The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1915-02-05
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 Radford
Lecturer National Farmers Union


Lecturer National Farmers Union
The farmer is 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 I'VE the highways of com
merce; 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 it
will rest upon the soil. No dollar
will remain suspended in midair; it is
as certLin to seek the earth's surface
as an apple that falls from a tree
When a 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 arounC
$12, 900, 900, 900, and it is safe to est
mate that 90 cents on every dollar
goes to meeting the expenses of SUD
sidiary industries The farmer does
not work more than thirty minutes
per day for himself; the remainin'
thirteen hours of the days toll b
devotes to meeting the payroll of tn
hired hands of agriculture, such q
the manufactures, railroad, commei
cial and other servants.
The Farmers Payroll and How n.
Meets II.
The annual payroll Of agriculture
approximates $4,000 900, 900, A poI
ton of the amount is shifted to for
eign countries in exports, but tn.
total payroll of industries working 70
the farmer divides substantially a
follows: Railroads, $1,252, OOO, 900
manufacturers $4,365, 900, 900; mining
1855, 900, OOO; banks, $2OO,OOO,O 900
mercantile 49, 500, OOO, 900, and a heav,
miscellaneous payroll constitutes tn,
remainder
1t takes the corn crop, the mos
valuable in agriculture, which sol,
last year for 1882, 900, 900, to pay OF
the employees of the railroads; tn,
money derived from our annual sale
of livestock Of approximately 81, 900.
600, 900, the yearly cotton crop valued
at 100000, 900; the wheat crop
which is worth 500, 0 5000. and II.
oat crop that is worth $440, O00, OOC
are required to meet the annual pay
roll Of the manufacturers Tn.
money derived from the remainin.
staple crops is used in meeting tn.
payroll of the bankers merchants
etc. After these obligations are paid
the farmer has only a few lunches O
vegetables. some fruit and poultr,
which he can sell and call the pre-
ceeds his own.
When the farmer pays off his hel
he has very little left and to NEE
these tremendous payrolls he Ia
been forced to mortgage homes, wor.
women in the field and increase tn
hours Of his labor We are, Their,
fore. compelled to call upon all IL
dustries dependent upon the farmer
for subsistence to retrench in thei
expenditures and to cut of all III
necessary expenses This course
ABSOLUTELY necessary in order to avoi
a reduction in wages, and we wan
If possible, to retain the present wag
scale paid railroad and all other il
dustrial employees
We will devote this article to
discussion of unnecessary expense
and whether required by law or pc
mitted by the arrangements OF tn
concerns. is wholly immaterial W
want all waste labor and extrav,
gance. of whatever character, cut GU
We will mention the full crew bin a