New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-11
Wheat Farmers Profits
Vary According to Yield in Differen,
States
To the Editor Of The Tribune.


Sir: The Tribune carried more columns a
news concerning the recent Farmers Ana
Workers Convention held in st. Paul undo,
the auspices Of the National Non Parrish,
League than any other newspaper In NV
York, and your articles were informative On
the whole even II sometimes tinged By bi.,
I But you do the Non-Partisan League a grsv.
injustice when you allege that the farm.rS
advocacy Of price fixing apparently Spring,
from vindictiveness."
And you do the members Of that league an
even greater injustice when you accuse them
Of being pocket patriots" The Non-Partisan
League did not protest against the pres.n.
price o, WHEAT only demanded that price,
Of other food products and Of commodlt.
used to produce farm crops be scaled dow.
accordingly. Surely there is nothing radical
mercenary or unfair in this demand.
You apparently base Jour editorial on esd.
mates of the cost Of wheat advanced by Pro.
fessor G. f. Mccall, Of the Kansas Agricul..
ural College, that it costs only ~ cent.
bushel 10 raise wheat in Kansas, and tha. n,
farmer could make a profit Of $l4l at n.
government price In doing this you fall into
perfectly natural error. You forget tina.
Professor McCall's estimate Is based upon
much larger yield than was obtained in North
Dakota. The North Dakota yield did not
average seven bushels an acre, and this mus.
be taken into account in figuring the cost %,
bushel. Professor Ladd Of the North Dakota
Agricultural College, asserts that the ayerag.
cost of bushel Of wheat in North Dskon
this year is 1854.
III IF 0rrf-y $3.50 ~.
Minnesota Agricultural College, places Ia.
cost at l28 per bushel, based upon an aver
age yield Of fourteen bushels per acre. Haly.
ing the crop naturally doubles the cost per
bushel. As matter Of fact, thousands o.
farmers in North Dakota this year only gOts
crop Of from two % four bushels an acre. 7.
would have paid these men not 70 have
thrashed their crop and 20 have fed It 70
their stock, but they are patriotic and, reaz-
ing the nation needs the grain, thrashed
wheat which cost them from 50 20 So a bushel
and will sell il 20 the government 81 less
than $500 a bushel. Knowing these facts
and they are facts, any agricultural expert
ir this section will tell you so-do you still
think that these men deserve the appellatioa
OF pocket patriots merely because they ask
that what they buy be placed upon the sans
price basis as what they sell?
Give the farmer what our munition makers
are getting-6 per cent on capital invested
plus the cost Of the goods, with 10 per cen.
profit added and he will be very happy IN
fact. he will be satisfied with far less. lie
will be satisfied with per cent on his capita!
invested. and If more farmers were getting
that more than one-half the farms in North
Dakota and 46.7 per cent Of all the farms in
Minnesota would not be mortgaged. These
are facts, too, and facts that you VIII md
hard to reconcile with the opinion apparently
prevalent among Fasteners that the Western
farmer is a bloated bondholder
You try to make out a case against the
farmer as a profteer, but the facts VIII con
found YOU. The farmer in North Dakota DID
rot sell his wheat crop at cost this year Yet
he is bearing his loss without compliant and
orlv asks that the prices OF other commodl-
ties be scaled down 50 that when he comes
to plant another crop needed 20 feed this ma
ton and its allies in this war, he can DO u
with the assurance that he will at least break
even And we DO not believe that any fair
minded man. knowing the facts, will contend
that this desire is disoyal or the suggestion
for further price regulation seditious.
Tn. Tribune criticised the recent CONVEX
ton and the Non-Partisan League without IN
our opinion. giving Us fair hearing
4. c. TOWNLEY,
President National Non-Partisan League.
s.. Paul, Mimi, Oct. 3, 1871