Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1916-10-06
THE FARMER AND THE STRIKE.
off to them, we say!

The Republicans have never been able to regard
the farmer as they do other business men, or to
treat the farmers business as they do other bust
ness. The whole legislative record Of the party
shows this the line of argument used to the farm
er by their speakers in their campaign literature
shows it.
The latest and most remarkable instance of this
is the preachment they are now putting out that
the settlement Of the threatened railroad strike by
President Wilson was Of no value to the farmer
and that great burden in the way of increased
freight rates will fall upon his shoulders
There is no basis for either assertion.
The strike would not have caused the farmer to
actually suffer for food or for fuel as the poor in
the cities would have suffered. But his business
would have suffered
With the railroad traffic of the nation blocked
the farmer = business would have suffered along
with all other business lin some ways more. He
would have seen his grain, his corn his cotton, all
his staple products, held on the farm or running
up storage charges in warehouses, of no present
nse 81 value, and to be later sold in an impaired
market. Were he shipping on contract he would
have been forced to break his contract
He would have seen his fruit and vegetables
and all perishable produce rot for lack of trans
portation to market-a dead present loss to him,
and disorganized market at the end.
Those farmers who are feeders of livestock and
who depend in part on purchased foodstuffs would
have suffered extra losses they would have seen
prices 60 "sky-high'
The farmer would have suffered inconvenience
and loss as to everything he ships to market and
as to everything he buys from other points
And in addition to this direct loss, he too, would
have suffered from the disastrous state of the bust
ness of the country brought about by the strike
The farmer is not prospered by labor being idle,
manufacturers, mines, mills and stockyards closed
and all commerce handcuffed, with the poor suf-
fering for food and the babies for milk in the
cities.
The harped on increase of freight rates the
farmer is going to have to pay is mere presump
ton. No promise of increase has been given the
railroads What has been promised is that an in
vestigation shall be made and just and fair freight
rates allowed. How welcome the fulfllment of
this promise will be to the railroads is question
The net earnings Of the railroads of the country
for the year ended June l. 1916, were 76S million
dollars than the last year of the Taft admin
istration. This indicates possibility that the
tablishment of just rates does not necessarily
mean higher rates. The water in railroad stocks,
the manipulation in railroad deals and manage
ment may rause it that the burden is to be
borne by the men in Wall Street who got millions
for slight even dubious services railroad
management, as in the New Haven instance, in
stead of the shippers bearing the burden, be the
shippers farmers or miners or manufacturers
lumber men.
For two years the interstate commerce
mission has been having made physical valua-