Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-12-06

cultural production.
1T is rather shocking to be told that
100000 bales Of cotton raised on Amer
lean plantations in a given year will ac-
! tually be worth more to the producers
| than 100000 bales would have been.
| Equally shocking is the statement that
| 5O0,O00,000 bushels of wheat raised by
American farmers would bring them
more money than 1,000000,0O0 bushels
| Yet these are not exaggerated statements,
! In world where there are tens of mil
| lions who need food and clothing which
they cannot get, such q condition is sure
| 10 1ndict the social system which makes
it possible.
In the main the remedy lies in the
distribution and marketing. Every
proper encouragement should be given to
| the cooperative marketing programs.
These have proven very helpful lie
cooperating communities in Euro In
Russia the cooperative community has
| become the recognized bulwark Of law
! and order, and saved individualisms from
engulfment In social paralysis. Ultimate
ly they will be accredited with the saliva
ton of the Russian state.
There is the appeal for this expert
ment. Why not try it? No one chal-
lenges the right of the farmer to a larger
share of the consumers pay for his prod
uct; no one disputes that we cannot live
without the farmer. He is justified in
rebelling against the transportation cost.
| Given fair return for his labor, he will
| have less occasion to appeal for financial
! aid, and given assurance that his labors
| shall not be in vain, we reassure all the
people Of production sufficient to meet
our national requirement and guard
| against disaster.
The base of the pyramid OF civiliza-
! tion which rests upon the soil is shrink
! ing through the drift Of population from
farm to city. For a generation we have
/ been expressing more or less concern
about this tendency.
! SHOULD FIND LESS
| DRASTIC REMEDY.
Economists have warned and states
| men have deplored. We thought for q
| time that modern conyeniences and the
| more intimate contact would halt the
movement, but it has gone steadily on
| Perhaps only grim necessity VIII correct
| 1t, but we ought to find a less drastic
| remedy.
The existing scheme of adiusting
| freight rates has been favoring the bas-
| ing points until industries are attracted
| to some centers and repealed from others
A great volume Of unecOnomic and waste
full transportation has attended, and the
| cost Increased accordingly. The grain
milling and meat packing industries at
/ ford ample Illustration. and the attend
J ing concentration Is readily apparent. The
| menaces in concentration are not linn
| tied TO the retarding influences on agri.
! culture. Manifestly the conditions and
/ terms of railway transportation ought not
| be permitted to increase this undesirable
| tendency. We have a just pride in our
great cities, but we shall ind a greater
pride in the nation which has a larger
| distribution of its population into the
country, where comparatively self suffl-
Client smaller communities may blend ag-
ricultural and manufacturing interests IN
harmonious helpfulness and enhanced good
fortune Such a movement contemplates
, no destruction OF things wrought, Of in
vestments made, or wealth involved. IL
| looks only to a general policy OF tran.
! portation of dlstrit uted industry, and OF
highway construction to encourage the
spread of our population and restore the
! proper balance between city and coun-
try. The problem may well have your
earnest attention.
ut has been erhaps The proudest
claim Of our arican civilization that
in dealing with human relationships il
has constantly moved toward such jus
tice In distributing the products Of HUI
man energy that IL has improved con
tinuously the economic status Of the mass
of people Ours has been highly pro-
ductive social organization. On the way
up from the elemental stages Of society
we have eliminated slavery and serfdom
and are now far on the way to the elimt-
nation Of poverty.
I s APPROXIMATFs
EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY.
Through the eradication Of iiliteracy
and the diffusion OF education, mankind
has reached a stage where we may fairly
say that in the United States equality Of
opportunity has been attained. though
all are not prepared to embrace it, There
is. indeed, a toe great divergence be
tween the economic conditions Of the
most and least favored classes in the
community. But even that divergence
has now come to the point where we
nd ba 81
together as the least fortunate classes.
Our efforts may well be directed to i'm
proving the status OF both.
While this set Of problems commonly
Is comprehended under the general
phrase. capital and labor It is really
vastly broader. IL Is n question Of so
cial and economic organization. Labor
has become q large contributor through
its savings. to the stock Of capital. while
the people who own the largest individual
aggregates OF capital are themselves often
hard and earnest labOrers. Very often Il
Is extremely difficult to draw the line
OF demarcati ton between the two groups /;
to determine whether q particular In
divfdual Is entitled 20 be set down as
laborer or capitalist. In a very large
proportion or cases he is both and when
he Is both, he is the most useful citizen
Tho right of labor to organize Is Just
as fundamental and necessary as Is the
right of capital to organize. The right
or labor TO negotiate, to deal with and
solve its particular problems In an or
ganized way. through It's chosen agents.
is just as essential as Is the right Of
capital to organize to maintain corpora
lions. to limit the liabilities of stock
holders. Indeed, we have come to recop-
nize that the limited liability Of the ciff-
zen as member Of labor organization
closely parallels the Limitation of la
bility Of the citizen as a stakeholder in
a corporation for profit. Along this line
of reasoning we shall make the greatest
progress toward solution of our problem
Of capital and labor.
Just as it is not desirable that a cor
poration shall be allowed TO impose I'M
due exactiOns upon the public, so Il is
not desirable that labor organization
shall be permitted to exact unfair terms
of employment or subject the public to
actual distresses in order to enforce its
terms. Finally, just as we are earnestly
seeking for procedures whereby to ad-
just and settle political difficulties be-
tween nations without resort to war. we
may well look about for means to settle
the differences between organized capital
and organized labor without resort to
those forms of procedure which we rec
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