Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1920-02-08

W OAN5 W. III go
swering questions Of newspaper men
today regarding means for reducing
the high cost of living, Edwin 7.
Meredith, the newly installed Secre-
tary of Agriculture, said that useless
employees, no matter in what line
they may be engaged, must be releas-
ed from reproductive work apd
given an opportunity to become pro-
ducers upon the farm or in the fac
tory. If this is done and if jobbers
and retailers recognize the harm that
must ultimately come from profteer-
ing on the farmer and content them
selves with a reasonable profit, he
said, the question of the high cost of
living will largely solve itself to the
permanent good of all. But unless
the whole country-all business and
all labor-does recognize this as a
common problem and do the things
necessary to solve it, he continued,
''less and less will there be of farm
produce to divide among the whole
people and higher and higher will go
the price of that which is produced"
81 am surprised said Mr.. Mere
dith, 'that l should have received the
number of messages l have, particu-
larly from daily papers asking what
plans l, as Secretary of Agriculture,
have to reduce the high cost of liv
ing, indicating that the general feel
ing is that this is essentially an agri-
cultural problem. 1t is, of course,
related to agriculture, but no more
than to many other lines of activity,
and | am tempted to believe that the
solution of the problem lies more in
the hands of those interested in dis
tribution and productive enter
prises than in the hands of the farm
ers of the country.
Give Farmer Satisfactory Conditions
"The farmers must certainly pro-
duce. They have produced and will
produce-that is their business. They
are on a piece measure basis, so CIV
en- satisfactory conditions they will
do their part, as the farmers of
America have in every situation or
crisis that has faced the cd untry.
Tut this question of satisfactory con-
ditions' is big one. 1t is not sat
isfactory condition for the farmer
to receive reduced prices for his pork,
wheat, hides, while the prices of his
machinery and shoes are raised. 1t
does not conduce to a pleasant frame
of mind on the part of the farmer or
spur him to great production to be
obliged to sell his products for half
or less than he later sees them sold
for at retail The diary farmers of
the country wonder if they are treat
ed fairly when they receive thirty
Eve to forty cents for butter and see
it retail at eighty-five cents. The
poultry men wonder why when they
receive from forty cents to fifty
cents for eggs, they retail as high as
Q dollar per dozen. The hog grow
ers wonder if they are not in
hazardous business when they bry
fencing and all other supplies at
greatly increased prices, and then see
their produce fall fifty per cent and
sold by them at an actual loss, in an
swer to a demand on the part of the
rest of the population for reduced
cost of Twin"
'The farmers of America" the
new Secretary went on, "are willing
to assume their part of the response
bilities as American citizens in meet
ing any problem threatening the well
fare and stability of our country but
this high cost of living problem is a
mutual one, and they ask that it be
approached by all the people as
common problem. They ask that
those engaged in distribution elimi-
nate the lost motion and not put so
great a burden upon production as
there is upon it today. In others
words, they ask that there be an ade-
quate number of producers of wealth,
and this includes property and food
of all kinds. and only such number
of distributors as is necessary to per-
form the services required. They
ask that the banks, railroads, whole
sale houses, retail establishments,
factories, all of which are vitality
necessary to the farmer and recog-
nized by him as such, be speeded up
along with him, that the work now
done by three men may be done, if
possible, by two. and the burden of
transportation and distribution be
thereby lightened If the factory eX-
ecutive will speed up his plant that
there may be two days labor in the
supplies, machinery, or what not, that
the farmer buys, rather than three
days labor, the article will cost the
farmer that much less, his profits be
increased, and his production stimu-
lated, more men stay on the farm,
more men go to the farm.
Put Them at Productive Work.
Business men must look to the OPP
Grafton of their establishments, no
matter in what line they may be en-
gagged, and see that no useless en-
ployee is retained to add to the cost
of distributing what the farmer now
produces. Useless employees must
ha raleaead from non-productiVe work