Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1915-02-04
Lecturer National Farmers, Union

AhS AaLEhSE ~ LAG pay MahsJ0T Vi
Industry AMI as such he must meet
the nations payroll. When industry
pays it's bill IL must make d sight
draft upon agriculture for the amount,
which the farmer IL compelled to
honor without protest This check
drawn upon Agriculture may travel to
and fro over the highways OF com.
meree: may build cities; girdle the
globe with bands OF steel: may search
hidden treasures In the earth OF
traverse the skies, but In the end Ii
will rest upon the soil. No dollar
win remain suspended in midair; II liz
as certain to seek the earth's surface
as an apple that falls from a tree.
When farmer buys plow he pays
the man who mined the metal. the
woodman who felled the tree. the
manufacturer who assembled the raw
material and shaped II into an az
ticle OF usefulness, the railroad that
, transported II 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 10 around
$12,00o,000,000. and II liz safe to esti.
mate that 95 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 az
the manufacturer, railroad. CONNER
ciai and other servants
The Farmers Payroll ard How He
Meets IL.
The annual payroll of agriculture
approximates $l2.000.000,oO0 A Dor.
ton of the amount liz shifted to for.
eign countries in exports, but the
total payroll of industries working for
the farmer divides substantially as
follows: Railroads, $1.252.000. 600;
manufacturers. $4,365,000, 900; mining,
1866, 100000; banks, s2o0.000,000;
mercantile $500, 900 900. and a heavy
miscellaneous payroll constitutes the
remainder
II takes the corn crop, the most
valuable In agriculture. which sold
last year for 1882, 100000, TO pay OF
the employees OF the railroads: the
money derived from our annual sales
of livestock of approximately $1,000
100000. the yearly cotton crop valued
at 1920, 900; the wheat crop,
which is worth $61O,000,000, and the
oat crop, that is worth $4,000, 900,
are required to meet the annual pay
roll Of the manufacturers. The
money derived from the remaining
staple crops is used I'm meeting the
payroll of the bankers. merchants,
etc. After these obligations are paid,
the farmer has only a few punches Of
vegetables. some fruit and poultry
which he can sell and call the pro-
ceeds his own.
When the farmer pays of his help
he has very little left and to meet
these tremendous payrolls he has
been forced TO mortgage homes, work
women In the field and increase the
hours Of his labor. We are, there
fore, compelled to call upon all In.
dustries dependent upon the farmers
for subsistence to retrench in their
expenditures and to cut of all I'M
necessary expenses This course is
absolutely necessary in order TO avoid
reduction In wages, and we want,
IL possible, to retain the present wage
scale paid railroad and all other In
dustrial employees.
We will devote this article to q
discussion of unnecessary expenses
and whether required by Law or per-
mitted by the arrangements of the
concerns, is wholly immaterial We
want all waste labor and extrava-
gance. of whatever character. cut out.
We will mention the full crew hill ar