Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1922-04-13
WHERE PROSPERITY STARTS

.
In the fall of 1920, prices paid to
farmers for their products entered a
period of drastic decline. From then
until a few months ago the industri-
al depression was due largely to the
shrunken purchasing power of the
| American farmer.
Four months ago the values of
crops were calculated by the Depart
ment of Agriculture at eight billion
dollars less than two years before.
I While the farmers income was
shrinking, the prices of the manu-
featured articles he needed did not
drop in proportion The farmer
could not afford to sell sight bushels
of grain to pay eight dollars for a
pair of shoes. He sold the wheat be-
cause he had to. But he found he
could get along, somehow, without
the new shoes. In fact, he got along
for year or so without buying any
thing.
Slowly but surely the wide differ
ence between the prices of farm pro-
ducts and of merchandise the farmer
buys is being wiped out by the law
of supply and demand.
The business situation of the ma,
ton is improving. The backbone of
our prosperity is found in the fertili-
! ty of our soil We are able to pro-
duce, more than any other nation, a
wide variety of the things the world
needs. When our farmers are given
fair RETURN on their investment
and labor, they insure to the nation
as a whole fair degree of prosperi
ty.
The first and most interesting sign
of better business is that prices paid
/, to the farmer are going up.
1t is now plain to be seen that
these prices fell below levels war
ranted by actual conditions. Down
ward prices were assisted by involy-
ed conditions in Europe. nation
wide attack on grain exchanges by
the farming interests weakened con-
siderably the country's grain market.
Then, when farmers expected three
dollars bushel for their wheat, they
were urged by their grange organi-
cations and their leaders not to SELL
When prices fell to somewhere
near one dollar bushel, and farm
ers were obliged to sell, they came
to the conclusion that they had been
penalized for holding. Reversinf
their methods, in the fall of 1921
they marketed wheat at a speed never
equaled in the history of the country.
Speculative markets found themselves
unprepared to handle such huge
quantities of wheat, and this helped
to make the whole situation alb
normal
As crop figures pegin to come
from the Argentine and Australia
and from Canada it becomes clear
that in none of those countries will
the yield approach earlier esti-
mates
The result is that, while May wheat
options were selling at SLIP a BUSH
Ell in the middle of last October, they
had gone as high as STAT by the
first of March.
Cotton too has had substantial |
upturn. Corn and hogs have ad-
vanced steadily; sheep and wool |
are bringing much better prices, and |
so are cattle-in spite of the fact |
that a few months ago political ora
tors were predicting that the packers
would do everything in their power
TO keep prices down
With grains and other form pdo.
ducts selling at their present levels, |
farmers will realize much more from
their 1922 crops than they could
havee expected when this year began.
In turn, they will be better custom,
ers for things which, in their period
OF advesity, they refused to buy.
While the prices paid to the farm,
er have been going up, the prices of
other commodities have been coming
down. The armer can buy a good
tractor to-day for 1895, &C compared
with practically twice that amount
some months ago.
Millions of farmers, coming into
the market to buy all the things
winch for many months they have
gone without buying-farm tools.
furnishings, everything
winch they and their families need
and use-will have a far-reaching
erect on our factories and our retail
stores.
confidence in the future has 70
extent been restored
Whlie the relative value of the price
ne farmer receives and the price he
Jays for the things he must buv is
'tlll unsettled, much progress is be-
ng made in the right diroctio,