Pocahontas star herald., 1915-01-15
PAYROLL OF
CIVILIZATION MET
By FARMER
WANTS NO "DEADHEADS"
ON LIST OF EMPLOYEES.
A Call Upon the Law Makers &c
Prevent Useless Tax on
Agriculture.
ey Peter Radford
Lecturer NatuUal amer' Union,

Lecturer Nsuoual hmcr,' Union
There is no payroll in civiliza.
tion that does not rest upon the
back Of the farmer lie must
pay the bills-all Of them.
When a farmer buys a plow
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
iulness, the railroad that trans
ported 1t and the dealer who sold
him the goods, lie pays the
wages Of labor and capital en-
ployed in tie transaction as well
as pays ior the tools, machinery.
buildings, etc, used in the con
structlon OF the commodity and
the same applies 10 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 Sl2.OOOOO0,OOO, and il j.
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 II.
The annual payroll OF agri-
culture approximates Sl2,000,0O0,-
600. A portion of the amount is
shifted to foreign countries in ex-
ports, but the total payroll of in
dustries working for the farmer
divides substantially as follows:
Railroads, Sl,252,O6O,0O0; manu-
facturers, S4,365,0OO,0O0; mining,
655,000,000; banks, S200,0O0,OO0;
mercantile, S3,500,0OO,O0O, and a
heavy miscellaneous payroll con-
stitutes the remainder.
Ii takes the corn crop, the
most valuable in agriculture,
which sold last year for Sl,692.-
100000, to pay off the employees
Of the railroads; the money de-
rived from our annual sales OF
livestock of approximately ST.
OO0,OO0,0O0, the yearly cotton
crop, valued at $920,0O0.OO0; the
wheat crop, which is worth SOLO,
100000, and the odt crop, that
is worth S440,0O0,0OO, 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 paw
rolls he has been forced 10 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 bv
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 rmpor-
tance to the farmers Of this state
is an adequate and efficient mar
keting system; and we recognize