Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1920-06-18
FARMERS ARE
ENTITLED TO PROFITS
Manufacturers RecOrd)


It is understood that a chief pur-
pose of the new Secretary of Agri-
culture is to popularize the depart
ment. He wants the nation to know
what 1t is doing and why it is valu-
able That is a laudable purpose,
and we wish it success.
But agriculture in the United
States must be popularized, not
merely the department which the
government has instituted to keep a
watch over it, It is unfortunately
true that for more than half CEN
fury there has been no such thing as
a national agricultural policy. Be
fore the Civil war there was a polit-
ical group which was agricultural in
thought and purpose. 1t protected
agriculture in congress and saw to it
that there was such an adjustment
of interests that neither manufactur-
ing nor farming was the recipient of
undue fayors from the government.
But it was q group that was section
al, and the war wiped it out This
left the field clear for what are
termed the industrial interests, and
it is not an exaggeration to say that
for hals a century the manufacturing
industry has dominated the policies
of the nation.
The same course was followed in
England, where agriculture was all
but wiped out; but in France a con
trary policy was followed The world
may be grateful for it, since it was
the French peasant, owner Of the
land he loved, that breasted the Hun
tide and held 1t back until the rest
OF the world could make ready.
For years this nation insisted that
the cotton crop should be sold at RI
diculously low prices. 1t was cotton
that was maintaining the balance of
trade, it was cotton that was
paying the interest on our debts
abroad, and yet the strange fallacy
persisted that it was not of interest
to the nation as a whole to see to it
that the cotton producer received a
fair price for his product How many
billions of the national wealth were
simply tossed away by this policy it
would be hard to estimate, but the
total must have been enormous.
For years the western mortgage
was joke in the comic papers, but
it was no joke to the morugagors.
They toiled and sweated in the sun,
but the fruits of their labor went in
to other pockets than theirs Tt
came to be accepted in the cities that
1t was the natural lot of the farmer
to be beast of burden. that poverty
was his destiny, and that he ought to
be content and thank Providence that
he was permitted to live. And even
unto this day that fallacy has per-
sisted, so much so that fat city dwell
ers can be found in numbers now
who denounce the wheat-producers
as profiteers and vent their spleen in
bitter denunciation of the cotton
growers So long does it take for
the worm to turn!
The trouble throughout has been
the refusal on the part of the govern
ment to protect its farm assets. It
has protected industry and by wise
policies has enabled our manufactur-
ers to build enduringly. But the cry
OF the farming element, unfortu-
nately, too often was turned by
scheming politicians into a pursuit of
economic fallacies. Instead of unit
ing to develop a powerful voice in
Washington that could speak out in
favor of sound fundamental princi-
pies, the farmers tied themselves to
series of isms, none of which en-
braced any fundamental or had in Il
the nucleus of lasting and benefit
cent program.
Moreover, it is a black eye for the
agricultural interests that today
there are number of so-called agri-
cultural bureaus in Washington,
some of them manned by profess
sional farmers, which spend their
time trying to form alliances with
union labor politicians and exert
themselves otherwise in misrepre-
senting the element for which they