Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1922-02-17

speculatlvely manipulated } prices.
spoilage, waste, scarcity, the results
Of defective distribution Of farm prod
ucts. Should II not occur to us that
we have common interest with tho
farmer In his attempts to attain q de-
gree OF efficiency. In distribution Ger
responding to his efficiency in produo-
tionf DO not the recent huctuatiOrc
In the May wheat option, apparently
unrelated to normal interaction Of
supply and demand, offer a timely
PROOF OF the need Of some such stabil-
lzing agency as the grain growers have
Ia contemplation
1t Is contended that, II their pro
posed organizations be perfected and
operated. the farmers will have In
their hands an instrument that will be
capable Of dangerous abuse. We are
told that 1t will be possible to pervert
II to arbitrary and oppressive price,
fixing from Its legitimate use Of order.
Ing and stabilizing the flow Of farm
products to the market, to the mutual
benefit OF producer and consumer.
have no apprehensions on this point.
In the first place, a loose organiza-
tion, such as any union of farmers
must be at best, cannot he so arbi-
trarily and promptly controlled az Q
great corporation. The one Is q lum-
bering democracy and the other an agile
autocracy. In the second place, with
all possible power of org lnizatlon, the
farmers cannot succeed to any great
extent, or for any considerable length
OF time, In fixing prices. The great
law Of supply and demand works In
various and surprising ways, to the
undoing Of the best laid plans that
attempt to foil It. In the third place,
their power will avail the farmers
nothing II II be abused. In our time
and country power In Of value to ite
possessor only so long as II 10 noe
abused. It is fair to say that have
seen no signs in responsible quarters
OF a disposition to dictate prices.
There seems. on the contrary, to be o
commonly beneficial purpose to realise
Q stability that will givo an orderly
and abundant fiow of farm products
to the consumer and ensure reasonable
and dependable returns to the pre-
ducer. ~.
In view Of the supreme Importance
to the national well-being Of q pros
! porous and contented agricultural pop
ulation, we should be prepared to g.
a long way In assisting the farmers u y
get an equitable share of the wealth
they produce, through the inaugura-
tion Of reforms that viii procure 4
continuous and Increasing stream Of
farm products. They are far from get-
ting fair share now. Considering
his capital and the long hours Of labor
put in by the average farmer and his
family, he Is remunerated less than
any other occupatonal class, with the
possible exception Of teachers, reli,
| si0tis and lay Though we know that
the present general distress Of the
farmers Is exceptional and Is linked
with the Inevitable economic readjust-
| meni following the war, Il must be
remembered that. although represent
Ing one third of the Industrial product
| and half the total population Of the
nation. the rural communities ordi-
narliy enjoy hut II fifth 10 n quarter Of
| the net annual national gain. NOtwith-
standing the taste Of prosperity that
the farmers had during the war, there
| ls today lower standard of living
among the cotton farmers Of the South
than In any other pursuit In the country.
In conclusion. il seems to me that the
farmers are chiefly striving for a gen.
orally beneficial Indignation OF their
business, 6f the same kind and charac-
ter that other business enjoys. II Il
should be found on examination that
the attainment Of this end requires
methods different from those which
other activities have followed for the
same purpose should we not sympa-
thetically consider the plea for the
right to cooperate, if only from our
own enlightened self interest. In OBJ
tanning an abundant and steady flow Of
farm prOductsi
In examining the agricultural situa.
tion with a view to its Improvement,
we shall he most helpful II We main
tain n detached and judicial viewpoint,
remembering that existing wrongs may
he chiefly nm accident of unsymmetri-
cal economic growth instead If u crea-
ti0n OF malevolent design aud conspira-
cy. We Americans are prone, as Pro
fessor David Friday well says In his
admirable book. profits Wages and
Prices" to seek Il 'criminal intent be-
hind every difficult and undesirable eco
nomic situation" | can positively as
sert from my contact with men OF
large affairs. including bankers. that,
as a whole, they are endeavoring to
fulfill as they see them the obligations
that 70 with their power. Preoccupied
with the grave problems and heavy
tasks OF their own immediate AFFAIRS.
they have not turned their thoughtful
personal attention or their cOnstruc-
tive abilities to the deficiencies Of agri-
cultural business organization. Agri.
culture, 1t may be said, suffers from
their preoccupation and neglect rather
than from any nurDOaeful explOitatiOn