Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1920-12-23
ONE FARMER NOT DOWN.
HEARTED

The following communication writ
ten to the Minneapolis Journal was
written by North Dakota farmer:
To the Editor of the Journal:
have become interested in the let
ters regarding the production and
price of wheat. have raised, or at
tempted to raise, wheat for the past
10 years. During this time l have
found it necessary to earn a living for
my family by other means. Today
am far poorer than when l started
farming 10 years ago. But strange
ly enough, l am not bitter nor rebel
lious. do not feel that am being
robbed, or that there is foul con-
spiracy among the wealthy classes to
keep the farmer serf. l even am
not so sure that l am serf though
the fact has been asserted often in
pamphlets and speeches.
In view of the fact that the state
ment seems traitorous to my COM
rades Of the soil, still truth compe!s
me to admit that had the grain have
sowed during the past few years
turned out even a moderate crop l
should have made money, quite little
money-more money than the same
amount of energy and Investment
would have brought me in other pur-
suits open to me. Now, candor re-
quires me to say that l should like
to blame someone for my failure, but
even my most radical neighbors have
never accused the Almighty, who
governs both the rainfall and the
grasshoppers of being in collusion
with that fendish malefactor, Big Biz.
Ye, l can see no other explanation:
because it the seasons had been IA
vorable, fair crops would have been
harvested and the price was very
good indeed. l repeat. l most GER
ta'nly would have prosrered, in sp tc
Of all that motley p;'ate crew from in
ternaticnal spectators to the loc;:.
elevator shark.
However. have been assured by
neighboring farmers that am no.
posted on these matters relating to
grain gambling, and it must be SO.
freely admit it, and only wish
knew. one-half as much about such
things as the dullest one of my infor-
mants seem to know.
My nearest neighbor is a hustling,
Ewideawake farmer vino tills a section
Of land, and the past fall 1 changed
works with him. He put all his
wheat in the bin, although he threshed
early and No. was worth So. so per
bushel. He vowed the grain thieves
shouldn't steal his wheat. He would
wait till they grudgingly allowed him
half what it was worth, say SO. Then
the machine moved to my place, and
l hauled my grain directly to the ele-
vator. Not because knew the price
would soon fall, but because wished
to play into the hands of the gam
blers, but because knew the price to
be> good-oh, not what it should have
been, certainly not. Well, the whole
sad truth may as well come out. I
was fearful that the price would fall,
and wanted to get every cent could,
but l should have ground my teeth
in fury if the price had advanced
sharply after I sold.
Neighbor has just finished hauling
his wheat which he sold at 81 .25 per
bushel. He is very bitter against the
government, voted for Debs and Fra
zier, and sometimes stays SO long in
town denouncing the chamber of COM
merce that his wife and small chill
dren have to do up the chores alone.
But I want to give him credit for
this, he is wonderfully we'll informed
for man who was practically denied
even common school advantages and
whose reading is confined almost
wholly to the North Dakota Leader.
He penetrated at once the secret of
the price demoralizing influx of Cana
dian wheat, and the sure and confident
manner in which he impaired to me
this information was most convincing.
A man who knows whereof he
speaks, as he does, awakens envy and
admiration. He says England en-
gineered the whole thing, as British
Big Biz can buy the wheat cheaper
in Minneapolis than in Canada. The
! only thing that puzzles me is how does
the British government compel the
Canadian farmers to sell their grain
for less in Minneapolis than they
could get at home. Lots of times
I wish l were better informed on
these things.
Neighbor also says we'll never get
fair prices for our grain until our
state enterprises, -four mills, etc., get
we'll established and running smooth
~. I asked if the state would be
able to handle the surplus wheat not.
needed by the state mills. He re-