The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1922-10-27
Fk. -
FARMER MUST b.
MADE TO PROSPER
Crop Prices Cannot GO
Below Costs
FARM HANDS PAY LOW
Tillers Will Not Continue To
Produce At Loss and Boys
Will Go TO Cities
FARM HANDS PAY LOW
IAssociated Press pispatch.l

Frankfort, Indiana, October 23.-
In an address here Saturday night
Secretary OF Agriculture Wallace
said: The present administration
believes we have got TO have a pros
ductive agriculture. Prices for farm
products which are below the actual
cost of production may for time
seem TO be q good thing tor the peo-
pie in the cities. In the end the
result is bad for everybody. Unless
agriculture Is prosperous 1t cannot
continue to be productive. Farmega
cannot and will not continue to pro-
duce at loss. The young men will
leave the farm and go to the cities.
Just now the people of the United
work in the cities and Industrial cen
tiers than on the farms Almost the
lowest paid laborers are getting
higher wages than skilled farm
hands, and more than many men
who own their farms. If this con
tinues more and more farmers will
go to towns and cities. No one can
blame them for this, but it will re-
suit in reduced agricultural producA
ton. After time prices of farm
products will be SO high that people
III Tue ClLIeS Will .6uASI. II 10, just
as bad of the nation to have prices
too high as to have prices too low.
There must be a fair relationship be-
tween prices of things the farmer
has. to sell and prices of things he
has to buy. There must be a fair
relationship between wages on the
farm and wages in the city. That
is the only way we can have a bal
anced national life.
Situation is Realized
THE administration, from the
President down, realizes the danger
of the present situation. Congress
number Of laws designed to help
the farmer improve his condition
Government administrative agencies
are working along the same line. We
have been reorganizing the work of
the department Of agriculture, to
some extent. Heretofore the empha-
sis has been put on showing farm
ers how to produce more. That is
right and proper. But we propose
to put the same emphasis on helping
farmers get fair prices for the crops
by adjusting their production to the
probable demand and by better
organized the economic work of the
Department. We have men in Eu-
rope seeking for new outlets and
larger outlets for our surplus crops.
We are studying changing business
conditions as they are likely to in
fuence the demand for farm crops,
so that We can ten farmers about
what they may expect. We are care
fully noting production in agTicul-
tural countries which compefe with
u.s., We are improving our methods
of estimating our own crops and
live stock production. We hope to
be able to report more accurately
the number OF hogs and cattle and
sheep that are grown each year. so
that there can be a better balance
between our grain crops and our
live stock, and in this way help our
people avoid both overproduction
and interpretation. !
Congress has been back of us in
all this. Congress has given us in
creased money for work of this sort.
Congressman agree with us that we
must have prosperous as well as
productive agriculture"