The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1915-03-04
PAYROLL Of
CIVILIZATION MET
BY FARMER
WANTS NO "DEADHEADS" ON
LIST OF employees.
a CALL UPON THE LAW MAKERS
TO PREVENT USELESS TAX
UPON AGRICULTURE.
BY Peter Bradford
Lecturer National Farmers Union

Lecturer National Farmers Union
Tho farmer 10 the paymaster of
Industry and as such he must meet
the nations payroll When industry
pays its bill It must make a sight
draft upon agriculture for the amount
which the farmer is compelled to
honor without protest This check
drawn upon agriculture may travel to
and fro over the highways of COM
merce; may build cities; girdle the
globe with bands OF STEEL may search
hidden treasures In the earth or
traverse the skies, but in the end 1t
will rest upon the soil No dollar
will remain suspended in midair; 1t is
as certain to seek the earth's surface
as an apple that falls from tree.
When farmer buys a pillow he pays
the man who mined the metal. the
woodman who felled the tree. the
manufacturer who assembled the raw
material and shaped it into an ar
ticle of usefulness, the railroad that
transported 1t and the dealer who
sold him the goods He pays the
wages of labor and capital employed
In the transaction as well as pays
for the tools. machinery, buildings,
etc. used In the construction of the
commodity and the same applies to
all articles Of use and diet of him
self and those engaged in the sub
sidiary lines OF industry.
There is no payroll In civilization
that does not rest upon the back
of the farmer He must pay the bills
all of them
The total value of the nations
annual agricultural products is around
$12.000,000000 and 1t is safe to esti-
mate that SO cents on every dollar
goes to meeting the expenses of sub.
sidiary industries The farmer does
not work more than thirty minutes
per day for himself; the remaining
thirteen hours of the days toll he
devotes to meeting the payroll of the
hired hands of agriculture such as
the manufactures, railroad, CONNER
cial and other servants.
The Farmers Payroll and How He
Meets 1t.
The annual payroll of agriculture
approximates Sl2,000.000,000 A por-
ton of the amount is shifted to for
eign countries in exports, but the
total payroll of Industries working for
the farmer divides substantially as
follows: Railroads, $1,252000 900:
manufacturers, s4,365,000.000; mining,
$685., 100000; banks, s20O,0O0,OO0
mercantile $3,500.OO0 900, and heavy
miscellaneous payroll constitutes the
1t takes the corn crop. the most
valuable in agriculture, which sold
last year for 1852. 100000, to pay off
the employees OF the railroads; the
money derived from our annual sales
Of livestock Of approximately $4,000,
100000 the yearly cotton crop. valued
at $920,000,000; the wheat crop,
which is worth $610,O00.000, and the
oat crop, that is worth $44O,0O0,00O.
are required to meet the annual pay
roll OF the manufacturers. The
money derived from the remaining
staple crops is used in meeting the
payroll Of the bankers, merchants,
etc. After these obligations are paid,
the farmer has only a few punches of
some fruit and poultry
which he can sell and call the pro-
ceeds his own.
When the farmer pays off his help
he has very little left and to meet
.hese tremendous payrolls he has
been forced to mortgage homes. work
women In the field and Increase the
hours of his labor. We are, there
ore, compelled to call upon all in
iustries dependent upon the farmers
or subsistence to ietresch In their
and to cut cu al un-
expenses This Course Is
absolutely necessary in order to ava
reduction in wages, and we want, !
( possible, to retain the present wage
Gale paid railroad and all other in
Iustrial employees
We will devote this article to a
discussion of unnecessary expenses
nd whether required by law or per-
nitted by the arrangements of the
oncerns, is wholly immaterial We Z
want all waste labor and extrava-
ance, of whatever character. cut out
We will mention the null crew bill as
Illustrating the character of unneces-
ary expenses to which we refer
Union Opposes Full Crew" Bill. :
The Texas Farmers Union regis v
cred its opposition to this character e
legislation at the last annual meet il
lg held in Fort Worth, Tex, August v
1914, by resolution, which we quote. o
) follows: 7
The matter of prime importance d
the farmers of this state is an ade- i
N 70 o.nd ofH Giant M rlrafino cuat ON. |