Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1922-01-12

The whute rurM worid b In FER
meet Of unrest, and there Ii On IN
parattated volume and intensity Of de-
seamsnad, u not sngTy, protest. and an
ooAnous SWIMMING o6 eccsuannna con-
tarsOoas. interest groupings posfttcai
moseznents and pTspasanda. Such
tnruaol cannot but arrest our afte1-
ton. Indeed, q dsmanfs o,x cnsefm
study and examination 4 b not hike
~ that SIX mii1io0 uAook and ruggedly
independent men have come together
and banded themselves into active
unions, societies. farm bureaus. ind 80
forth, for no sufficient cause
Investigation Of the subject cuncfu-
aT1y proves that. white there b much
osasaatement Of gr4esa11n@ and mis-
conception Of remedies. the farmers
are right IN complaining Of wrongs
long endured, and right In holding that
It Ia feasible to relieve their Ills with
benefit to the rest OF the community.
This being the onse Of an industry
that contributes. IN tie raw material
form atone, about one-third Of the ma
tional annual wealth production and
Is the means Of livelihood Of about 20
per cent Of the population, II Is OBJ
vious that the subject Is one Of grave
concern. Not only DO the farmers
make up one-half Of the nation, but
the well-being Of the other half de-
ponds upon them.
So Long as wa have nations, o wise
political economy will aim at large
degree Of national self-sufnciency and
se,f-oontainment Rome fell when the
food supply was too far removed from
the belly. Like hes, we shall destroy
our own agriculture and extend our
sources Of food dlstantly and precari-
ously, II we do not sea to It that our
farmers are well and fairly paid for
theiF services. The farm gives the
nation men as we'll as food. Cities
derive their vitality and are forever,
renewed from the country, but an Inn
poverished countryside exports intelli-
gence and retains unlntelligence.
Only the lower grades Of mentality
and character will remain ON, or seek,
the farm, unless agriculture Is capable
Of being pursued with contentment and
adequate compensation. Hence, to EN-
bitter and tmpoverish tina farmer Is to
dry up and teontamInabe the vital
sosrces Of the nation. =
> The war showed cooy4netneiy how
dependAnt the nation b On the full
productivity OF the fnrna. Despite
heseulean eEortA agricultural pToduc-
ton kept only q lev weeks OF months
ahead Of consumption. and that only
b. Increasing the acreage os certain
staple crops at the eos{ Of reducing
thsa OF otharA We ought not 10 for.
get that lesson when ve ponder on
the farmers problems. They are truly
common problems, and there should
Be no attempt TO deal With them as
II they were purely selfish demands
Of clear-cut group, antagonistic to
the rest Of the community. Rather
should we consider agriculture in the
light q broad national policy, just
as we consider oil. coal, steel dye
stufra, and so forth. as sinews Of ma
tional strength. Our growing popula-
ton and higher standard Of living
demand Increasing food supplies, and
more wool, cotton, hides. and the rest.
With the disappearance Of free or
cheap fertile Land, additional acreage
and Increased yields can come only
from costly effort. This we need not
expect from an impoverished or un-
happy rural population.
H VIII not do to take o barrow view
Of the rural discomfort, or to appraiss
II from the standpoint Of yesterday.
This Is peculiarly an age OF fux and
change and new deals- Because
thing always hns been 10 no longer
means that Il "a righteous, or always
shall be 80. More, perhaps, than ever
before. there ls widespread feeling
that all human relations can be i'm
proved BY taking thought and that It
Is not becoming for the reasoning ami
NAL 10 leave his destiny largely to
chance and natural Incidence.
Prudent and orderly adjustment Of
production and distribution in accord
aIce with consumption Is recognized
as wise management In every business
but that Of farming. Yet. I venture
to say, there Is no other Industry in
which II Is so important to the pub
nc-to the city-dweller-that produc-
ton should be sure, steady, and in
creasing, and that distribution should
DO In proportion to the need. The un-
organized farmers naturally act blind
ly and impuls!vely and. In conse-
quence, surfeit and dearth, accompa-
MED By disconcerting price-yariations,
harass the consumer. One year pota-
toes rot In the fields because Of excess
production, and there Is q scarcity of
the things that have been displaced
to make way for the expansion OF the
potato acreage; next year the punish
cd farmers mass their fields on some
other crop, and potatoes enter the
class Of luxuries; and so on
Agriculture Is the greatest and fun
damentally the most important of our