The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1915-02-04
PAYROLL Of
CIVILIZATION MET
BY FARMER
WANTS NO "DEADHEADS"
ON LIST OF EMPLOYEES.
A Call Upon the Law Makers to
Prevent Useless Tax on
Agriculture.
BY Peter Radford
Lecturer National Farmers Union.

ZION that does not rest upon tlle
back of the farmer. He must
pay the bills-all of them.
When a farmer buys 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 article of use
fulness, the railroad that trans
ported it and the dealer who sold
him the goods. He pays the
wages of labor and capital en-
ployed in the transaction as we'll
as pays for the tools, machinery,
buildings, etc, used in the con-
struction of the commodity and
the same applies to all articles
of use and diet of himself and
those engaged in the subsidiary
lines of industry.
The total value of the nations
annual agricultural products is
around $12,0OO,000,O00, and it is
safe to estimate that 95 cents on
every dollar goes to meet the
expenses of subsidiary 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 manufacturer, railroad,
commercial and other servants.
The Farmers Payroll and How
He Meets 1t.
The annual payroll Of agri-
culture approximates $l2,0OO,000,-
900. A portion of the amount is
shifted to foreign countries in en-
ports, but the total payroll of in
dustries working for the farmer
divides substantially as follows:
Railroads, $l,252,00O,O00; manu-
facturers, $4,3o5,00O,0O0; mining,
$655,0OO,000; banks, $200,000,000;
mercantile, $3,500,OOO,O0O, and
heavy miscellaneous payroll con-
stitutes the remainder.
, 1t takes the corn crop, the
most valuable in agriculture,
which sold last year for 1902
100000, to pay off the employees
of the railroads; the money de-
rived from Our annual sales of
livestock of approximately ST.
GOO,000,00O, the yearly cotton
crop, valued at $92O,O00,OOO; the
wheat crop, which is worth SOLO,
100000, and the oat crop, that
is worth $440,OO0,OOO, are re-
quired to meet the annual pay
roll of the manufacturers. The
money derived from the remain
ing staple crops is used in meet
ing the payroll of the bankers,
merchants, etc. After these OBJ
legations are paid, the farmer has
only few punches of vegetables,
some fruit and poultry which he
can sell and call the proceeds
his own.
When the farmer pays off his
help he has very little left and
to meet these tremendous pav-
rolls he has been forced to mort
gage homes, work women in the
field and increase the hours of
his labor.
We will devote this article to
a discussion of unnecessary ex-
penseS and whether required by
law or permitted by the man
agements of the concerns, is
wholly immaterial. We want all
waste labor and extravaganza. of
whatever character, cut out. We
will mention the full crew bill as
illustrating the character of unnec-
essary expenses to which we refer.
Union Opposes Full Crew" Bill.
The Texas Farmers Union
registered its opposition to this
character of legislation at the
last annual meeting held in Fort
Worth, Texas, August 4, 1914.
by resolution, as follows:
"The. matter of prime Impor-
tanee to the farmers of this State
is an adequate and efficient mar
keting system; and we recognize
that such system is impossible
without adequate railroad Yacili-
ties, embracing the greatest
amount of service at the least
possible cost. We further recog-
nize that the farmers and pro-
ducers in the end pay approx
mately 95 per cent Of the expense
of operating the railroads, and it
is, therefore, to the interest OF
the producers that the expenses
of the common carriers be as
small as is possible, consistent
with good service and safety,