Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1914-11-21
european WAR SHAT.
TIERS KING COITON'S
THRONE
sLEEcY STAPLE MUST PAY RAN.
SOM INTO THE GOLFERS OF
WAR.
e1atloa Rings With Cries Of Stricken
Industry.
BY Peter Rsdford

Lecturer National Farmers Union.
King Cotton has suffered more from
tSiie European war than any other ag-
s1cultural product on the American
continent The shells of the belliger-
.ents have bursted over his throne,
frightening his subjects and shatter-
%ng bis markets, and, panic-stricken,
Ahs nation cries out God save the
Stias."
People from every walk OF life have
.c1nastbuted their mite toward rescue
work. Society has danced before the
a1ing; milady has decreed ttst the
family wardrobe shall contain only
cotton goods; the press has plead
with the public to "buy a BALE;
bankers have been formulating hold
ang plans; congress and legislative
bodies have deliberated over relief
measures; statesmen and writer's
nave grown eloquent expounding the
dnallenabIe rights of Ellis 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 q
war loss of 100000, 900, and bale
of cotton brave enough to enter a
European port must pay a ransom of
half its value or go to prison until the
war is over.
Hope Of the Future Lies In co-opera-
Son.
The FarNers' Union, through the
columns Of the press, wants to thank
&he American people for the friend
ship, SYMPATHY aud assistance given
Ehe cotton farmers In the hour of dis
tress and to direct attention to or
tonerative methods necessary to per-
1nanentlv 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 CT the producer, would seem
TO Justify extraordinary relief meas
nres. even t. fhe point of bending the
constitution and straining business
rules IN order to Eft portion of the
burden Off the backs of the farmer,
for unless something Is done to check
the invasion of the war forces upon
the cotton 4elds, the pathway of the
European pestA@ace on this continent
will be stre@a 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
She frailties of our marketing meth.
eds and the weakness of our credit
system, and out of the financial an.
euish and travail of the cotton farmer
will come volume of discussion and
a mass Of suggestions and finally q
.solutiop of this, the biggest problem
in the economic life of America, II.
indeed. we have not already laid the
foundation for at least temporary re-
def.
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 Ia COM
PEELED to dump its crop on tie market
at harvest time. The Farmers Unions
in the cotton producing states have
for the past ten years persistently adj
@ocated the construction of storage
facilities. We have built during this
period 1000 warehouses With a ca
pacity OF approximately 4,a0G, GOO bales
and looking backward the results
would seem encouraging, but looking
torward, we are able to house less
fhan onethird of the crop and ware,
houses without a credit system lose
so per cent of their usefulness. The
prooien Is gigantic one-too great
ior the farmer TO solve unaided. He
must haRe the assistance of the bank
er. the merchant and tho government.
In production we have reached the
hlgh water megk of perfection In the
woride history, but our marketing
methods are most primitive. In the
dawn OF history we find agriculture
blowing with a forked stick but with
a system OF warehouses under govern
mental supervision that made The
Egyptians the marvel of civilization.
for who has not admired the vision ~
Joseph and applauded the wisdem Of
Pharaoh for storing the surplus untfl
demanded by the consumer but in
1his age we have too many Josephs
who dream and not enough Pharaohs
Ybp build.