Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1920-11-09
Editor Free Trader-Jonrnal:

Editor Free Trader-Jourral:
In your valued paper among the AT
tractive features are your able ell
itorials, which the writer enjoys read
ing He was surprised, however, on
Saturday evening. to read an editor
.ial entitled Grain Prices which was
somewhat wide of the mark. me
opening statement is The farmers
are going ahead with their plans TO
hold their crops for higher levels
This is true OF every person in bust
ness. People like to make money,
and naturally they seek good prices
10 make wide margins. The farmers,
however, are not organized, nave
never been organized and Will proba'
bly never be organized to boost prices
beyond actual cost Of production and
fair margin There is no such
thing as a nation wide agreement on
the part OF the farmers TO hold thei
CROPS. nor can there be such move
ment on foot. The article in question
conveys the wrong impression at ms
point Practically every business mas
some organization back OF 1t al TINS
time. Labor is highly organized, but
not only organized with reference to
the trades, but these trades are Ieder-
ated. and the whole organization has
become very effective and powerful.
While it is true that much Of capltal
has no such form OF organization
vet because business conditions are
very similar capital usually has
identical interests and works rs
unitedly as tho II We're formally or
eanized. Yet the farmer has never
been able to handle his capital in TINS
way He never regards the other
farmer in competition with himself,
and the competition interest in bust
ness which promotes organization
does not cause the farmer to act
even in very cooperative way
The business men, newspapers,
etc. in the north are not back OF the
northern farmer. Oftentimes he is
REGARDED by this class Of persons as
a sort of peon to raise his produce
and meat and when that is gone his
importance in society ceases In the
south, however. the cotton man who
raises the chief crop has back vi
him the banks, the business men, the
newspapers. etc As for instance,
the governor Of Louisiana recently
issued an appeal to the cotton gin
ners to close their gils for thTty
DAYS. He said THE one great agri-
cultural crop in which the south has
almost monopoly is cotton. With
she help Of short crops in sections
INT tho world
gently needs cotton. it is almost Grim
inal TO force this crop on the market
at prices far below actual cost, bring
ing ruin to farmers, and thereby ult!
mate disaster to the spinnerS and
actual suffering TO those needing cot
ton goods | deem ii necessary 10 IS
sue this appeal in the interest Of the
uubIic welfare" He telegral he'd thii |
appeal to the governors OF other cot
ton states Is this not good buslne33|
Does that not appeal to the common
sense of any man? Suppose cotton
was to be sold as cheap as he buyer
would like to buy it, or the city man
wants TO buy 1t when he buys cotton
goods for the family, Wculd such a.
procedure produce anything else but
peonage in the cotton fields?
The farmer has been too long re.
earded in that way. This national
administration, which is passing into
history, appealed 10 the farmer during
qhe war to feed the world on tie
grounds Of patriotism, and very beneY-
olently fixed the price OF his wheat
and pretended to guarantee the neg
prices but failed to DO so in the
emergency. The farmer submitted,
and while he made money during the
war. as everybody else did, and az the
laboring man did, yet no one can
charge him with prOiiteering. 1t was
uhe city man that made the billions
The farmer has the right to col
lectiye bargaining. The laborng man
assumes the right and practices it,.
The city man assumes the right ana
practices it, The farmer viii assume
lhe right and he will practice it, The
law tried to send the milkmen about
F,lein to the pelitentiary for collec'
tive bargaining, and the time VIII
come when the farmer viii be as Tar
from the penitentiary for collective
bargaining as the union labor man or
the Standard Gil man.
Your editorial says, III the farmers
control the raw materials, the city
man controls the banks" This =
wide OF the mark The banks out
here in our section Of the country eN-
list because OF the farmer. The city
man has his notes in the bank, but
the farmer has his money, II it is
meant that the city man is the bank
president it may be said in reply
that there is not banker in Ottawa
who IL not many more times inter
ested in lands than any or all the