Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1914-12-11
EUROPEAN WAR shat.
. TIERS KING COTIONS
THRONE
FLEECY STAPLE MUST PAY RAM
SOM INTO THE GOLFERS OF
WAR.
Nation Rings With Cries of Stricken
Industry.
By Peter Radford


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 writers
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
war loss of 100000, 900, and 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 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 off the backs of the farmer
: for unless something is done to checl
: the invasion of the war forces upor
4 the cotton fields, the pathway of thu
> European pestilence on this continen
4 will be strewn with mortgaged home!
: and famine and poverty will stalk owe,
the southland, filling the highways o
industry with refugees and the bank
+ ruptcy court with prisoners.
All calamities teach us lessons AM
y the present crisis serves to illuminate
, the frailties of our marketing meth
+ DDS and the weakness of our credi
system, and out of the financial an
guish and travail of the cotton farme
!, will come volume of discussion an,
q mass of suggestions and finally
8 solution Of this, the biggest problem
9 in the economic life of America, il
Q indeed, we have not already laid tn
y foundation for at least temporary re
l. lief.
!" More Pharaohs Needed In Agriculture
e Farm products have no credit an
perhaps can never have on a perma
+ nent and satisfactory basis unless W
CD YN1o 4r
q elevators, ETC., for without storage an
credit facilities, the south is CON
u PEELED to dump it's crop on the marke
o 1T harvest time. The Farmers Union
In the cotton producing states hav
II for the past ten years persistently al
vocated the construction of storag
" facilities. We have built during thi
" period 1000 warehouses with ca
" pacity of approximately 100000 bale
" and looking backward the result
= would seem encouraging, but lookin
;, forward, we are able to house les
" than one-third of the crop and war,
- houses without credit system los
- 30 per cent of their usefulness. Til
problem Is a gigantic one-too grea
:. for the farmer to solve unaided. H
~ must have the assistance of the banl
or, the merchant and the government
In production we have reached TIL
- high water mark of perfection in tn
y worlds history. but our marketin
- methods are most primitive. In tn
dawn of history we find agricultur
blowing with a forked stick but wit
system OF warehouses under govern
y. mental supervision that made tn
- Egyptians the marvel of civilization
for who has not admired the vision {
Joseph and applauded the wisdom {
re Pharaoh for storing the surplus unit
n demanded by the consumer. but