Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-07
HELPING THE FARMER

l cedent by delaying his annual
message to congress. It is stated
that never before was the presi-
dents message delayed beyond the
second day after the meeting OF a
regular session of congress, but
that it may be the last of the week
before the president is ready to
send his message to congress, be-
cause he has not yet completed his
recommendations with regard to
farmer relief measures. There is
no law governing these presiden-
tial messages to congress, except
that it is the duty of the president
from time to time" to inform con-
gress OF the needs Of the country
as he sees those needs, and rec
omY1end to them suitable legisla-
ton to meet those needs. He might
omit the annual presidential mes
SAGE entirely and still be within
the constitution.
However, we are given to un-
derstand that in a few days he
will send in the usual message, and
that it will be largely devoted to
the ship subsidy bill and the need
OF farmers relief legislation.
With respect to the latter item
we refrain from any comment until
we see the text of the presidents
recommendations. Yet we are pre-
pared to say right here that we
realize that the farmers Of the ma
ton need relief-relief from low
prices. Amy proposal to increase
their borrowing power as lore
Swallowed in the Washington dis
patches will do them no good. They
have borrowed too much already.
They are too much in debt. To
make it easier for them to borrow
more money is likely in the long
run TO be a d%etrinent rather than
q benefit to the farmers. What
they need is better prices for their
p-5G.cts. Various ways have been
suggested to bring that about. The
favorite suggestion is the ellni-
nation of the middle mar and his
profits through cooperative mar
keting. 1t is quite possible that
something can be accomplished for
the benefit of the farmer along
these lines ard we are quite willing
that it should be fully tried out,
though we have a bunch that most
of he middle man profits go to
paw for services that are valuable
either to the producers or the con-
sumner and that he would rather
nav for than go without such ser
vice. But in the main prices on
farm products are fixed by supply
and demand, and to raise farm
prices either the supply must be
reduced or the demand increased.
BY holding back the supply at sea
sonable times it may be that prices
could be stabilized and a better
average secured to the farmer.
Along this line, the grain pools, the
cooperative wool sales and other
methods are now operating and
the results are said to be ncour
aging, though we think 1t is too
soon to pass final judgment on
their efficiency so far as increas-
ing the sum of money the farmer
receives for his product. There
remains the other method of in
creasing the price of farm prod
ucts by increasing the demand for
them. Along that line we have
done practically nothing. In fact
congress has, so far as legislation
is concerned, been operating in re-
verse. 1t has restricted and linn
tied the demand for most of our
staple farm products that are pro-
duced in surplus by shutting the
door against foreign buyers in our
markets by high tariff walls that
prevent them from acquiring cash
credits with which to purchase
such surplus farm products in this
country. These cash credits can
only be acquired in three ways.
The first is by exporting gold TO
this country, and few of our would
be buyers of agricultural products
have any gold to send US. The sec
ond way is by borrowing dollars
in this country. and most of the
nations who would acquire credits
by borrowing have no acceptable
security to offer. In fact they
mostly owe us more borrowed mon
ey now than they can pay. The
third and usual method is to sell
us goods. And here they are
blocked by a tariff wall that pre-
vents them from selling us any OF
thNir Goods