The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1921-02-16
Loose Talk That Misieads

TF'THE busnes. men. bankers. and al that large army OF short
/ sighted people who have conspircd to reduce the prices oil
farm products wish TO see the results OF what they hepcd III "
measure 10 bring about. let them consider the acreage planted N
fall wheat. compared with the acreage sowed in the fall OF wv
and l9S-Thc Progressive Farmer. .,
bankers conspiring to reduce the prices OF farm productsf The
farm paper writer who cooked mp the paragraph quoted above
must have been working in his sleep; otherwise he could not nave
made a statement whlch Is 50 l"l""y "'S"" ""' " - "N
nonsense.
Can anybody in his right mind conceive Of bankers with a
grain OF gumpton %"conspung' TO reduce the price oi comno
dincs in which their own money is tied up Can anybody with
half sense conceive oi merchants and business men generally
whose prosperity depends upon the buying power ot the farmer ana
the htters ability 70 pay his debts getting together IN a dcIbeF
ate plot to ruin their customers?
Have bankers and business men c%onspircd to reduce the price
oil oil, iron ore, copper, railroad and industrial stocks bonds ana
everything else? In other words have bankers and business men
combined TO run down the price Of al things NAT are bought ana
sold aud thus put business to The pad gcneiauyf $ INC ""9'
business community in a conspiracy against itselI, seeking To ae
stroy the prosperity OF all classes? Let MS give business men me
credit Tor having enough sense not to work against tnclr own III
tcrcsts. despite the assumption OF the farm paper writer to the
contrary. n.
charge that business men and bankers have conspircd TO run
down the prices OF farm products as there IS to substantate the
allegation that they have singy or in collision sought to depresS
prices OF manufactured products, stocks and bond. The only evi-
dcnce is this: Prices have dropped. This evidence, however
lacks a lot OF convincing any senisane person that there has been
a deliberate plot on the part OF business men and bankers to
bring about a situation in which they stand to lose instead OF to
gain Manufacturers. middle men and holders OF all kinds Of com
modities have lost heavily by the drop in prices and the owners
OF stocks in big corporations have seen then holdings shrink IN
value even more than agricultural products.
The entire truth Of the matter IS that worldwide conditions Of
production and consumption, resulting in the main from the great
,y,r. accentuated by the "strike" OF consumers toppled over the
price structure and it is prcposterous to attribute the business
slump TO a Conspiracy on the part OF those who are losers as
the result Of it.
The farm paper writer points to the reduction OF wheat acre
age as one of the terrible consequences Of his lancicd conspiracy
Apparently, he has overlooked the fact that in the south bankers
generally have joined in the demand for reduction OF cotton acre
age to the end that a higher price may be. secured Tor the plant
cTs product. Bankers and business men know that there can be
no prosperity for them unless the farmer is prosperous and the
farmer cannot prosper unless he gets a fair price Tor his products
In the same article from which we have quoted the farm paper
writer naively concludes that the farmer lessons production, just
as all other producers are forced to do under economic laws which
cannot be escaped" Here he hits truth as sound as his "conspir-
acv' stuff is silly. The farmer is indeed thn victim of the same
economic laws which affect all classes and he must govern him
self accordingly.
Loose talk Of the kind III which this farm paper INDUCES is
not calculated to impress anybody who thinks Tor himself but It
does tend to misead the unwary and to create dScord among those
whose interests are common and who should cooperate in solving
their common problems. Those who assume to guide public opin-
ion should exercise care to clarity rather than confuse the issues
they discuss.