Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-04-23
True Interests of the Farmer.

L
appears to me about as far away
from the true interests OF farmers
rs ii could get.
tariff on anything the farmer
has To export is absurd on the face
OF 1t. y year ago the Congress put
Il tariff of 30 cents Il bushcl on
wheat and in n week the price
dropped from sl.60 to Sl3O and kept
| on going down until II reached about
81. Canadian wheat was shut out of
| this country and forced to London
where world demand for wheat is ex-
| pressed. ana helped to dcprcss the
| market price.
| y tarinf on hides don't help the
farmer. lie has an old COW die on
MS hands now and then. but that
amounts to very little. 1t is the
| ,ackcr that has hides by the mil
| lions. but 1t liz tho farmer who pays
the high prices for shoes and leather
And So with wool. The tariff gives
the few farmers who have few
! sheep a Few cents, but when he buys
| ms clothes. what has happened to
| MN! There Is tariff league" out
| IN wisconsin whose slogan Is For
| every dollar the new tariff gives the
farmer II takes five away from him E"
me emergency tariff was dope fur
| niShed by the manufacturers to put
! the farmers to sleep while they op-
Grated on them. Farmers asking for
tarins means farmers inviting manu-
| iacturers to exploit them.
The farmers true interest los g.
keeping the tariff low on mauufac.
| tured articles to prevent manufa,
turers from robbing them.
If l may trcspass a little further
l VIII say that the farmers other
| problem is TO furnish chcnp food 10
| ,he people at fair profit to himself
pcaritE In mind that this profit is To
pe protected from the greed of man
uiacturcrS and retailers Low Tariffs
| VIII hcip to do this. a, present m,
t"rnier Is furnishing high priced
'ood Tor the people at Il loss TO him
SIT but II is not the farmer that
n'nhes the price to the people. The
.'n n'er Is the only person on earth
| '"at does not fix the price OF his
own property. He does no, oven ~,
| the price to the middlcman who buvs
u!rec'ly from him; he has 10 take
| "ha' they agree together to give.
| '>o"' To solve this problem of
cheap food at n fair profit I, il noe.
| cSshrF TO study carefully tho bnsIc
| ,nc's In the problem furnished bv
! '"c agricultural Department, soma
years ago Out OF the consumer.
] toil"r pald Tor farm produce tho
bcLs 80 per cent: transporta-
| ''on gets . per cent: the middlemo,
gets IS per cent
here We have a cost of rs cont,
III the dollar TO distribute. tn hand
V" over IN" counter farm produce
""' transportation Is not Included
~ IS up To the farmer 10 diecoynr
Strination can be done for ,nes
an" sun show "A fair prof, on d,.-
ION II he finds. FOR instance
| 49, ~ can be done for Is cents
"""'" icaFe 50 cents. and IL 20
rms We're added 10 the
'"rhlcr 80 II would make Is rbIch
would give the farmer n fair "a.
an" II the other 30 cents wer. ,,La,
on 'hc consumers price II wont,
SIC 'huch cheaper food To the naon,a
mere are two necessities in ~.
! use profit for the Carmer go
enchper FOOD for the people. a nroa,
y" "istrihntion is desirable. but nnt
| rs'tS' because II the farmer
"n"le problem OF distri-
ou'ion into his own hands WITH,
proht or loss. he would s,im
| ms produce profit and the pcnni.
would have cheaper food Iou. T.,
nc farmer to determine n fair cos,
TOT distribution? So far n. 80
mere Is but one way-oxn1ri
'",e' fo!low his business To Tho
o;.i ana open exchanges In the
ns ana nave these city exchanges
olsh sufficient number OF re-
van agents to curb the retailers h,.
letting the people know wbat &c
thir price for food. These cit,.
chHhScs can use commission men and
| retailers. but they must be thor "a
hN inc price 10 the consumer has.d
on cost. and collect all funds and
| remit TO county exchanges and alec
|" prevent shipment OF more than
l"'ir market requires. In the ex-
f"'t cities they VIII also sell direct
| I" Foreigners. This VT! bring into
play the law of supply and demand
Nnen foreign demand is high. prices
VIII rise; when low. prices will fall
| mo FARMER is not liable to forget
mat ne and the consumer arc friends
NAT each is necessary to the other
| mat is. Of the first Importance thar
| thcy understand each other. The
FARMER who understands his best in
| 'creSts VIII not Join the manufacture
Ter In demanding high tariffs to OK
plot tho consumer and raise RI. 900,
or living, but will engage his fun
power 10 make food chcap and do
! inand that things he has to buy with
ms prohtS be both good and chean.
l'hohc oniniOn and hacking is the
hnest asset IN the world, and the
farmer wants It,
The vast majority of the people
have fixed Incomes. salaries. wages or
small profits. ana they want to sec
| their limited dollars able to buy n
comt"rtahlc living They will hail
with gladncss an effort of the farm
ers to help them.
r. d. SPI.AtAN.
Warr1nton, Va, April IL. 1922.