The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1922-02-09

| uuuOlHS VI the UcSl tdlu pans IL"
l attempt to foil 1t. In the third place
: their power will avail the farmer
: nothing If 1t be abused. In our tim
} and country power is Of value to 1t
possessor only so long as 1t Is no
| abused 1t is fair to say that / have
seen no signs In responsible quarter
Of a 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.
Queer.
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 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, it 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 fifth to a 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. I
In conclusion, it seems to me that the
farmers are chiefly striving for gen.
orally beneficial indignation of their
business, of the same kind and charac-
ter that other business enjoys. If it
should be found on examination that
methods different from those which
other activities have followed for the
same purpose should we not sympa-
theticaIly 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 products?
In examining the agricultural situa-
ton with a view to its Improvement .
we shall be most helpful if we main
tain detached and judicial viewpoint.
that existing wrongs may
,e chiefly an accident of unsymmetri-
al economic growth instead of a crea-
ion of malevolent design and conspira- I
y. We Americans are prone, as Pro a
essor David Friday well says in his F
admirable book, profits, Wages and [
Prices" to seek criminal intent be- b
ind every difficult and undesirable eco
omic situation" 1 can positively as E
ert from my contact with men OF =
arge affairs, including bankers. that, 81
s a whole, they are endeavoring to "
ulfill as they see them the obligations !.
hat go with their power. Preoccupied %
nth the grave problems and heavy -
asks of their own immediate affairs. ~ ~
ley have not turned their thoughtful y,
ersonal attention or their construc- Dc
We abilities to the deficiencies Of agri- ~
lltural business organization. Agri- sil
llture, it may be said, suffers from
leir preoccupation and neglect rather w
ian from any purposeful exploitation tn
Y them. They ought now to begin TO sil
,spond to the farmers difficulties We
hich they must realize are their own fai
On the other hand, my contacts with
lie farmers have filed me with respect Co
II them-for their sanity, their pa -
ence, their balance. Within the last
,ar, and particularly at a meeting = -
lied by the Kansas State Board of III
gricuiture and at another called by
e Committee of Seventeen, have
ct many of the leaders of the new e.
rm movement, and / testify in all "A
lcerity that they are endeavoring 10
al with their problems, not as pro- "a
oters Of narrow class interest. not a
exploiters Of the hapless consumer
as merciless monopolists. but as I
nest ment bent on the Improvement
the common veal.
we can and must meet such men
d such a cause half way. Their
siness is our business-the nations
siness d