Milford chronicle., 1922-01-20


e for grain, Of sufficient capacity to meet
= the maximum demand on them at the
J peak Of the marketing period. The
. farmer thinks that either private capi
tai must furnish these facilities, or the
] state must erect and own the eleva.
! tors and warehouses.
} Second: weighing and grading OF
agricultural products, and certifcation
thereof, to be done by impartial and
disinterested public inspectors (this Is
already accomplished to some extent
by the, federal licensing Of weighers
and graders), to eliminate underpay.
Ing, Oyercharging, and unfair grading,
and to facilitate the utilization Of the
stored products as the basis Of credit
Third: a certainty of credit sufficient
to enable the marketing Of products
In an orderly manner.
Fourth: the Department Of Agricul-
ture should collect, tabulate, summa-
rize, and regularly and frequently pub
llsh and distribute to the farmers, full
information from all the markets OF
the world. so that they shall be as well
Informed Of their selling position as
buyers now are of their buying posi-
ton.
Fifth: freedom to integrate the busi-
ness Of agriculture by means of con-
sOlidated selling agencies, cO-Ordinat-
ing and cooperating in such way as to
put the farmer on an equal footing
with the large buyers Of his products,
and with commercial relations In other
Industries.
When business requires specialized
talent 1t has to buy 1t. So will the
farmers; and perhaps the best way for
them to get 1t would be to utilize some
Of the present machinery Of the larg-
est established agencies dealing In
/ farm products. OF course, If he wishes.
the farmer may go further and engage
In fiOur-milling and other manufactures
Of food products. In my opinion,
however, he would be wise to stop
short Of that Public interest may be
opposed to all great integratiOHs but
In justice, should they be forbidden to
the farmer and permitted to others?
The corporate form Of association can
not now be wholly adapted to his OBJ
jects and conditions. The lOOser CO.
operative form seems more generally
suitable. Therefore, he wishes to be
free, II he finds It desirable and feas-
lble, to resort to cooperation with his
fellows and neighbors, without run
ming afOul Of the law. To urge that |
he farmers should have the same lib |
.rty to consolidate and coordinate
their peculiar economic functions, |
which other industries in their fields
enjoy, is not, however, to cOncede that
any business integration should have
legislative sanction to exercise monOp-
Olistic power. The American people
are as firmly opposed to industrial as
to political autOcracy, whether at.
tempted by rural or by urban industry.
For lack Of united effort the farmers
as a whole are stin marketing their
crops by antiquated methods, or by no
methods at all, but they are surrounded
by a business world that has been
modernized to the last minute and is
tirelessly striving for efficiency. This
efficiency is due In large measure to
big business, to united business, to In
tegrated business. The farmers now
seek the benefits Of such largeness, un.
ion and integration.
The American farmer is a modern Of
the moderns in the use Of labor saving
and he has made vast
strides in recent years In scientific
tillage and efficient farm management,
but as a business in contact with other
agriculture Is a zone horse
shay" in competition with high power
The American farmer is
he greatest and most intractable Of
While Industrial pro
luction and all phases Of the huge COM
nercial mechanism and its myriad ac- :
.essories have articulated and cO-ordi.
lated themselves all the way from nat
lral raw materials to retail sales, the
business Of agriculture has gone on In !
much the one man fashion of the back. "
woods Of the first part of the nine
eenth century, when the farmer was
elf sufficient and did not depend upon, :
# care very much. what the great
world was doing. The result is that u
he agricultural group IS almost as G
nuch at disadvantage III 1ealing with u
ther economic groups as the Jay farm II
+ OF the funny pages in the hands Of d
leek urban confidence men, who sell il
i'm acreage in Central Park or the n
'hlcago city hall. The leaders Of the n
armers thoroughly understand this,
nd they are intelligently striving to !"
ltegrate their industry so that it will
e on an equal footing with other bust Il
esses. III
AS an example Of integratiOn, take u
ne steel industry, in which the model -
! the United States Steel Corporation. De
18th its iron mines, its coal mines, its az
Ike and rail transportation, its ocean a. a.
essels, its by-product coke ovens, its "a
last furnaces, its open hearth and e
essemer furnaces, its rolling mills, its VI VI
lbe mills and other manufacturing !"
rocesses that are carried to the high va
It degree Of finished production com u
atible with the large trade 1t has a. a.
lilt up. All this is generally cOnced ~ ~
to be to the advantage Of the con- ~
inner. Nor does the steel corporation q, a.
considerably dump its products on ~
10 market. On the contrary, it so az az
IT'S that it Is frequently a stabilizing Sc
fiuence, as is often the case with 9th u, u
large organizations. 1t Is master Of -
8 distribution as we'll as Of its pro- eo
lctiop. If prices are not satisfactory .
e products are held back or prOduc- a"
m fS rnduond or e,,sDandod II 10 nOf "