Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-08-12
Senate Committee Declares
Grave Injustice Is Being
Done The Farmers And II
Continued Will Injure Ma
ton; Farmers Side OF
High Prices Given.

Washington, Aug. 12.-Demands.
that changes be made in government
wheat standards under the price guar
antee act so as not to penalize every,
statement prepared 'by Chairman
Gronna and representatives of farm
organizations and approved today by
the senate agriculture committee.
Chairman iGronna announced that
a committee would be named to pre-
sent the demands to Julius Fl. Barnes,
president of the United States grain
corporations and representatives Of
the department of agriculture in the
hope Of having modified various gov
ernment regulations by which 1t was
charged "the producers are defrauded
and the consumers receive no benefit" :"
Believe Injustice Is Done.
In statement designed to give the
farmers side of the high cost of liv-
ing question, the, senate committee
said it believed grave injustice, was
being done the farmer and might
continue to accumulate and seriously
injure not only agriculture, but the
entire nation as WELL"
While entirely sympathetic with
(, the hardships which present prices
cause the people of the city," said
the statement farmers individually
and through their organizations are
eCOo
nomic situation.
The powerful machinery Of the
government is now being set in motion
to apprehend and bring to justice
those who are guilty of. conspiring to
restrain trade and secure undue prof
It's But it must be Remembered that
this drive is now coming at a time
when the great staple products of the
farm are going to market and that in
selling the wheat crop, for instance.
the farmer is selling his entire sea-
sons labor. This is an experience
with which the farmer is very fanni-
liar and he instinctively connects 1t
with the. interests which in the past
have pyramided their profits upon his
production at the beginning Of the
marketing season. s
Barnes Stated Policy.
Julius H. Barnes of the United
States grain corporation openly states
his policy to resell wheat, curtail our
foreign shipments and .use the resale
of wheat to help control the domestic
market price against further ad-
vances..' The result of such policy to.
gether with the manipulation of a sys-
tenn of gradeS and standards has been
to reduce materially the farmers in.
come and to deny him access to a free
market where he can secure actual
cost of production. 50 2T ,
I'VE believe city people SHOULD
know that the average annual labor
income of the farmer including thai
of his wife and children as shown
by.ethe last federal census was only
$318.22. They should know that aowi
ing. to manipulation in administerine
the grades and standards, together
with the damage done by hot weather
to the maturing crops. the winter
wheat producers are receiving as Low
as $1.15 per bushel for their wheat
not the $2.O5 which Mr.. Barnes
gives as theoretical average-and
that this years crop may average not
over $3.50 per bushel net.
Labor Enters In. s.-
I'm thep reduction, of wheat, as in
other crops, labor enters in the last
analysis as the chief item of cost and
city people should realize that the eff