Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1922-01-19
Some Aspects Of the
Farmers Problems
Reprinted from Atlantic Monthly
By BERNARD M. BARUcH

Of their inability to meet mortgages or
to pay current bills, and how, seeking
relief from their ills, they are plan.
ming to form pools. inaugurate farm.
ers' strikes, and demand legislation
abolishing grain exchanges, private
cattle markets, and the like, we ought
not hastily to brand them as economic
heretics and hlghwaymen, and hurl at
them the charge of being seekers of
special privilege. Rather, we should
ask If their trouble Is not ours, and
see what can be done to improve the
situation: Purely from self-interest,
If for no higher motive, we should
help them. All of us want to get back
permanently to "noYmalcy;;" but is 1t
reasonable to hope for that condition
unless our greatest and most basic In.
dustry can be put on sound and solid
permanent foundation? The farmers
are not entitled to special privileges;
but are they not right in demanding
that they be placed on an equal foot
Ing with the buyers Of their products
and with other Industries?
Let us. then, consider some Of the
farmers grievances, and see how far
they are real. In doing SO, we should
remember that, while there have been,
and still are, instances of purposeful
abuse, the subject should not be ap-
preached With any general imputation
to existing distrlbutive agencies of de-
liberately intentional oppression, but
rather with the conception that the
marketing of farm products has not
been mOdernized. 81
An ancient evil, and a persistent
one, is the undergrading of farm prod
ucts, with the result that what the
farmers sell as Of one quality is re-
sold as of a higher. That this sort of
chicanery should persist on any Inn
portant scale In. these days Of bust
ness integrity would seem almost in
credible, but there is much evidence
that it does SO persist. Even as
write, the newspapers announce. the
suspension Of several firms from the
New York Produce Exchange for ex-
porting to, Germany as No. 2 wheat a
whole shipload of grossly inferior wheat
mixed with oats, chaff and the like.
Another evil is that of Inaccurate
weighing Of farm products, which, it
Is charged, is sometimes matter Of
dishonest intention and sometimes of
protective policy on the part Of the
local buyer, who fears that he may
weigh out" more than he weighs in"
A greater grievance is that at pres
ent the field farmer has little or no
control over the time and conditions
of marketing his products, with the
result that he is often underpaid for
his products and usually overcharged
for marketing service. The differ
ence between what the farmer re-
'ceives and what. the consumer pays
often exceeds all possibility Of justi-
fication. To cite single illustration.
Last year, according to figures attest
ed by the railways and the growers,
Georgia Observation-Disclosures received
on the average rs cents for melon.
the railroads got 1877 cents for carry
ing It to Baltimore and the. consumer
paid one dollar. leaving 1913 cents for
the service Of marketing and It's risks,
as against 20.2 cents for growing and
transporting. The hard annals of
farm-life are replete with such COM
mentaries on the crudeness Of pres
ent practices.
Nature prescribas that the farmers
goods" must be finished within two
or three months Of the year, while
financial and storage limitations gen.
orally compel him to sell them 1T the.
same time As. a rule, other industries
are in q continuous process Of finish
ing goods for the markets they dis.
tribute as they produce, and they cal,
curtail production without too treat
injury to themselves or the comm.
nifty; but II the farmer restricts his ]
output, It 10 with disastrous conse.
quences, both to himself and to. the
community. 81. /. 3 II ss,$
The average farmer is. busy with
production for the major part Of the
year, and has nothing to sell. The
bulk Of his output comes on the mar.
ket at once Because Of lack Of stor.
age facilities and Of financial support,
the farmer cannot carry his goods
through the6year and dispose OF them
as they are currently needed. IN the
great majority OF eases, farmers have
to entrust storage in warehouses and
elevators and the financial carrying
Of their products to Others.
Farm products are generally mar.
keted at a time when there lis a con.
gestlon Of both transportation and
finance-when cars and money are
scarce. The outcome, In mary IN.