Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1920-08-06
THE FARMER AND INDUSTRY.

The statement in recent editorial
in The Phoenix that an alleged
farmer is reported to have said "we do
not want more industries but more ag
ricultural products to bring prices down
so that living will not cost so much ;
cation to this office with the post mark
of "Grand Isle, VT" upon it. Being
anonymous, it should receive little at
tention, but it shows the writer did
not comprehend the real facts in the
editorial. To make them more plain
we make further comment on the sub
ject.
After the editorial statement, eff
any farmer, or any resident of Vermont
for that matter, made such statement
it is surprising" the writer appends
these remarks: "Surprising7 If your
help left for work in industries and
you had to milk ten cows night and
morning and pay 81 to So a day for
help (when you can find it) in harvest.
1t all depends on the point of view.
You must be Il swivel Chair frrmcr. - z
The Reformer has made no claim of
being farmer, "swivel chair" or
otherwise Nor has it claimed that in
dustres are not serious competitors
with the farmer for labor. 1t has rec
ognized there is serious competition in
this matter and that people are leaving
the farm to get the high wages paid
| in industrial centers 1t did maintain
| that a live industrial community in
Vermont is a better market for Yer
mont farm products than industrial cen
| tiers hundreds of miles away! Vermont
industries do not fix the scale of wages
| that draw young men from Vermont
farms. The scale of wages is fixed by
large concerns outside this state and
| if the Vermont firms do not pay cor
respondingly high wages Vermonters
go to the concerns outside the state.
Development of Vermont industries is
beneficial to Vermont farmers because
| ing to work in such industries, cause
the expenditure of large amounts of
money in Vermont and give the farmer
better markets for his products than
he could get elsewhere.
The writer afraid to sign his or her
name continues: "Now why not tell us
I, hnl ho1n for re
compete with industries in wages
paid?'
The answer to that question is up to
| the farmers themselves. We would Of
fer the suggestion that ultimately they
must in order to supply the food the
country needs. At present the farmer
does not understand marketing his
products. He produces them and sells
| them for what the middleman will give
to save them from spelling The mid
dlcman grades them and stores them
until he can get the price he wants,
sometimes making more profit than the
farmer receives for his products. He has
to provide the storage and grade the
goods as the public demands and is en-
titled to reasonable profit on this work.
SO long as the farmer leaves this work
to him he must allow him to make
the profits. Possibly there will come a
| time when the farmers will organize and
be their own middlemen. Should they
do so, they will be in position to de-
mand prices that will pay their help
and leave little for themselves. May
be they never will and like the anony-
nous writer referred to continue to ig-
more facts because they suspect they
are stated by "swivel chair farmer.
The police of Montpelier Wednesday