The Holly chieftain., 1922-03-16

| resi-
| ton
In t
unre ~
| supp II ,t4r ,i,,.I.
PROOF "f - need of some such stabtl.
izing agency as the grain growers have
In contemplation?
IL 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
toid mat 1t will be possible to pervert
IL TO arbitrary and oppressive price
iixing 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. I
have no apprehensions on this point.
In the first place, loose organiza-
tlon, such as any union Of farmers
must be at best, cannot be so arbi.
trarily and promptly controlled as a
great corporation. The one Is a lum-
bering democracy and the other an agile
autocracy. In the second place. with
all possible power of org lnization. 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 1t. In the third place,
their power will avail the farmers
nothing if 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 I have
seen no signs In responsible quarters
OF disposition to dictate prices,
There seems, on the contrary, to be
commonly beneficial purpose to realize
stability that will give 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
ulatlon we should be prepared to 70
a long way In assisting the farmers to
get an equitable share Of the wealth
they produce, through the inaugura-
tlon Of reforms that will procure q
continuous and increasing stream Of
farm products. They are far from get
ting u fair share now. Considering
his capital and the long hours Of labor
put In by the average farmer and his
fa hn les, toA xknv
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 readtust.
ment following the war, 1t must bs
remembered that, although represent
Ing one-thlrd of the industrial product
and half the total population Of the
nation, the rural communities ordi-
narily enjoy but 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 lower standard Of living
among the cotton farmers of the South
than in any other pursuit In the country.
In conclusion, 1t 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 It
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-
thetcally consider the plea for the
right to cooperate, II only from our
own enlightened self interest, In OBJ
timing 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 IL we main,
tain a detached and judicial viewpoint,
remembering that existing wrongs may
be chiefly an accident Of unsymmetri-
cal economic growth instead Of crea,
ton Of malevolent design and conspfra-
cy. We Americans are prone, as Pro-
fessor David Friday well says In his
admirable book, profits, Wages and
Prices" to seek "crimlnnl intent be-
hind every difficult and undesirable eco.
nomlc situation" l 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 go with their power. PreOccupled
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 purposeful exploitation
by them. They ought now to begin to
respond to the farmers difficulties.
which they must realize are their own.
I'm tho nt her hand nv contacts with