The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1922-12-01

"Sonle Aspects of the
Farmers ProbIents'
By BERNARD NJ. BARUCH

/ Prudent and orderly adjustment OF
production and distribution in eccordance
with consumption is recognized as wise
management in every business but that
Of farming. Yet, venture to say, there
is no other industry in which 1t IS SO I'M
portant to the public-to the city dweiier
that production should be sure, steady,
and increasing, and that Distribution
should be in proportion to the need ne
unorganized farmers naturally act Dlndiy
and impulsively and, in consequence,
surfeit and dearth, accompanied by dis
concerning price variations, harass the
consumer One year potatoes rot IN the
fields because of excess production, and
there is scarcity of the things that have
been displaced to make way Tor the ex-
pansion of the potato acreage; next year
the punished farmers mass their heids on
some other crop, and potatoes enter the
! class of luxuries; and so on.
Let US, then, consider some OF the
farmers grievances, and see how far they
are real. In doing so, we should remem-
Der that, while there have been, and still
are, instances of purposeful abuse, the
subject should not be approached with
any general imputation 20 existing dis
| tributive agencies of deliberately inten-
| tional oppression, but rather with the
conception that the marketing OF farm
products has not been modernized.
The Undergrading Evil.
An ancient evil, and persistent one,
is the undergrading of farm products,
with the result that what the farmers
sell as of one quality is resold as OF
/ higher. That this sort of chicanery
should persist on any important scale IN
these days of business integrity would
seem almost incredible, but there is much
evidence that it does so persist.
The difference between what the farm
er receives and what the consumer pays
often exceeds all possibility of justification.
! To cite a single illustration. Last year,
according to figures attestcd by the rail
ways and the growers, Georgia water
melon-raisers received on the average rs
cents for a melon, the railroads got 12.7
cents for carrying it to Baltimore, and the
consumer paid one dollar; leaving 1913
cents for the service of marketing and its
risks, as against 202 cents for growing and
| transporting. The hard annals of farm
! life are replete with such commentaries
on the crudeness of present practices.
Selling Under Pressure.
/. Farm products are generally marketed
/ at a time when there is a congestion OF
! both transportation and fnance-when
! cars and money are scarce. The out
come, in many instances, is that the farm
ers not only sell under pressure, and
therefore at a disadvantage, but are COM
| PEELED to take further reductions in net
returns, in order to meet the charges for
| the services OF storing, transporting, hnarlc-
| ing, and ultimate marketing - which
charges, they claim, are often excessive,
! bear heavily on both consumer and pro-
Queer, and are under the control of those
performing the services. 1t is true that
they are relieved of the risks of a changing
market by selling at once; but they are
quite willing to take the unfavorable
chance, if the favorable one also is theirs
| and they can retain for themselves part
of the service charges that are uniform, in
good years and bad, with high prices and
low.
Some farmers, favored by regional COM
[ pactness and contiguity, especially in Cali
| fornia. already have found way legally
to merge and sell their products integrally
| and in accordance with seasonal and local
demand, thus improving their position
and rendering the consumer reliable serv-
ice of ensured quality, certain supply, and
reasonable and relatively steady prices.
g., They have not found it necessary to re-
sort to any special privilege, or to claim
any exemption under the antitrust legis-
Ianon of the state or nation. Without
removing local control, they have built
I'D a very efficient marketing agency.
! The Hard Job.
! The grain. cotton and tobacco farmers,
and the producers of hides and wool, be-
cause of their numbers and the vastness
of their regions, and for other reasons,
have found indignation a more difficult
task; though there are now some thousands
of farmers cooperative elevators, ware
houses, creameries, and other enterprises
of one sort and another, with turnover
of billion dollars year.
In view of the supreme importance to
the National we'll being of prosperous
and contented agricultural population,
we should be prepared to go long way
in assisting the farmers to get an equitable
share OF the wealth they produce, through
the Inauguration of reforms that will pro-
cure a continuous and increasing stream
of farm products. They are Tar from
! getting a fair share now. Considering
his capital and the long hours Of labor
put in by the average farmer and his
family, he is remunerated less than any