Daily Kennebec journal., 1919-12-20

tion, got into high sear," do more
80 az to catch up" More psrspira-
ton and less propaganda would help
these United States . mighty lot
Just nuw."
We noticed that last week the
Farm Bureau Of Illinois adopted res
olutfons for a basic 1e-l1our day as
the best means Of reducing the high
cost of living and Of making up the
reduced production following the
war The State Grange 6 New
Hampshire put it ON q nine-hour bas
il and we hope the State Grange Of
Maine win do somefhang semilar.
Lincoln said that we cannot exist
as a country part slave and part
nee." neither can We go along with
two standards Of days. one Of 10 or L
hours for the farmer. and another OF
eight hours for the artisan and Ia
borer We think that the right stand
ara for wages is what it costs 10
produce food under efficient condi-
tious. for example: IF il takes Mr.. B
five hours Of labor to prodnce
bushel Of potatoes and the other ex-
penses of raising this bushei. then
Mr.. B has left one dollar and sev-
enty-five cents an hour. Now il at
the same time Mr.. Bss neighbor Mr..
C. who has gone to the city is gettin-
50 cents an hour working in the ship
yard or shoe shop. Mr.. B back or
the farm. IL he in ambitious will have
to do one of two things IL he is to
earn as much money as Mr.. C. Il
enable his family to have the sar7f
advantages and comforts Of life. He
must either work longer days than
Mr. C in the shipyard q SO to the
city and work with Mr.. c ana that
is what young Mr.. B is doing, if old
Mr.. B still prefers to stay on the
farm.
IN the past the farmer has been
furnishing cheap food At the expense
of the fertility Of the soil and he ana
his family have often worked without
any thought of full wage. but these
no longer exist and this IS
a condition that the public do no.
seem TO understand. that the cost ~
food has increased IN I
L416l4 L44S CA'St u iI1sllAb-
featuring. On account Of the fertil-
ity the farmer has taken out of thu
soil producing cheap food in the past.
this fertility in order to
produce more food is an expensive
proposition.
Mr.. c. in the city learned sometime
ago that in order to be in a position
~ arfr.r,,e 1,;~ 5o-rcr3c and r-a4 vrror
seemed TO him fair wage. that he
must organize and get together with
others in the same business and he
certainly has been very successful
and il looks to the public at the
present time as though he was going
10 far in his demands In the mean
time. Mr.. B. the farmer. has been
slow 70 organize with other farmers
for better market conditions. He has
seemed TO be in state Of mind that
whatever work he and his family
could do. they were only entitled TO
Il small wage. The farmer needs
more intelligent publicity about con-
ditieus as they exist On the farm and
in the country.
What we get through the press at
the present time IS usually two ex-
trernesL One class Of farmers who
by natural conditions and environ
ments are ray above the average
and have made a great success of
farming; the other class ID where the
natural conditions ana environments
arr very much below the average.
settled on land which sforld have
been left TO grow Up TO forest. =
How much does the public know
about the common. average, every
day farmer who 8 the foundation of
our country. his phenomenal success
in animal and plant Improvement. de
veloping new strains and breeds of
animals and plantse A triangle di-
vorce case is given more space in the
daily papers than thes greatest live
stock show IN the world. The two