The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1922-02-02

situation from that of human life on
the farm in its relation to what we
call economics, we find that the si.ua-
ton holds promise strangely in con-
trast to the present unhappy condi-
tons. 1t may sound paradoxical to
say that the economic crisis through
which we are now passing promises
in the long run to make for better
farm homes and higher standard Of
living on the farm, but there is an
aspect in which our present loss
seems to foreshadow decided gain in
that respect.
We are all familiar with the farm
er, Of that type so familiar in the
past, whose only idea of efficiency is
to rob the soil to the limit, and whose
cnly idea OF way to use profits is to
invest them in more land, and still
more land. Strangely enough, this
course, which would seem to lead at
least to financial prosperity, serves
to defeat its own end. The continual
effort to invest farm profits in more
land tends to bid up the price of land
beyond the level justified by return
rom the land, and thus to increase
the cost of production by increasing
the charge for the use of land. At
the same time the effort to justify
the investment tends to increase pro-
duction irrespective of market de-
mands. Thus we have vicious cir
Gle about which the farmer chases
the will-o'- -the-wisp of profit, only to
find that his effort has increased the
price of land and lowered the price
of the products Of the land.
The day of this kind of farming is
about over. The farmer Of the new
day knows that such tactics are those
of the dog chasing his tail; that in
effect they serve to put him in CON-
petition with himself, and that they
lead periodically to agricultural de-
preston. He knows that farming is
a fundamental industry, that the
laborer is worthy of his hire, and that
he is entering upon an era in which |
sound agronomy and sound business
practices must prevail over the hap
hazard methods of the soil-exploita-
tion era of American agriculture.
Knowing this, he will realize that the
steady flow of profit necessary to the
successful prosecution of his busi-
ness and the happiness Of his family
will depend on the way in which he
gauges his production with reference
to demand, and on the efficiency with
which he grows and markets his
products, rather than on his skill or
luck in handling real estate.
SLUMP BRINGS Coop.
From this viewpoint, at least, the
agricultural slump is not an unmixed
evil, since its tendency is to shake
out of the running the type Of farmer
whose influence has tended to keep
down the prices of farm products and
lower the standard of living on the
farm. To the progressive farmer, who
certainly has been hard hit by the
slump, this may seem poor consola-
ton now, but as the situation devel-
BPS it seems likely that the advantage
Will swing more and more on his side.
The farmer who is fitted to cope with
he new situation is the farmer who
S able to adjust himself promptly to
he new conditions, and who sees
hat, in the long run, the cause of
agriculture and Of rural life in gener-
II is served by maintaining or raising
he standard Of living on the farm,
'ather than by using all surplus profit
O bid up the price of land when there
ire more bidders than the profits of
he soil will justify.
After all, better living is the true
,oal of the farming business. There