Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1919-02-13
COMMUNICATION


COMMUNICATION
Eds. Herald. Ellsworth, Wis:
In the December .26th issue Of the.
Herald we find the following little
item in the editorial column: "A far
mer's wife was making her Christmas
purchases and inquired. the price Of
old-time mixed candy. The merchant.
informed her that it was 4Oc pound,
TO which the lady replied, ACC for 1Oc
candy" Then said the local man:
"Well, we are paying you 4Sc for 16c
eggs"
Evidently the Herald man printed
this little conversation because he
thought it was well deserved dig
at the farmers. He overlooks sever
al important points, however. In the
first place the manufacturer Of the
candy fixes the price Of that product
and maintains it at that price as long
as the cost,ofpr production and the prof
it he demands require it. On the
other hand eggs go up to the high
price during the time chickens are not
laying and the farmers have no eggs
to sell; when the chickens begin to
lay and the farmers have eggs to sell
the price goes down.
The farmers are the only class that
have absolutely nothing to do with
fixing the price Of their products, but
must take what they are given
This is not the merchants fault. 1t
is the fault of the present marketing
system. The farmers themselves are
directly to blame, but indirectly the
newspaper. editors are much to blame
for they thrown all their influences on
the side of the interests that profit by
this unfair system, All farm pro-
ducts have gone up so to 100 per
cent, but the things the farmers have
to buy have gone up so to 400 per
cent.
Granted that farmers, through self
interest may sometimes, like other
people, take narrow view of things.
But why be continually digging at
farmers only? Is it possible the ed
itor has not heard of scores Of town
people during the past few months
complain that they had to pay Toe
a pound for butter? Did he call their
attention to the fact that that is only
about twice as high as butter used to
be at this time of the year and to har-
vest and garner the feed for the cows
that produce the butter costs three or
four times as much as it used to :?
Silage is an important dairy feed.
Irvine used in harvesting the corn
has gone up $50 per cent; lubricating
oil 300 per cent. Hired help when
we can get it 300 or 400 per cent
We paid 16 or IL year old city boys
40c an hour for shocking corn and
helping fill silos. Counting board
during the time we worked as we'll as
board during the rainy days when we
couldn't work it amounted, in some
cases, to more than $500 a day for
each day of actual work.
When, in the fall of 1915, the pack
ers cut the price Of hogs from $40
a hundred to IS, while the hogs were
being marketed, then put the price
back to SO again when the farmers
had disposed Of their years crop Of
hogs, did the city consumers get any
benefit Of the low price paid the far
mers; and did our editor take any
notice Of it and make comments?
When dealers bought potatoes from
the farmers for 81 to 81. 80 bushel
during the winter and spring the pa
pers accused the farmers of profiteer-
ing. When in the fall of 1916 far
mers sold their wheat for 81. 80 a
bushel and in the sring of 1917 the
dealers ran the price up to $3 80 and
-four up to $16.75 barrel wholesale
in MinneapolisY when last winter the
middleman ran the price Of grains
they had bought for 81. 80 to 81. 80 a
bushel up to 81 80 and 50 a bushel
and fixed the price of substitutes with
a good margin Of profit on top Of the
high prices, did our editors make any
particular effort to inform the city
consumers that it was not the farmer
that was profiteering7
Such u little item as the account
Of the candy and egg conversation
might not be worth notice were it NOT
for the fact that it is illustrative of q
we'll established policy Of the papers
to place farmers in the wrong light
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