The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-03-09

and regulative, corrective, or equali
ing legislation, which apparently is {
a special nature, Is often of the mos
general beneficial consequences Eve
the First Congress passed a tariff az
that was avowedly for the protectio
OF manufacturers but q protectiv
tariff always has been defended as
means Of promoting the general goo
through particular approach; an
the statute books are filed with act
for the benefit OF shipping, commerce
and labor.
Now, what Is the farmer asking
Without trying to catalogue the re
| medal measures that have been sug
| gested in his behalf, the principal pro
| posals that bear directly on the I'm
| provement Of his distributing and mar
keting relations may be summarized as
| follows =
First: storage warehouses for cot
| ton, wool, and tobacco, and elevators
for grain, Of sufficient capacity to meet
the maximum demand on them at the
farmer thinks that either private capt.
tai must furnish these facilities, or the
state must erect and own the eleva-
tors and warehouses
Second: weighing and grading of
agricultural products, and certification
thereof, to be done by impartial and
disinterested public inspectors (this is
already accomplished to some extent
by the federal licensing Of weighers
and graders), to eliminate underpay-
ing, overcharging, and unfair grading,
and to facilitate the utilization of the
stored products as the basis OF credit
Third: certainty Of credit sufficient
to enable the marketing of products
In an orderly manner
Fourth: the Department of Agricul-
ture should collect, tabulate, summa-
rize, and regularly and frequently pub
lish and distribute to the farmers, full
information from all the markets Of
the world. so that they shall be as well
informed Of their selling position as
buyers now are Of their buying posi-
ton.
Fifth freedom to integrate the bust
solidated selling agencies, co-ordinat-
ing and cooperating in such way as to
put the farmer on an equal footing
with the large buyers of his products,
and with commercial relations in other
industries.
When business requires specialized
talent, it has to buy it. So will the
farmers; and perhaps the best way for
them to get 1t would be to utilize some
Of the present machinery Of the larg-
est established agencies dealing in
the farmer may go further and engage |
n flour-milling and other manufactures
If food products In my opinion,
however, he would be wise to stop
short of that. Public interest may be
to all great integrations but,
n justice should they be forbidden to
he farmer and permitted to others?
The corporate form Of association can
lot now be wholly adapted to his OBJ
ects and conditions. The looser CO.
operative form seems more generally
uitable. Therefore, he wishes to be
rec, II he finds 1t desirable and feas-
Bile, to resort to cooperation with his
elbows and neighbors, without run
ing afoul Of the law. To urge that
he farmers should have the same lib
rty to consolidate and coordinate
heir peculiar economic functions
hitch other, industries in their fields
njoy, is not, however, to concede that
ny business indignation should have
,gislative sanction to exercise monop-
iStic power. The American people
re as firmly opposed to Industrial as
!, political autocracy, whether at !
,mpted by rural or by urban industry.
For lack of united effort the farmers
) whole are still marketing their
ops by antiquated methods, or by no /
ethods at all, but they are surrounded r
7 business world that has been :
odernized to the last minute and Is !
relessly striving for efficiency. This I
is due In large measure to Q
e business, to united business, to in +
grated business. The farmers now '
elk the benefits Of such largeness. I'M r
q and Indignation. i
The American farmer Is a modern Of
e moderns in the use of labor saving
acn1nery, anu ne mas made vast
tides in recent years in scientific
lage and efficient farm management !
t as a business in contact with other :
slnesses agriculture Is zone horse =
ay'' In competition with high power .
tomobiles The American farmer Is 2
9 greatest and most intractable OF =
While industrial pro :.
elton and all phases of the huge com :.
.rcial mechanism and its myriad ac- :.
,sories have articulated and co-ordi- =
ted themselves all the way from nat !,
II raw materials to retail sales, the - :.
slness Of agriculture has gone on In :.
ch the one man fashion of the back =
DDS OF the frst part Of the nine =.
nth century, when the farmer was :