Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-12-20

| farmers last spring dumped their
farming business to the dogs and
sousht work that pays and hours
that ere reasonable. Why?
There u the problem why are others
planning to quit this spring. in spite
Of disturbed conditions and the pros
| pect Of shutting down industries sr
labor troubles?
Why are local railways all over
the country. like the L. A. & w. GO
| ing IN the rocks. if they are depend
ing to any extent upon, or trying TO
keep UP rural lines?
Why are trade organizations in the
centers where local street railways
| brought in trade from surrounding
villages and farms between. aghast
| because these cross-country lines a. e
| being discontinued from lack Of pat
| ronage?
Why are big steam railway COM
pauies hacking their brains to think
of means to boom" the territories
they feed and drain, in order to IN
crease their freightage and passen-
ger service to the point Of up-keep?
Why is the crazy babble Of bolshe-
vikism so eagerly listened to by
great numbers Of farmers as well as
other laborers. in this country as we'll
as in Russia. Germany and else
where?
| The answer to all is the size Of the
problem to which we referred above.
, Conditions are wrong and no amount
of optimistic pretense and camouflage
/ can better them. 1t is easy for GER
, tain great n,ngnates to describe in
glowing colors the prosperity at hand.
| in their business and others, to keep
; I'D the courage Of the masses, and
! flow of dollars to the last dime
but they do not agree. They are
artists Of the p. T. Barnum type.
The first proposition Of corrective
mea sures is not to so about read
justment' wrong end foremost.
The President suggested to Congress
that we drift into new conditions, as
we went to war. II We do We snail
! be lucky to escape something serious.
/ If committees are to be safely and
continuously prosperous, their sur
/ roundings must be prosperous. AS an
example. Augusta cannot live within
itself for long. It's surroundings must
be kept alive To do that. the little
villages and farms must not go to
/ ruin and be abandoned. Street rail-
way feeders out into a broader field
for a time can do the trick of keep
! ing the center alive. but the day CT
! judgment or ceivership-cometh.
Industry. or trade. can combine and
make their agreements and issue
their DEGREES. to beat the morgan
lied or uniformed agricultural inter
ests. and for a time get away with
/ tiff the consumers are inactive or
/ inane-but you know what our
grandfathers used to say Of that
which "goes over the devils back"
The place to begin to put soldiers
, on farms. is to induce railways. and
other big public utilities, mapufac-
, turing. chambers Of commerce and
| boards Of trade, banking interests
and governments. to take hold Of the
question of making farming attrlc-
| tive.
1t is useless to deny the implied i'm
parchment and when these interests
| and the dear consumers go hungry
enough some fine day, they will begin
TO understand the idiocy of their
| chatter about independent farmers,
automobile farmers" etc. There are
exceptions in all classes. The prob
lem is of the great average farmer.
When the aforementioned blsi-
nesses Join hands TO make markets
| for produce. instead Of combining to
steal the return Of the farmers la
bors; when they join to provide cold
storage facilities along the steam
railways and their electric and good
highway feeders. so that the farm
ers surplus may be properly stored
until the big market centers ARE
ready. instead Of forcing the farmer
to keep his produce and dole it out
to retailers a bushel at time. so
that the dealer may suffer no shrink
age.
When they combine to assist the
farmer in the every day gamble
against weather. pests and middle
men; instead Of to exploit him and
hold him to double service and the
smallest pay in any labor drudgery,
then farming will be attractive to
farmers and not a gold brick fof SOL
diers.
Then the street railways can pay
their running expenses and local
dealers get increased trade.
Then the steam railways will have
all the freight they can handle and
there will be no abandoned farms,