The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1921-05-05

industry being the barometer Of tho
manufacturing industry.
1t has been an axiom as long az I
can remember that pig-iron was the
business barometer and that other
articles followed its fiuctuation In
price. believe pig-iron has some re-
lation to steel.
Perhaps we should have been more
explicit in our article.
Mr.. Whitcombe questions the idea
that labor fixes the price Of steel.
We did not even say that It did. We
remarked that the steel corporation
claimed this. believe that their
claims are correct.
The profits Of this steel corporation
are undoubtedly fixed item. AS
labor goes up or down they simply add
it to, or subtract IL from the price TO
the consumer.
Taking up the item of machinery
and its relation to the cost of produc-
ing wheat, the sentence that Mr..
Whitcomb critises reads as fol-
lows: I'VE contend that steel and
the machines mentioned are the prin-
cipal items that enter into the pro-
duction Of wheat, and practically the
only items the price of which is not
controlled by the price of wheat
itself"
To avoid occupying too much space
l will not 60 into details.
In order to direct your line of
thought Is not the price Of the land
controlled by the price of wheat? also
the farm labor? believe to thorough
ly equip farm with up-to-date ma
chinery tractors, etc, it would make
5000 look mighty sick. IL YOU contin-
ned on to the harvest end Of it, with
combines and the like, yo uwould have
to double this amount.
| contend, and am trying to be con-
sentative, that one man with the
proper machinery will plow, seed and
bring to maturity at least $50 acres
of grain and in doing this he would
not be occupied over two months.
His services can be procured at thu
present time for $500 day and board
or less. The oil and repairs that he
uses will amount to considerable more
than his wages.
The article also criticizes my re-
marks about the grain marketing as
ISOLATION, and calls 1t an attack.
Reader please remember that the
paragraph criticized was in letter TO
Senator Borah. This grain marketing
association had already sent a man
here to try to dissuade me, and he be-
came rather heated in his argument
when he found / intended to go ahead
In my letter l was simply forewarn-
ing Senator Borah The paragraph
reads as follows:
There are two elements that will
object, namely. the so-called commit
tee of II, or the heads of the grain
marketing association. and the manip-
ulators and operators on the board Of
trade"
This Whitcombe fellow speaks Of
TINS as an asinine and uncalled for at
tack. should judge by remarks that
ne Is IN the employ of this association.
and | have this to say: That if their
activities are along such lines that the
mere mention Of them in the same
paragraph with the board OF trade
constitutes an attack, they with their
employees should be Kicked clear off
the globe by jack ass or mule.
Further along this criticism states
these organizations are being formed
along lines that have been tried and
proven. Furthermore, generally speak
ing, they propose to operate along
lines in keeping with the successful
practice of American industry. Now.
lets digest this assertion: Farm or
ganization so far. have confined their
activities to collective buying or sell
ing and to find ways and means of
making two spears grow where one
grew before This grain marketing
association as | understand it, is de-
voting all its energy to the selling end
or the game. Now. reader, we will
take any manufacturing Industry,
Uncle Henry, for instance, he probably
mas as well organized selling force as
there is to he found; he has a we'll
established business and an immense
fortune. We will let this grain mark
citing association represent his selling
force and imagine his mechanics and
laborers in the factory as the farmers.
each of them bending every effort to