The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1919-11-21
MUST HARMONIZE
TO GET RESULTS


The farmer has become factor in
the disturbed industrial situation
whom neither labor nor capital can af-
ford to ignore, will be the statement of
Pres. W. NJ Burton of the Standard
Oil Company (Indiana) in commun-
ication to the employees through the
columns of the November issue of
The Stanolind Record, to be published
on November 10. President Burton
will say:
There are hundreds of millions of
people in this world and each Of
these requires a certain amount of
food, clothing, fuel, housing, means of
transportation, ETC., to insure their
health, comfort and wellbeing. The
food must come from the soil. If pro-
duction falters, even slightly, the
comfort of all the people is disturbed.
If production staggers their health
suffers, and if production fails they
die
1t is said that Europe this winter
will suffer from famine and that
death will reap mighty harvest. The
cause of this is underproducton. While
the war lasted men were taken from
the fields and became consumers, and
underproduction resulted. Since the
war has stopped, internal disturbances
have again reduced production, with
the result that there is not enough
food to go around.
Fortunately, we in tho United
States need have no fear u famine
this winter, but if production is not
brought back to normal basis and
maintained at a high standard, the
time may soon come when famine
will be rampant even in this land of
plerty. Production must be main
tanned in industry as well as in agri-
culture if we are to continue to lead
our normal lives.
Already we read that the farmer is
complaining of the topheavy prices he
is called upon to pay for clothing, fuel
and machinery. These high prices
are the direct result of underproduc-
tion in industry and mining. The
farmer argues that he cannot afford to
continue to produce food at present
prices for radicals who are always de-
manding shorter and shorter hours,
because these shorter hours are re-
! sulting in tremendous underproduc-
ton in the lines in which, these men
are employed. This underproduction
causes a shortage which makes it
necessary for the farmer to pay an
excessive price for the manufactured
goods he uses.
| In the daily press we read that this
fall the farmer has planted smaller
acreage to wheat than has been the
case for the past several years. He
says, "Why should I bend every en-
ergy towards increasing my yield Of
1 foodstuffs when the men in industry
are curtailing their output? They
work shorter hours and produce SO
little that have to pay ruinous prices
for what / require. Why, therefore,
should / work long hours, produce
{ heavy crops and sell them at COM
paratively low price," .,.s.s LIZ III,
If these reports are true it is some-
thing which all of US should ponder
carefully. 1t is of little concern to us
just now whether the farmer is right
or whether he is wrong. What con-
Germs us is. that he feels he is right in
reducing his acreage. and that the in
evitable result will be shortage Of
foodstuffs in the United States.
In effect, the farmer is issuing an
ultimatum to city jewellers, whether
they be capitalists or laboring men,
that unless they are willing to dc
their part in bringing about a just
and equitable solution Of our present
reconstruction problems they are go
ing to be without the food which they
require. If the farmer carries uot
this implied threat and actually be-
gins to DO to industry what he believes
industry is trying to do to him, the
people of America eventually will
feel the pangs Of famine. 1t makes nc
material difference how high wages