construction of storage
facilities. We have built during this
period 1900 warehouses with a ca
pacfty of approximately 100000 bales
and looking backward the result,
would seem encouraging. but looking
forward. we are able to house les.
than one-third of the crop and ware
houses without credit system los,
so per cent Of their usefulness. Tn,
problem is a gigantic one-too grea
for the farmer to solve unaided. II,
must have the assistance OF the bank
er, the merchant and the government
| In production We have reached til,
high water mark Of perfection in tn,
worlds history. but eur marketing
methods are most primitive. In tn,
dawn Of history we find agricuitur,
blowing with a forked stick but will
a system Of warehouses under govern
mental supervision that made tn,
Egyptians the marvel of civilization
for who has not admired the vision o
Joseph and applauded the wisdom o
Pharaoh for storing the surplus unit
demanded by the consumer, but ii
this age we have too many Josephl
who dream and not enough PharaohI
who build.