Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-11-29
FARMERS PART IN
HIGH PRICES ONLY
A SMALL PER CENT
TEST Is MADE TO SHOW WHERE
CONSUMER is GOUGED, WITH
RESULT BLAME IS LIFTED
FROM TiLLER OF THE SOIL.

Farmers have IA problem and a II.
sponsiblity OF feeding the people not
only this week and next, but next year
and all the time says y. q. Thomp-
son. secretary OF the Illinois Agricul
tural Association. We must put agri
culture on a permanent paying and at
tractive basis so that there will con
tinue to be men who win choose thr.
farm for their life work, men that will
be able to produce enough to feed the
people"
To find out to what extent farmer,
are to blame for the Agh cost OF lv-
ing and how much Il substantial rcdur
lion In farm products would affect the
cost OF living, the families in Chicago
for week are keeping track of the
amount and cost OF the food
Gust Iindh, father of seven CHI
dren ranging from I months to II
wears, paid out $s3 in the week for
the four neCessarics OF life that com"
most direct from Illinois farms. That
included nineteen and Onehalf lOave7
OF bread, eight and threc-fCurth-
pounds Of meat, twenty-five quarts OF
milk and eight pounds OF potatoes. q
that 1886 the farmer gets So Is an
someone else get SIS The nineteen
and One-half loaves Of bread cost $500
and the farmer gets 81 cents for the
wheat that goes into it, Others get
1896 1t would mean that farmer
would have to reduce wheat Is cent,
d bushel to make a loaf of bread cost
I
would have to take less than it cost
TO produce the wheat this year, Il
the farmer gave his wheat Tor moth.
ing a Decent, one-pound loaf OF bread
would cost about : cents.
Price Doubles Over Night
Gust Lindh gets $50 week ana
does some extra work AT nights ana
Sunday, so it keeps him husting -
make the money 60 around In spi 2
OF that milk was used every meal. be-.
cause Mrs. Lindh says milk is the best
food for children. The tWenty-tRO
quarts OF III llk cost 81. In the
tWenty-four hours between tn" time
the milk left The farm until ii reached
the back porch someone added loo per
cent to the cost OF the 500 the
farmer got half
No meat was used for breakfast and
none on Friday Only the cheapest
cuts were used at all The figures
show that the farmer go 80 cents OUT
Of the 81 Is spent for eight and three
fOurths pounds OF meat The eight
pounds of potatoes used cost - cents
and again someone added loo per cent
to the cost from the time they left til
farm until they were purchased at the
grocery.
The figures show that the fame
gets AZ per cent of the money III
family spent on meat milk, bread and
potatoes. A family VAS picked that
used cheap food and showed economy
III purchasing, so the figures Noul
be fair. Another family with only two
children was led the same week that
used little higher class OF TODD and
more of it. This family spent sl0lN
for the four farm products, and tn TO-
farmer got Al per cent, or 81 -.
Wouldn't Help Consumer Much.
These figures mediate that any re-.
sonable reduction in prices Of farm
products would not make much dif-
ference in the price to the consumer.
II would take t. cents off per ln2
pounds of milk to make milk cent
less quart and - cents of bushci
Of wheat to make bread "A penny
cheaper In either case farmers would
not be getting cost OF production. Az
other recent example is the hog price
dropping ln cents in ninety days with
very little change in prices of pork
City people know they cannot AFFORD
TO eat food that is sold for less than
cost Of production by the farmer. l.
would mean farmers would gradually
raise less and food would he higher
later. Farmers are ready TO cut the
cost OF living to the very limit If
others will do the same. but they cali
not do it alone Everything the farm
or buys is high and there has been no
reduction.
Garry Comparisons Higher
The comparisons We have been ma
ing Is when food is purchased and
prepared in The home Lets go to the
restaurant and see what happens
Milk toast that cost q cents has :
cents worth of farmers wheat and
milk in It, If the farmer cuts his
price in half it would only make he
cents reduction. A fancy sandwich
that cost 80 cents has i cents worth
of farmers products in IT, II the farm.
er gave his products for nothing the
sandwich would cost IA cents.