The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-07-04
FARMERS ROBBED or TWO-THRDS
OF PRODUCTS BY CLOSED MARKET

gether, and "clsan up the gang" In al
tho states and in Washington. The
tighG of the farmers for independence
and for the right to sell directly TO
the consumers is a political fight be-
fore 1t ts anything else.
The farmer has to play In . game
where the other fellow makes all the
rules. When he sells wheat It 10 the
other fellow who does all the weigh
ing, docking and grading and the other
fellows word is law. When he tries
to sell his produce direct to the con-
sumner or the retailer, he IL up against
a license law Or u fine. When the
other fellow anne q price that price
is the law and has the protection Of
the law.
The system finds it necessary also
to control the press and the "educa-
ton" Of the people. The principal
item OF this Education" Is to make
a good PRODUCER of the farmer ana
to sadly neglect his education ~ a
MARKETER OF, seller. The farm pa
pers. dailies and agricultural colleges
IRE strong on teaching the farmer to-
PRODUCE more. The entire wealth
and power Of the system rests upon
the fact that the farmer IN the biggest
producer and the poorest marketer
In the world.
System Based on Poverty.
The closed market system presup-
poses that there once existed an
open market where the producer could
ell direct to the consumer. There
did. The little the farmer then had
to exchange was traded for an honest
equivalent. Prices were then kept up
because everything was scarce; the
farmer was not then able to produce
much. When we have an open market
supply and demand actually operates
and prices rest on scarcity.
When the farmer introduced mach
inery and began to produce abundant
ly this SCARCITY was threatened and
hence PRICES were threatened. Now
in steps a new factor to save prices.
Machinery has separated the finishing
and marketing facilities from the
farmers and given them over to the
middlemen. These middlemen organ
lied to control supply SO as to MAIN
tain SCARCITY so they could keep up
the prices. They did this by buying
the farmers products in the fall when
the market was glutted and the r. amer
had to sell, and then storing this prc'.-
uce until the consumers began to feel
the pinch Of scarcity and yield to it
in the shape of high prices.
Hence the closed market system was
organized for the express purposes Of
producing scarcity where abundance
was possible. tits based on the main
tenance Of general poverty. Universal
prosperity would destroy It. If 1t could
not keep the farmer so poor that he
could not store and sell his own prod
not keep the farmer so poor that no
keep the consumer poor enough syste-
m~atically to starve him into an accept
ance of the high cost of living it would
pass away. It is the Original Society
for the Prevention Of Prosperity. It
exists solely by keeping the producer
and consumer apart and keeping them
both poor.
There is no remedy for this condi.
ton other than the public control of
finishing, marketing and price-fxing.
Under public control the producer and
consumer could cooperate together
through the government to fix prices
in the interest OF all. II we apply this
remedy we will yet be able to realize
tho splendid possibilities Of farm ma.
chine production and all will enjoy
In order to do this, as q
first step. the farmer and consumer
must organize and restore the govern.
ment to the people.