The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1922-03-31
FARM PROJECTS AT PURE.WAR
PRICES AND MANUFACTURED AR.
TICLES STILL UP MAKE GREAT
GULF BETWEEN THE TOWN AND
COUNTRY.

COUNTRY.
A great gulf has fr,ned between the
country and the town due to, the fact
that the price or farm products has
dropped to the neighbortood Of pre-
war values while the prices OF man
ufactured products, which the farmer
normally will buy. have remained at
war levels or but slightly lower.
The farmers has NO means of i'm
creasing the price OF his output for it
depends entirely upon the principle of
supply and demand and the ability Of
his purchasers to pay. He has always
depended upon Europe to handle the
surplus and the buying power of that
people Is gr wing gradually less month
yb month. In our own country. the
unemployment Of millions in anything
like productive enterprises, and the
double manning of many essential in
dustries, such as mining. has forced
the cost CT production Of non-agrcul-
tural goods entirely out of the farm
er's reach.
While the farmer is entirely DEEPEN
dent for prices upon the law of sup
ply and demand and the ability Of his
buyers to pay. organized labor has
Of the advantages that it has gained
during the war, and it is leaving no
stone unturned to maintain the same
price lewis as heretofore. the argument
being that the cost Of living has not
decreased. This argument ignores the
fact that a very large element In the
cost OF production il the double man
ming of Industries, as in mining and
the very low efficiency in production,
as in building: both of which over. Dad
productionw 18th unnecessary costs.
even to- such an extent that the la
borer cannot himself buy his own pro-
duct
Conditions have become such that 1t
now requires an acre of cats or Il half
acre Of corn to pay for one days la
Dor of the mechanic. This being the
case, the farmer cannot build build
ings, or buy machinery or any other
manufactured product not forced upon
him by absolute necessity. shoes are
costing almost as much as in the war
months. even though dead animal is
no longer worth skinning. When this
d Discrepancy became acute. the farmer
was forced out of retail trade. What
happened was called a buyers strike.
1t was not buyers strike. 1t was the
practical exclusion IF that third OF
our people who live by the land. and
a good buying third it has always
been. That third is now practically
Unemployment just about corresponds
to what would be needed to supply the
farmers trade if he could afford to
Viewed from another angle. it re-
uuires in normal times about one la
borcr to provide the goods WHICH
er is driven out of the markets. Gf
course the laborer which ordinarily
supplies him is thrown out of employ
ment: and that is what has now nap
1t is rather marked coincidence that
the number of men supposed to- he Out
Of employmsnt is almost er rXar1lf f,r nne
pr Thsrf can %n t%ls gulf ee
e up or b rn DE over. The farmer is
pcwer1ess because he has no means
Of increa sing the price of his own pro-
ing undue speculations, by accepting
a reasonable wage. by being willing to
work every day for reasonable length
CT time, as the. farmer. does, ana by
full days pay.
No Ghsr p" Slisy Win n rtac this sn nf
body but a rich man can afford to pay
When labor is engaged at the produc-
ton of necessities at cost which
most men cannot meet. then something
is wrong with our economic production
and that is the case now.
The farmer can get along without
the city. but the city cannot get along
without the farmer. and the country
as whole cannot prosper until the
city and the country work together.
The key to the solution of this impoS
sble situation is better days work
on the part CT people generally en-
ga ged in the productive industries and
2 reversal of the policy to eXtort as
large a wage as possible for nominal
time. producing as little as possible
during that time in order that the
work may ece around.
The country has ignored this situa-
ton long enough. The time has come
when the situation must be squarely
faced and squarely met. Poth produc-
ton and TRANSFORMATION are new prac-
tically under the control of rcorgan-
lied labor which is being badly led
astray by the same class CT people
which has attempted. though unsuc-
cessfplly. to gain control 70 farmers.
AS the matter stands today. farmers
are going ahead producing for the
worlds open markets: and until labor
and CAPITAL are willing to dc the
same. this gulf between the country
and the town will continue and will
grow deeper and wider.