The Republican journal., 1922-02-02

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1t Is contended that, If 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
IL TO arbitrary and oppressive price
fixing from its legitimate use Of order
Ing and stabillzlng 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, loose organlza-
tion, such as any union of far lers
must be at best, cannot be so arbi-
trarily and promptly controlled as
great corporation. The one Is lum-
bering democracy and the other an agile
autocracy. In the second place. with
all possible power of org .nizatlon, 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 IL 1t be abused In our time
and country power is Of value to its
possessor only so long as 1t Is not
abused. 1t Is fair to say that l have
seen no signs In responsible quarters
OF disposition to dictate prices
There seems, on the contrary, to be a
commonly beneficial purpose to realize
stability that will Civ, an orderly
and abundant flow of farm products
to the consumer and ensure reasonable
and dependable returns to the pro-
ducer.
In view OF the supreme Importance
to the national well-being of a pros
porous and contented agricultural pop
ulation, we should be prepared to go
long way In assisting the farmers to
get an equitable share of the wealth
they produce, through the Inaugural
tion of reforms that will procure a
continuous and increasing stream Of
farm products. They are far from get
ting a 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 occupational class, with the
possible exception Of teachers, reli-
gious and lay. Though We know that
the present general distress of the
farmers Is exceptional and Is linked
with the inevitable economic readjust-
ment following the war, 1t 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-
narily enjoy but a fifth to quarter Of
the net annual national gain. Notwith-
standing the taste Of prosperity that
the farmers had during the war, there
Is today a lower standard of living
among the cotton farmers of the South
than in any other pursuit in the country.
In conclusion, it seems to me that the
farmers are chiefly striving for gen.
orally beneficial integration of their
business, Of the same kind and charac-
ter that other business enjoys. If 1t
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
talning an abundant and steady flow Of
farm products?
In examining the agricultural situa-
ton with a view to Its improvement,
we shall be most helpful if we main
tain a detached and judicial viewpoint.
remembering that existing wrongs may
be chiefly an accident OF unsymmetri-
cal economic growth instead of a crea-
tion of malevolent design and conspira-
cy. We Americans are prone, as Pro
fessor David Friday well says in his
admirable book, profits, Wages and
Prices" to seek "criminal intent be-
hind every difficult and undesirable eco
pomic situation" ! can positively as.
sert from my contact with men OF
large affairs. including bankers, that,
as whole, they are endeavoring to
fulfill as they see them the obligations
that go with their power, Preoccupied
with the grave problems and heavy
tasks Of their own immediate affairs,
they have not turned their thoughtful
nersonal attention or their construc-
tive abilities to the deficiencies OF agri-
cu,tural business organization. Agri-
culture 1t may be said suffers from
their preoccupation and neglect rather
than from any purposeful exploitation
nv them. They ought now TO begln 10
resnon6 to the farmers difiiculties,
which they must realize are their own.
On the other hand. my contacts Win
the farmers have filled me Win respect
FOR them-for their sanity, thelr pa
tianca their balance. Within the last
voar and particularly at meeting
..oIlad nv the Kansas State Board OF
| Agriculture and at another ca,iea ny
! tbs Committee of Seventeen nave
lot many of the leaders OF the new
I'm movement. and | testify IN all
.incar,tv that they are endeavorlng TO
daal with their problems, not as pro-
,,,etors of A narrow class Interest, not
az exploiters Of the hapless consumer
ao+ as merciless monopollsts, Dut as
honest ment bent on the Improvement
If the common veal
We can and must meet such lheA
nd such cause falf way. Ihelr
,',,,,,oss is our business-the nations