Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1922-03-17
Some Aspects of the
Farmers Problems
BY BERNARD nj. BARUCH
tReprinted from Atlantic Monthly
By BERNARD M. BARUcH

III lhe hfst pace, loose oiSani4a-
ton such as any union of farmers
must he nj best, cannot be so arbl-
trarily and promptly controlled as
great corporation. The one Is n lum-
berlng democracy and the other an agile
autocracy. In the second place, with
all possible power Of org IMITATION, the
farmers cannot succeed 10 any great
extent, or for any considerable length
of time, In fixing prices. The great
law Of supply and demand works In
various and surprising ways, to the
undolng OF the best laid plans that
attempt to foil It. In the third place,
their power will avail the farmers
nothing II 1t be abused In our time
and country power Is OF value to Its
possessor only so long as 1t Is not
abused. 1t is fair to say that have
seen no signs in responsible quarters
of disposition to dictate prices
There seems, on the contrary, to be a
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 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
ton of reforms that will procure n
continuous and increasing stream Of
farm products. They are far from get.
ting n fair share now Considering
his capital and the long hours of labor
put In by the average farmer and his
any other occupational class, with the
possible exception of teachers, rel-
glous 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, 1t must be
remembered that, although represent
Ing onethird of the industrial product
and half the total population Of the
nation, the rural communities ordi-
narily enjoy but fifth to quarter Of
the net annual national gain. Notwith-
standing the taste of prosperity that
the farmers had during the war, there
Is today q lower standard of living
among the cotton farmers of the South
than in any other pursuit in the country.
In conclusion, it seems to me that the
farmers are chiefly striving for a gen.
orally beneficial Indignation of their
business, of the same kind and charac-
ter that other business enjoys. If 1t
should be found on examination that
the attainment of this end requires
methods different from those which
other activities have followed for the
same purpose should we not sympa
thetically consider the plea for the
right to cooperate, II only from our
own enlightened self interest, in OBJ.
tanning an abundant and steady flow Of
farm productsf
In examining the agricultural sltua
ton with a view to Its Improvement
we shall be most helpful II we main
tain detached and judicial viewpoint.
remembering that existing wrongs may
be chiefly an accident Of unsymmetri-
cal economic growth instead of crea-
ton of malevolent design and conspira-
cy. We Americans are prone, as Pro-
fessor David Friday well says In his
admirable book, profits, Wages and
Prices" to seek criminal intent be-
hind every difficult and undesirable eco
nomlc situation l can positively as
sert from my contact with men OF
large affairs, including bankers, that,
ae q whole thav are endaavnr'n" -