The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1915-01-21

With the public to buy . BALE;
bankers have been formulating hold.
Ing plans: congress and legislative
bodies have deliberatsd over relief
measures: statesmen and writer's
have grown eloquent expoupding tho
lnalienable rights OF ''EIis Majesty"
and presenting schemes for preserv-
Ing the financial integrity Of the
stricken staple. but the sword OF Eu.
rope has proved mightier than the pen
Of America in fixing value upon this
product OF the sunny south. Prices
have been bayoneted. values riddled
and markets decimated BY the battling
hosts. Of the eastern hemisphere until
the American farmer has suffered q
war loss Of 500. ooo. 900. and . hale
Of cotton brave enough to enter I
Eufotean port must pay . sanpoms Of
halt tts value or 90 to prison until the
war q over.
Hops o. the Future Lice IN coopera.
tlon.
Tho Farmers' Union. through the
columns Qf tie press. wants % thank
the American people for the friend.
ship. sympathy and assistence kiven
the cotton farmers IN the hour Of dis.
tress and to direct attention to co.
operative methods necessary TO per.
manently assist the marketing Of all
farm products.
The present emergency presents -
crave Q situation as ever confronted
the American farmer and from the
viewpoint Of the producer, would seem
to justify extraordinary relief meas.
ures. even to the point Of bending the
constitution and straining business
rules in order to lift portion of the
burden OF the backs of the farmer.
for unless something 10 done to check
the invasion of the war forces upon
the cotton fields; the pathway of the
European pestilence on this continent
will be strewn with mortgaged homes
and famine and poverty will stalk over
the southland, filing the highways of
industry with refugees and the bank.
ruptcy court with prisoners.
All calamities teach us lessons and
the present crisis serves to illuminate
the fraflties Of our marketing meth.
DDS and the weakness of our credit
system. and out of the financial an.
guish and travail of the cotton farmer
Will come volume of discussion and
a mass Of suggestions and finally a
solution Of this. the biggest problem
IN the economic life of America. II.
indeed. we have not already laid tho
foundation for at least temporary re.
lief.
More Pharaohs Needed In Agriculture.
Farm products have no credit and
perhaps can never have on a perma.
nent and satisfactory basis unless wa
build warehouses. cold storage plants.
elevators. ETC., for without storage and
credit facilities. the south is com.
PEELED to dump its crop on the market
at harvest time. The Farmers Unions
IN the cotton producing states have
eor the past ten years persistently ad.
vocated the construction of storage
facilities. We have built during this
period 1000 warehouses with a ca.
pacity Of approximately 1000, 900 bales
and looking backward the results
would seem encouraging, but looking
forward. we are able to house less
than one-third of the crop and ware.
houses without credit system lose
W per cent of their usefulness. The
problem Is gigantic one-too great
Tor the farmer to solve unaided. He
must have the assistance of the bank.
81. the merchant and the government.
In production we have reached the
nigh water mark of perfection in the
worlds history. but our marketing
methods are most primitive. In the
dawn of history we find agriculture
blowing with forked stick but with
. system of warehouses under govern.
mental supervision that made the
Egyptians the marvel of civilization.
Tor who has not admired the vision Of
Joseph and applauded the wisdom of
Pharaoh for storing the surplus until
demanded by the consumer. but in
this age we have too many Josephs
Who dream and not enough Pharaohs
who build.
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