davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08

/ hsustivs study by several Of the w.,
ern state universities. notably tsa,. ~
Missouri and Minnesota. The fasu,,,..
Of the agricultural colleges Of the ,,...
universities are peculiarly nt..d "A,
jobs Of this kind. They arc slv...
practical men, familiar with he a, -.
farm, both from observation and AVA.
rience. They have no theories 10 ~.
plot, nor do they seek to fl pys...
ceived ideas into existing facts. r.
get the facts first and draw their can.
illusions afterward. The acre 10 slv.,.
the unit Of production, and 40 per e.,,
of the cost per acre Is In the orie,.,
preparing the land and planting IA.
seed, while over three-fourths OF -.
entire cost is in seeding, ploughln.
dragging, cutting, land rental and n.
like. The items Of thrsshing. stat.
ing, shocking and binder twins var,
somewhat with the yield, yet the vsn,.
tion is so slight as TO make the eo,,
applicable to the majority Of crops.
So 1t Is Evident.
So then it is evident that there 4,
little difference in cost per acre wheth,,
II yield ten bushels or twenty bu,,.
els. The usual fallacy consists in stat.
ing the difference in cost per bu.b.l
which is another story and really Ia,
no more to do with the case than h.v.
the flowers that bloom in the spriny
The outlay and the income are based on
the acre as the unit, and the que,tio,
seems to simmer down to the net re-.
suit in dollars and cents obtained By
the farmer per acre on a comparison az
prices and yields.
theoretically the proposition is
simple equation Of comparative net re.
turns, but the actual facts do not al.
ways follow the logic Of the situation
In case Of low prices and high yield /.
is common practice among farmers In
the Middle West to feed wheat freely
to livestock and poultry. This, Of
course, eliminates the price question
largely, or rather injects a new com.
plication. Also, in such eases the farm.
ers are apt to hold as much Of their
wheat as they can for higher prices.
On the other hand, in times Of high
prices and low yields there is always
considerable portion of farmers who's.
output per acre is so very small tia,
the appreciation in price is but scsnty
recompense for the greatly reduced
yield. This is particularly true in
wheat and cotton, where the low yield
is caused by insect raYages, for locally
in such cases there is often anos.
complete destruction. SO the neares.
approach to procurement seems to
be that high prices because Of low
yields are often a considerable mitiga.
tion to the farmer in an otherwise bad
situation. To the rest OF society they
are a serious calamity, other than 70
the extent the different classes Of So
ciety directly or indirectly share the
fortunes of the farmer.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08
THIN CROPS AT
HIGH PRICES
Or Is the Farmer Worse
Off with Large Yields
and Low Prices!
Nv ARCHER WALL DOUGLAS.

st. Louis, October 8.
One of the very practicable problems
in economies is whether the farmer IS
benefited most by high prices and 10"
Yields or high yields and low prices
Of his products. Incidentally, the ques-
ton OF benefit or harm extends to all
classes. so that the ultimate broad
problem is as TO the effect upon the
country as a whole. On the face OF the
matter the general interest seems to be
hest served by large outputs, even at
low prices, because Of the supposed
consequent low prices to consumers,
who are the most numerous class OF
all. the tonnage furnished the railroads
and the surplus left for export. But
such a conclusion only shows the ex-
ceeding danger and misleading nature
of all cancellations.
In 1898 the cotton crop was the
largest ever grown up 70 that time, FOL
lowing the previous largest crop on
record of the year before. The result
of these two great yields in succession,
also influenced partly BY the Spanish
War, was the lowest levels Of prices
ever known before or reached since that
time The effect upon business through
out the South was almost in the nature
of paralysis, for the South then, much
more than now, depended upon cotton
for its revenue for spending money. In
such q situation it is difficult to see
who received any benefit whatever from
the enormous production of potential
wealth. The low prices did not help
the situation as regards exports, for
the percentage of the crop exported to
the crop raised was less than usual
both in 1898 and in the following year.
In fact, the great producers of wealth
in the cotton belt were selling their
product at less than cost, so that the
stream of commercial activity was
damned at its source. Nor does it nee
essarily follow in large yields and low
prices of foodstuffs that the consumer
receives the full benefit.
When Wheat Was Too Cheap.
A striking denial of this is furnished
By an analysis of the wheat crops OF
1898 and 1894. In 1894 the production
of wheat in the United States was $780,
100000 bushels and the farm price on
December 1 of that year touched the
unprecedented low figure of 40 cents
bushel. 1t is estimated that the con-
sumption per capita of wheat in this
country averages five and one-half
bushels per annum. We have, then, the
following interesting example:
Millions Of
bushels.
Wheat production of 1894 400, ooo, 900
Carried over from
yield of 1893
say, 20 per cent
of total 1898
crop .......... 1896, 100000
$3.50 10000, 600
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08
Public Ownership of Railway
Securities.

An amount exceeding $500, 00O, 900
measured the investment Of savings and
other state banks and insurance COM
panies alone in railway securities in
1915, according to a compilation by the
Bureau of Railway News and Statistics,
Chicago. The l9,457 banks held in tina.
year about S1,2G5 100000 in railway
stocks and bonds, comprising 1872 per
cent Of their total investments in gov
eminent, state, county, municipal, pub
lie service and other bands of any de-
scription; these investments together,
next to loans secured by real estate.
collateral or otherwise, comprising by
far the largest item in the assets be-
hind these banks,
Depositors In savings banks have an
interest more vital than have those de-
pendent on any other class OF banks,
because savings banks in pre-eminent
degree are investors in railway stocks
and bonds. In 1915 the depositors in
the 2,I59 savings banks included above
numbered ll,2s5,755, over II per cent
Of the total population OF the United
States, every one OF whom was vitality
interested in the securities upon which
his savings bank was founded. OF all
securities held in the assets OF these
banks in 1918 the Controllers report
showed AIS per cent were railway
stocks ard bonds, against $50 per cen,
for loan and trust companies; 1877 per
cent for state banks and 81 per cent
for private bsnks.-Railwsy Age Ga
rata
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08
Our Own
Instance.

Take the American tin plate indus
try. a quarter Of century ago this
country found itself TO be the largest
consumer Of tin plate in the world
al of which it imported. Tin plate
is sheet iron coated with tin. There
was no tin ore in this country, but
there was everything else, and the
only reason we could not import only
the pure tin and then produce all of
our own tin plate was that the Ameri-
can product would actually cost more
than the imported tin plate, largely
because of the higher wage level
here. Theory would have said in
that case to continue importing tin
plate. But people wanted a tin plate
industry, nevertheless, and got it by
putting up high tariff against the
foreign product. No one will deny
that the resulting American lin plate
industry is a considerable item of
our national wealth. That is not so
remarkable as the fact that after
only very few years we were able
to make tin plate in this country as
cheaply as it could be made any
where else. We could import pure
tin from the Cornish mines, lay it on
American sheet iron and sell tin
plate all over the world. Now. let
US analyZe what happened.
When we imported tin plate we
paid for the tin itself, and the cost
OF mining it. and for these other
things besides, namely: the iron
sheets on which the tin was laid, the
skilled labor employed in a number
of difficult processes, profit on the
capital invested in the iron industry,
then the cost OF transportation across
the Atlantic, including insurance.
And Of all these items the largest
was the cost Of skilled labor applied
10 the raw material.
When we began to produce our
own tin plate We imported only the
tin itself; that is, we paid for the
metal, the rough labor Of producing
il and the transportation. The
skilled labor we applied ourselves.
Moreover, the very fact Of wages be-
ing high in this country increased
the incentive of the manufacturer TO
improve his processes and lay out
large sums for labor saving devices.
so that ultimately he could pay high
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08
Imagine a
Valley of Twenty.

Imagine a valley in which there
are twenty families, each of which
has the means and the ability to be
self-sustaining, without much over.
One family is more industrious than
any other. It's light is the first to
appear in the morning and the last
to go out at night. 1t seems to work
all the time. Besides satisfying its
own needs it is willing to take in
work from other families. 1t does
the churning of one for the butter
milk. 1t does the sewing or the
spinning for those who get behind,
and charges very little. Its willing
ness to work brings work. All the
others begin to depend upon it for
labor which they would rather hire
than perform for themselves. Such
a family will be looked down upon
by the others, but it will prosper,
and when the evidence of that be-
comes so pronounced as to provoke
envy the others will call it names.
They are indebted and beholdene1
to it, as they ought not to be, and,
therefore, it pleases them to call that
household a sweatshop. Naturally"
they say, people may get rich if
they are willing t. work like that"
And when at last it is realized that
everybody will have to work harder
or yield the valley, simply because
one family thinks there is nothing
in the world but work, then that
family will be hated.
II is very natural that the dis
covery Of England's dependence upon
German manufactures should have
caused an outburst OF hatred against
German industry. There are only
three remedies. One is to match it,
one is to boycott it, and one is to
crush it.
But there is yet very strange
fact. The industrious family hates
the nineteen less industrious fami-
lies. Nobody likes TO work all the
time, and to work while others play
and acquire manners is almost more
than one can stand. One of the
great, deep, unspoken German griev-
snces against England is simply
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08
This Worlds Emotional Reaction
to the Economic Curse of Work
Knows Ways Of ang with Camn Industry Namely:
ton IT,, Crush l. r t Boycott

wages and yet make tin plate
cheaply.
In one theory we should have gone
on buying our tin plate, because
we could better afford to buy it than
to produce it; but, in fact, no intel
ligent people can afford to import
skilled labor. 1t is better even by
artificial means to create the {acili-
ties and the opportunities whereby
skilled labor may be applied to raw
materials than that people should
exchange raw materials for manu-
features, or the products of un-
skilled labor for the products OF
higher skill. No people can greatly
prosper by exchanging peasant Ia
Dor in the form Of food products for
skilled labor. That is what this
country was doing. 1t was eX-
changing food products for manu-
features. American wheat was not
actually the product Of peasant la
Dor, but it came in effect TO the same
case, for our wheat had to compete
with, say, Russian wheat, which was
the product of peasant labor.
1t will be objected that we have
produced an illustration which begs
the analogy. Where is the European
parallel? True, Russia may be said
to have been exchanging with Ger
many peasant for skilled labor, but
that cannot be said of France or
England at all, and would be true
only in limited way of Italy. TAX
ing Germany and England alone, for
purpose of simplifcation, it cannot
be held that the evils complained of
arose from the exchange of Eng
lands raw material for Germany's
manufactures, or from the exchange
Of the products Of the less skilled
labor of England for those Of the
more skilled labor of Germany, be-
cause, in the first place, England's
whole economic policy has rested
upon the advantage Of importing
raw materials and exporting manu-
features, and because, in the sec
ond place, English labor is not in
ferior to German labor. Therefore,
where is any analogy? 1t lies in
the conclusion, namely, that people
cannot afford to import skilled labor
which they are able to perform for
themselves.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08
Cotton BoUs
By WILLIAM wHITTAM

American ingenuity has yet to solve
the problem of picking the American
cotton crop.
The average crop for the last Eve
years has been in round numbers H.
100000 bales. The picking season lasts
from 90 to 100 days, and the average
daily work of a growp-up picker, man
or woman, is thirty-three pounds Of
lint cotton. Allowing a maximum 'f
100 picking days to the season, il re-
quires the continuous work Of 2,l0O00c
workers to pick $4,000, O0O-bale crop.
The worlds consumption of cotton
increases at a rate Of approximately
100000 bales a year. This calls fer
an annual extension of the cotton
acreage of at least 100000 acres ard
the labor of 10000 more cotton pickers'
Unless this army Of at least so,Vv9
recruits can be enlisted annually me
cotton manufacturing industry faces q
serious situation.
Can this wonderful industrial age
discover or invent mechanism with
power of selection more human than
has yet been foreshadowed in any
known mechanical device?
That the human supply OF piekeH
will not keep pace with the need
indicated by the fact that in certain
sections of the South convicts are con
tracted out to pick cotton.
The cotton mills ard other Southern
industries have taken large numbers
of laborers from the farms. And INC
outlook is no brighter when viewed
from another angle. In 1850 the entire
Southern geographical division oil 'n'
United States had 1877 per cent Of NV
total population OF the United S1s'es'
In 1910 it had only 30 per cen'' Ins
great otton-growing section, the soa'a
Atlantic States, had 2O.2 per cent o.
the total population in 1850 and On"
1873 per cent in 1910.
II is no wonder that the leaders v
the worlds cotton industry LOOK VIZ"
apprehensive forebodng at the iu'u'''
They frankly fear q sempiternal eo''VA
famine in the years that are nov 70
off. They realize that, after low
clothing is the most necessary 'H'ss
to civilized existence. Food can
produced all over the world w'tn ','
aid of only the crudest tools, ana
harvested in bulk. On the other nsn''
cotton can be raised only WITHIN W.
tain well known geographical l'n's'
in countries, for the most part, spai''
ly populated and lacking trsnspo''."m
facilities. Food is harvested IN
Cotton is picked by the handful
Dread Of cotton famine has ss' "a
British government TO the spsno''s
millions of dollars on railroad '' |.
struction in the heart Of Afrea
has drawn other millions out OF
savings Of the cotton factory 'p.
tives OF Lancashire for inysstmsn'
new cotton plantations in many p'.
of the world. France and Gsfn's
Italy and Belgium. Spain and ro''ss
were all aroused and before 'n'
were striving TO develop cotton 90
in every colony they possessed -.
had soil and climate suitable i0'
ton growing. :, s0
Not that they were Jealous '. 80
dominating position as the e' n.,s
cotton producing nation. No. ~,
because they saw further into .,-elp
ure than we did and had S.
more at stake.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08

that. 1t shows itself unawares. Ii
you keep a German long enough Oh
the subject of the English, no mat
ter what kind of German ne 49,
statesman, economist, manufacturer
soldier, merchant or editor, ne VIII
be certain to say with bitter mkt
ure of scorn, disgust, wonder ana
envy: "Do you know, an English
man leaves his business on Thursday
for his weeks end holiday-every
Thursday! No matter how urgent
YOUR business with him is, he will not
stay. They like to play-those Eng
lish."
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08

should extirpate root, branch and
seed Of German control and influence
in British commerce and industry
declaring that "the German cancer
has eaten into our national body in
such fashion that we cannot cut it
out without seeming in some cases to
cut into the healthy flesh"
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08
The Sin
Unforgivable.

Germany cannot forgiyI Lngland
this-that she plays so much and
yet lords it over the earth with a
fine air. If she had worked as hard
as Germany, then a German might
excuse it.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08
Barriers Against
Cheap Goods.

The argument for protection in
this country was that a barrier
should be erected against cheap Eu-
ropean goods in order that the means
Of industrial independence might be
created. The argument for protec-
ton in England now is that a bar
rier shall be erected against the
cheap products of German industry,
in order that British industry may
be restored. European competition
hindered the beginnings of industry
in this country. German competi-
ton has retarded the development
of British industry. The differences
are obvious. The similarity may
need to be stated. This country has
been importing from Europe skilled
labor which il was able to perform
for itself. That was very I'M
profitable thing To buy. England
has been importing skilled labor
from Germany which il ought to
have performed for itself, for which
il had the means and facilities al
ready established, and that was
commodity England could not afford
to buy.
For the skilled labor this country
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08

Deen Duylnp lToHl NeiHi"hy,
than to perform it for themselves,
they have paid the market price
which was low enough, and then,
above that, an intangible price for
which there is no symbol in econom
les. 1t might be called their place
in the line.
The reason Germany was able to
sell its goods in England, in compe-
tition with English goods, was that
il sold them for less than it would
cost to produce them with English
capital and labor. And the reason
English capital and labor did not
produce goods more cheaply was not
that they could not, but that they
definitely would not.
How the
Blight Spread.
In q given case, the British manu-
facturer, wishing to increase his out
put, would find that he could con-
tract for it in Germany at figure
which actually widened his own
profit, besides saving him all the
bother. He would do it. Ultimately
he would decrease his production IN
England and increase his German
contract. In that way it happened
that English overcoats were made
at Frankfort, English leather goods
at Offenbach, a famous sheer Eng
lish fabric in the environs of Ber-
lin, and so on. That was all in ad-
dition to the German goods that
came openly to the English market
and were sold there against Eng
lish goods, often displacing them.
The consumers were Immediately
benefited, but English labor was at
a disadvantage. To meet the Ger
man competition, it would have had
to work for lower wages, work long
err hours, or work harder, thereby
diminishing its immediate happi-
ness.
But what of the German labor by
which goods are produced so cheap
ly? Is its condition as wretched as
that of English labor would be if it
accepted the competition? One can
not say what English labor would
make of the German equivalents, but
one does know that German labor
is not more wretched than labor else
where. 1t is more comfortable than
English labor. In normal times
there are no undernourished per-
sons in Germany; in England, many.
In normal times there is no CHASTITY
poverty in Germany; in England
there is. Everybody works in Ger
many, whether he wishes to or not.
because unless he works he may not
eat; but, on the other hand, he has
a right to demand that the state
shall see to it that work is provided
for him, which it does. In England
unemployment is a great evil. But
now, if you hold that work is curse
and happiness is in leisure, the
weight suddenly shifts. Germans
work long and hard and traglcally.
They boast of it, they make virtue
of it, but hate it none the less.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-08
2oS,ooo,Ooo

Leaving available supply Of 331 1000
The population of the United States
in 1894 was estimated at 100000
people, and at 5ia bushels per capita
the consumption in 1894 should have
been 1858 100000 bushels, or in excess
of the actual amount available. Like
wise the percentage of the crop ex-
ported in 1894 was less than for three
years previous. The conclusion is OBJ
vious. The consumptive power of a
people depends not so much upon the
price of products as upon their pur-
chasing ability. In 1894 business was
stagnant and unemployment rife, and
the natural result was a decrease in
consumption per capita despite the low
prices of food products.
Where Prosperity Is.
As a matter Of experience the most
prosperous times, with the most wide
spread benefit to the many, are those
marked by high prices of commodi-
ties, but with generally increased pur-
chasing ability on the part of the con-
sumer. Another phase Of the situation
as regerd the probable compromising
benefit to the farmer of high prices as
orsetting decreased yields is the dis
tinction that must be made between the
agricultural staples that are raised to
sell and those that are principally con-
sumed on the farm. Cotton, wheat.
rice, fruit and vegetables when raised
in commercial quantities. flax, barley,
potatoes, hogs and cattle belong to the
first category, while hay, corn and oats
fall into the second class. This latter
statement is particularly true of our
most valuable crop-corn-which is
mostly consumed on the farm. so that
only very small proportion can be
reckonod as a direct revenue producer.
Indirectly high prices of corn are held
to be reflected in high prices of cattle
and hogs, and the farmer is supposed
TO get the benefit in this way. As
matter of fact, it is very complicated
proposition and one concerning which
il is impossible to make definite pro.
nouncement. II high-priced feed means
higher priced cattle and hogs, il also
means decrease in the actual supply,
for those farmers who do not raise
their own feed cannot then afford TO
buy il, and consequently have to rush
their stock to market. Conversely, an
abundance Of low-priced feed means an
actual increase in the numbers OF live.
stock, and the price OF such livestock
does rot ever decline in proportion to
the decline in feed.
The habit OF statisticians in stating
tho value Of all farm products in terms
OF dollars and cents and making com.
parsons Of yields on such basis is. con.
sequently, at best half truth and
most misleading. So far as regards tho
effect on the farmer only, the question
has been made the subject Of an a..