Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1920-02-09
TIME TO RETRENCH.

TIME TO RETRENCH.
Prof. Il. G. Atkinson, Washington
representative OF the National Grange
and recently member of the presi-
dents first industrial conferences.
has analyized the present clash OF city
and farming interests and has arrived
at some conclusions that are anything
but reassuring for the near future.
Mr.. Atkinson was for nineteen years
dean of the Agricultural College of
West Virginia and talks like man of
great good sense. While he doesn't
say so directly, it is evident that he
believes that the country is due for a.
| financial crash unless the people see
very soon whittier they are drifting.
! Mr.. Atkinson is not among those
who believe legislation can effect a
cure of the disease from which the
country is suffering. The people them
selves can do that. He blames nobody
for present conditions. Among the
causes for the great lack of farm labor
he puts first the fact that the country
has failed to assimilate its returned
soldiers. Out of the 100000 under
arms during the war, the farms fur
nished approximately half, and but
comparatively few of these have re-
turned to agricultural pursuits, as
shown by the 10000 returned question
aires recently sent out by the
department of agriculture. In sum
ming up the situation from the view
point of the farmer Mr.. Atkinson
says:
The inability to obtain farm labor
lis the most serious thing. Before the
war the farmer trained his children
and hired help in the country. Now
with the attractive wages in the city
the farmer boys who were in the army
don't want to come back to the coun-
try, and / don't blame them or any
body else for staying in the city if
higher wages are Obtainable there. But
city people must realize that as farm
labor gets scarce the country must be-
gin offering higher wages, and thus
costs OF production must rise. Add to
that the great cost of distribution and
you see why the cost of living is going
up. Why, reckoned relatively, food is
the cheapest thing of all. Our city
friends ought TO realize that there are
about 100000 farmers selling indi-
vidually. They can't be prOtiteers.
They are helpless because they have to
take what is offered them. They have
no organization to fix prices and there
are no signs Of one. They deal indi-
vidually.
Now / know that nobody ever sold
what he had to sell, either skill or
labor or commodities. for less than he
thought he could get. We all do it.
We should recognize it as Il funda-
mental fact Well, the source Of nor
NAL farm labor, namely, the sons OF
farmers, is almost gone. The farmer
boys who went into the army got a
taste OF the world and city life.
They have rubbed up against city |
companions and are lured by high |
wages and what appears to them Il
more attractive life. / am told that OF
$1,000 questionnaires sent out in con-
nectiOn with rehabilitation of troops
about / per cent appear to have gone
back to the farms.
Also farm laborers don't want to
stay in the country If the city offers
them better opportunities Normally,
a farm laborer gets for his days work
the equivalent of bushel Of wheat.
The other day i had some carpenter
work done at my house in the city and
what l paid for ten hours work would
have bought Il barrel of flour or four
and q half bushels of wheat. a man
is a fool for staying in the country ii
he can get that much more in the city.
But some day those high wage fell
lows are going to wake up and find
that there isn't enough food to go
around at any price. 1t is something
like conditions after the civil war,
when we paid SIS Il keg for cut nails
for about four years and then suddenly
the price dropped to about M cents
keg. We had been selling wheat at
So bushel and then it came down 10 S
60 cents a bushel And certain people
rot hurt in the crash.
"There is little use of talking about
the high cost of living when you con-
slider the high cost OF city labor. The
cost of distribution, moreover. is all
out of proportion to the cost OF food
production. What we need is increas-
I'd production everywhere, in the city
as well as on the farm.
Instead of agitating for shorter
hours and more pay. it would be much !
better if everybody in the cities and
factories worked harder for the pres
mt high scale of wages"
Mr.. Atkinson closes his statement
IF the situation and its cure as fol i
ows: II
Things must take their natural
course. People in the cities will not c
Ne convinced any other way. Therell c
,e a reimbursement and prices will fall. Ii
hen people will drift back to the
arms. and there will be more labor to
cultivate the land and produce food 6