The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1922-01-19
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Now. what is the farmer asking1
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
peak of the marketing period. The
farmer thinks that either private CAPT
tai must furnish these facilities. or the
state must erect and own the eleva-
tors aHd warehouses.
Second: weighing and grading of
agricultural products, and ccrtitcattrn
thereof, To be done by impnrt al AMI
dislnterested public inspectors (this is
already accomplished to some extent
by the federal licensing of weighers
and graders), to eliminate underway
Ing, Overcharging, and unfair grading,
and to facilitate the utilization Of the
stored products as the basis of credit
1IttIu {. Il CeItd-utN Oh CI0Iit SbHltiCltt
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
fish 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 busi-
ness Of agriculture by means Of con-
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 Ia other
Industries. -.-.
When a business requires specialized
talent, It has to buy It. So will the
farmers; and perhaps the best way for
them to get it would be to utilize some
Of the present machinery OF the larg-
est. established agencies dealing In
farm products. OF course. If he wishes,
the farmer may go further and engage
in fiour-Tnilling and other manufactures
OF food products In my opinion,
however, he would be wise to stop
short Of that. Public interest may be
opposed to all great integrations :; but,
In justice, should they be forbidden to
the farmer and permitted to others?
The corporate form Of association can
not now be wholly adapted to his OBJ
jects= and conditions The IoOser CO.
operative form seems more generally
suitable. Therefore, he wishes to be
free, If he finds It desirable and feas-
ibIe, to resort to cooperation with his
fellows and neighbors, without run
ming afoul Of the law. To urge that
the farmers should have the same lib
erty to consolidate and coordinate
their peculiar economic functions,
which other industries in their fields
enjoy, is not, however, to concede that
any business indignation should have
legislative sanction to exercise monop-
olistic power. The American people
are as firmly opposed to Industrial as
to political autocracy, whether at
tempted by rural or by urban industry.
For lack Of united effort the farmers
as a whole are still marketing theIP
crops by antiquated methods, or by no
methods at all, but they are surrounded
by a business world that has been
moderated to the last minute and Is
tlrelessly striving for efficiency. This
efficiency is due IN large measure to
big business, to united business, to In
tegrated business. The farmers now
seek the benefits Of such largeness, IN
ion and indignation.
The American farmer Is a modern Of
the moderps in the use Of labor saving
machinery, and he has made vast
strides IN recent years in scientific
tfllage and efdcient farm management
but as q business in contact with other
businesses agiEcuIturs is q tone horse
shays in competition with high power
automobiles. The American farmer is
the greatest ana most fntractable OF
inaIyiduaIista. While industrial pro-
ducticn and All phases OF the huge CON-
merciaI mechanism and Its myriad ac-
cessOrIes have artieuleted and co-OFdi-
mated themselves al the way from nat
ural raw materials 70 retail sales, the
business Of agriculture has gone on IN
much Ehs one man fashion Of the back
woods OF the hrst part Of the nine
tenth century. when the farmer vas