Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1917-05-24


not keep me from thinking that the
pill that is being swallowed in the
cities is bearing the city trademark.
AS long as the people in our cities
want to get all they can and do as
little as they can in getting it, they
must expect the other fellows to do
the same thing. The farmer has to
contend with the weather conditions
in his efforts. He has a thousand and
one things to meet before he is even
sure of crop. He goes at his work
with the object in view of having his
labor rewarded. He sometimes gets
a crop, and often he does not. If
he does. he permits someone, who
has probably never raised a crop, to
make the price at which he is obliged
to sell. The farmer gets wages if
the city speculator lets him have
them
This talk of an embargo is all very
well in way. 1t keeps hope in the
hearts of the consumer and it edu-
Gates the farmer True, it has cut
the farmer out of few dollars, as it
has affected prices little. | wonder
whether it has affected the consumer
as much as it has the farmer? 1t edu-
Gates the farmer to this extent: He
knows, by previous experience, that
a big crop, with the doors of the
world open to receive it, has meant
a money loss to him. He knows that
a big crop to be kept at home means
all work and no pay for him. With
a threatened embargo, his seed wheat
at two dollars a bushel and his hired
help at double it's value, what induce
ment is there for him to try his best
to relieve the situation?
Let me go to the meat question.
Let me say at the start that it takes
three years to raise a three-year
prime steer. simply mention this
so that we may reach working basis,
as it were. Take it that we have an
embargo on meats. The packers say
the loss falls on the producer, and
we will not question that That puts
it to where the producer must lose to
benefit the consumer. 1t is admitted.
that the free range in the West is;
a thing of the past 1t means that
cattle must be raised on land that is
growing in value each year. 1t means
that it is costing more money every
year to put this stuff on the table.
Suppose the price the producer gets
is below the cost of production? What.
will the result be? Just this: The
consumer will eat meat at the eX-
pense of the producer for short
time. Then he will gradually get
over the habit of eating meat at all.
Is it reasonable to suppose that the,
cattle and hog breeders will comb the
country for high-class breeding stock
with loss staring them in the face?
Even farmer will get out from under
as quickly as he can. The breeder
will either have~to go back to where
he started from, or get out of bust
ness. He will sell off his blooded
stock at loss in preference to keep
ing it and losing in the end, for lose
he must.
Let me bring it little closer to-
you. Last fall certain man with
whom am well acquainted had Go
hogs fit for market. At that time
and they had fairly good idea of
the number of hogs that would go on
the market They knew that cold
weather was due, that the feed was
about gone, and that the hogs were
ripe They made up their minds that
they were going to get these hogs at
their own price, and they did Now,
when this man sent his hogs to mar
ket, the packers were there waiting
for them When he got his returns,
/ happened to meet him, and inquired
how he came out. Well, it only took
him few minutes to let me see
where he stood. He saved over
enough breeding sows to assure him
of at least spring crop Of a hun
dred pigs. He went home and fed
these remaining sows all the feed he
had left, and then threw them on the
market. He saved one SOW and raised
a litter. That man is eating bacon,
and his wife has lard to grease the
griddle for buckwheat pancakes this
winter. He isn't worrying about you
fellows In New York, or whether you
are eating cr not; he gets his regular.
Yes, an embargo will help out on the
meat question without doubt. You
can cut the head off the goose that
lays the golden egg and still have the
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