Abilene weekly reflector., 1922-02-02

posals that 6sa, directly on the In
provement Of his distributing and mar
keting relations may bs summarized a.
follows: -
First: storage warehouses for cot
ton. wool, and tobacco. and elevators
for grain, Of sufficient capacity to meet
the maximum demand on them at the
peak Of the marketing period. Ths
farmer thinks that either private capi'
tai mrst furnish these facilities. or the
state must erect and own the eleva'
tors and warehouses i
Second: weighing and grading OF
agricultural products, and certincation
thereof, to be done by impartial ana
dislntcrested public inspectors (ths 70
already accomplished to some extent
by the federal licensing Of weighers
and rraders), e. eliminate underpay.
Ing. overcharging, and unfair grading.
and to facilitate the utilization Of the
stored products as the basis Of credit.
Third: q certainty Of credit sufacient
to enable the marketing Of products
In an orderly>manner.
Fourth: the Department Of Agricul'
ture should collect. tabulate, summa'
rise, and regularly and frequently pub
Hsh and distribute to the farmers. full
,nforma tion from all the markets OF
the world, 20 that they shall be as well
informed Of their selling position ~
BUYERS now are Of their buying posi.
ton.
Fifth freedom to intsgrate the busi.
ness Of agriculture BY means of con
solidated selling agencies, co-ordinat'
ins and cooperating In such way a. to
put the farmer on an equal footing
with the large buyers Of his products,
and with commercial relations In other
industries.
When a business requires specialized
talent. Il has to buy It. So will the
farmers; and perhaps the best way for
them to ret It would b to utilize some
Of the present machinery Of the larg.
at established agencies dealing In
farm products. OF course. II he wishes,
the farmer may 60 further and engage
in flour-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 integrations; but,
in Justice. should they be forbidden to
the farmer and permitted to othsrsf
The corporate form Of association can
NOT now be wholly adapted to his oh.
iects and conditions. The looser CO
operative form seems more generally
suitable Therefore, he wishes to be
free. II he 6nds It desirable and feas-
ible. to resort to cooperation with his
fellovs and neighbors, without run
ming afoul Of the law. To urge that
the farmers should have the same lib
erty to consolidate and coordinate
their peculiar economic functions,
which other industries in their nelds
enjoy. is not, however, to concede that
anv business integration should have
legislative sanction to exercise monop'
olIstic power. The American people
are as firmly opposed to industrial al
to political autocracy, whether at
tempted BY rural or by urban industry
For lack Of united effort the farmers
as whole are still marketing theil
crops by antiquated methods, or by nc
methods at all, but they are surrounded
by a business world that has beer
modernized to the last minute and II
tirelessly striving for efficiency. Till
efficiency IL due in large measure II
big business, to united business, to In
terrated business. The farmers nov
seek the benefits Of such largeness, un
ion and integration.
The American farmer 10 a modern o
the moderns In the use Of labor savinl
. machinery, and he has made vas
strides In recent years In scientific
tillage and efficient farm management
but a. business In contact with othe
businesses agriculture is lone hors'
shay" in competition with high powe
automobiles. The American farmer Il
the greatest and most intractable O
individualists. While industrial pro
duction and all phases Of the huge com
mercial mechanism and its myriad &C
cessories have articulated and co-ordi
mated themselves all the way from nat
ural raw materials to retail sales, th'
business Of agriculture has gone on II
much he one man fashion Of the back
. woods of the nrst part Of the nine
teenth century. when the farmer wal
self sufficient and did not depend upon,
or care very much. what the great
world was doing. The result Is that
the agricultural group Is almost al
much at q disadvantage in dealing with
other economic groups as the Jay farm
er Of the funny pages In the hands OF
sleek urban confidence men, who sell
him acreage in Central Park or the
Chicago city hall. The leaders OF the
farmers thoroughly understand this,
and they are intelligently striving to
integrate their industry 30 that II Will
be on an equal footing with other busi'
nesses
As an example of integration, take
the steel industry, in which the MODEL
IL the United States Steel Corporation
with its iron mines. its coal mines, its
lake and rail- transportation. Its ocean
vessels, its by-product coke ovens, its
blast furnaces, Its open hearth ana
Bessemer furnaces, Its rolling mills, its
tube mills and other manufacturing
processes that are carried to the high
est degree Of finished production COM
patible with the large trade 1t mas
built up. All this Is generally conced-
H. n