The Washington herald., 1921-03-18

manufacturers and even professional
men. while the transition may be
painful. Is a return to substantially
comfortable standards Of life with
privileges and opportunities OF all
kinds, but a return to normal pre-
war conditions for most Southern
farmers means not. only the catas-
trophe of the transition. the pains
and losses of which they are now
suffering, but ii means a return to
essentially unsatisfactory standards
of life, narrow and pinched exist
ence. with limited opportunities for
education, for growth. for success"
This also Is the situation for maAy
men In the working classes OF our
population. The prosperity during
the war. however feverish and ILL.,
founded IL may have been. gave them
a glimpse Of new possibilities In life
which they think now are in dan
ger Of being snatched away.
II must be made clear. therefore.
that the outcry Of the farmers in
this present crisis represents only
one aspect of the existing discon-
tent and restlessness. For there IL
q real immediate crisis: The dis
posal of the surplus of the crops
Of 1890 at prices which are not
utterly ruinous. This IL what the
country is chiefly hearing about al
present, this 10 what resounds upon
the fioors of Congress and nlls the
newspapers. -"
But there 10 Q crisis and an un-
rest which reaches far deeper, is
more fundamental than this. and
the ablest leaders see plainly that
even IL the present distress of the
farmers could be bridged over by
an extraordinary extension of
credits, or by tariffs, or by the
hnancing Of emergency export ar
rangements. the fundamental crisis
of agricultural life in America
would be little affected.
There would be the same blind
stimulation Of production. the same
slavery to credit agencies, the same
tragic and pitiful rush each fall of
an unorganized mob of competitive
sellers to dispose G their hard
won crops upon q glutted market.
the same building up and enrich
ment Of parasitic speculative in
terests, and in a year or SO, prob
ably, another panic and other
fervid but futile prayers to poll
tcians who can never really help
them-in short. the same failure to
attempt really constructive rems.
dies OF underlying economic abuses
Some fourteen years ago I spent
a number OF months visiting every
Southern State. making q study of
negro and agricultural conditions.
I have recently visited some of the
States and neighborhoods ] knew at
that time and il is surprising what
changes have taken place, espe-
cially IN the attitude of the people
toward their own problems.
New Spirit In ssuth.
A spirit Of self-exsmination and
exists now that did
not exist then. The South is look
ing squarely at itself. I have before
me. for example, bundle OF social
and economic surveys of various
counties Of North Carolina, made by
the State University, under the di-
rection Of Dr. Branson.
/ have the reports of Director Kill
gore of the Agricultural Extension
Service and of E. c. Brooks. State
superintendent of Education.
These are admirable and fearless
documents, pointing out the sore
spots as well as the creditable ones.
Such farm papers as the Progressive
Farmer, edited by Clarence Poe,
have done much to stimulate and
guide this new spirit, and agricul-
tural leaders, full of the newer Gu
thusiasm for inquiry and construc-
i-n Dn1frfn1
But the new era, the new spirit. has
brought into even sharper relief the
gloomy. economic foundation upon
which the whole structure rests.
In his Immediate distress, know
ing that he is seriously hurt. tae
first impulse of the farmer Is TO
blame every one with whom he
comes in contact: the middleman,
the railroads. the banks, the mer-
chants, wall Street" Secretary
Houston, and the Federal Reserve
Board-and to try to have his din
culties solved by legislation.
But far more Observation-Disclosures
this seems about the most impor-
tant news in the entire situation
the farmer is also beginning to
blame himself and make plans for
helping himself. He began some
time ago in California and wiscon-
sin and North Dakota. He is aow
In the South. He is ask
ing:.. .,-- [.
I'm highly organized world why
are farmers alone unorganizedr' =
In coming articles I shall show
tho way in which he Is acting upon
these new ideas.
Copyright. 1871, New. Ysrk Evening fsst.)