The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-09-08

drift of people to the cities, Harding
warned the time may come when
American farms cannot supply enough
food for this country. He paid tribute
to the patriotic work of farmers in
raising war crops, but acknowledged
the losses they have suffered there
| from and pleaded for return to nor
NAL and resumption of the onward
road again.
IF we shall determine to build up
here a self-sustaining nation then we
must at once set about the develop
ment Of a system of agriculture which
will enable us TO feed our people
abundantly with some to spare for ex.
1 Port in years of plenty and at prices
which will insure the farmer and his
4 family both financial rewards aud
educational, social and religious iv-
/ ing conditions fairly comparable to
those offered by the cities. A sound
system of agriculture cannot be main
! tanned on any other basis. Anything
! short of fair return upon invested
capital and fair wage for the labor
which goes into crops and enough in
addition to enable the farmer to main
tain the fertility of his soil, and in
sure against natural hazards will drive
large numbers Of farmers to the
cities" ..
| Harding expanded his agricultural
program, recently outlined as follows:i
1.-THE need Of farm representa-
| ton in large governmental affairs is
recognized. During the past seven
years the right of agriculture to a
voice in government administration
has been practically ignored, and. at
times, the farmer has suffered griev-
| fnJ-yr IA
vital interest in our trade relations
with other countries, in the admins
! tration of our financial policies, and
! in many of the larger activities of the
government His interests must be
safeguarded by men who understand
| his needs, he must be actually ana
practically represented.
! "2-The right of farmers to form CO.
operative associations for the market
! ing of their products must be grant
! ed The concert of agriculture IS as
essential to farms as a similar concert
| of action is to the factories. Through
cooperative associations the route be-
tween the producer and consumer can
and must be shortened
| The legitimate functions of the
middle man may continue to be per-
| formed, by private enterprise, under
conditions where the middle man Is
necessary and who gives his skill to-
our Joint welfare The parasite in dis,
| tribution who preys ON both producer
and consumer must no longer sap
! the vitality of this fundamental life.
! "The republican party pledges 1tseit
! to q scientific study OF agricultural
prices and farm production costs, both
at home and abroad, with view to
! reducing the frequency of aonormA
! fluctuations here.
1--WE must get a better understands
ing of the factors which influence
agricultural prices with a view to
avoiding these violent Fluctuations
and bring about average prices, which
shall bear a reasonable relation to the
cost Of production We do not offer
any ouack remedies in this matter
but we do pledge ourselves TO make
a thorough study of the disease, find
out what causes it, and then apply the
remedy which promises a cure.
eve promise to put an end to un-
necessary price fixing of farm pro-
ducts and to ill-considered efforts ar
bitrarily to reduce farm product
prices. In times of national crisis.
when there is a known scarcity of any
known product, price control for the
purpose of making a fair distribution
Of the stores on hand may be both
necessary and wise.
Government drives against food
prices such as we have experienced
the past two years are equally vain
; and useless. The ostensible purpose
of such drives is to reduce the price
the consumer pays for the food. The
actral result is unjustly to depress for
a time the prices the farmer receives
| for his grains and livestock, but with
| no appreciable reduction in the price
, Continued on page q