The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-10-16
CRAWFORD ASSERTS
COUNTRY UNBALANCED
IN talk TO FARMERS

Declaring that this country is top
heavy industrally" and that the
agricultural development is tagging
behind. Earl Crawford, Of Milton, an
organizer for the Wayne County
Farmers association, Friday evening
advocated the formation of an indus
trial court" to settle questions in dis
pute between capital and labor, at a
meeting of farmers in the /. 0. 0. F.
hall at Hagerstown.
There are too many people in this
country today who want to be the
judge and jury and try their own
case" he added.
The meeting was called in the in
terest of the membership drive for
the Wayne county farmers organiZa-
ton.
Must Care for Public
"Questions have come up in this
country in the past and have been set
tied as compromises between two ele-
ments, capital and labor" asserted
the speaker There has been no &C
count taken Of the third party, the
public"
I'VE have been giving too much at
tention to the production side of our
business and too little to the business
side,' he added. why should the
farmer raise bumper crop of grain
when he gets the same amount of
money for small crop as he does for
large? Just as surely as the farm
er raises a large crop, prices go down
and he has to sell his grain for a
smaller sum that he would if the
crop had been short.
Production Discouraged
This discourages production. We
do not deny to anyone a reasonable
profit. We merely ask that we re-
ceive reasonable profit. We are
often told that the farmer is the back
bone of the country and that we must
raise food or the rest of the country
will starve. People in the cities are
dependent on us for food, and we will
furnish it If we get fair treatment"
Allowing a six per cent rate of in
terest on his investment and counting
up his labor costs at the end of the
year, the average farmer will find that
he can make more money by turning
his farm into Liberty Bonds and work
Ing in some factory" said the speaker
The time must come when farmers
and farm help must have pay for -
to IA hours work on the farm just as
the number of hours he puts in. |
want to see any man who works re-
oeive pay for what he does, but there
must be a relation between an honest
days work and an honest days pay"
Discusses Strikes.
The speaker also referred to the coal
situation, and the strike menace i'll
this country, saying: That in itself
should be evidence that short hours
and high wages are not what is needed
to solve some Of the problems in this
country Factories are run on what is
known as a cost plus basis. The
he will receive for his product. No
other business has the element of risk
in it that farming has. Even though
we were assured price of $500 per
bushel for wheat, we have no aSsur-
aEce that we would make a profit at
the end of the year, because the
weather can make or break our crops.
7Iany Join Organization.
The meeting held at Hagerstown
last evening was one Of series in con-
nection with the membership canvass
Of the Wayne County Farmers asso-
citation. About $50 farmers from
Hagerstown and vicinity attended the
gathering, and many came forward
after the meeting to join the organ
iZation.
James l.. Dolan, county agent, made
a brief talk at the meeting. Grafton
Stewart, of jefferson township, acted
as chairman.