The daily times., 1922-01-31

T1E DAILY TIMES. !
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~ . take the unflvoeable chance.
h he favorable sns also II theirs ana
tksy can retain for Themselves Z part
OF the service charges that are uni-
frrm, in good years and bad, with
high prices and low. -
While, in the mxin. the farmer mnst
EEL, regaf.iless OF market conditions.
a. the time OF the maturity Of crops,
he cannot suspend production in toto.
He must GO On producing IL he IL to 60
on living. and IL the world IL to exist.
The most. he can do 10 to curtail pro-
dnction . little or alter Its form, and
that-because he 10 In the dark % to
the probable demand for his goods,@
may be Only to Jump from the frying
pan into the are.. takingathe consumes.
with him. 9al sar.fasfw s Ydfzf.
Even the dairy farmers. whose out
put Is not seasonal, complain that they
nnd themselves at a disadvantage IN
the marketing Of their productions,
especially raw milk, beca use Of the
high costs Of distribution. which they
must ultimately bear.
Ill
Now that the farmers are stirring
thinking. and uniting as never before
to eradicate these inequalities. they
are subjected to stvrp economic lee
lures, and. are met with the accusation
that they are demanding, and are the
recipients Of. special privileges. Let
Us see what privileges the government
has conferred on the farmers. Much
has been made Of Section 6 of the
Clayton Antitrust Act, which pur-
ported to permit them to combine with
immunity, under certain conditions.
Admitting that, nominally, this ex-
emption was in the nature of a special
privilege,-though l think 1t was so in
appearance rather than In fact,-we
find that the courts have nullified It
by judicial Interpretation. Why should
not the. farmers be permitted to ac-
complish by cooperative methods what
other businesses are already doing by
cooperation In the form of incorpora-
ton? If,it be proper for men to form,
by fusionof existing corporations or
otherwise, corporation that controls
the entire production Of q commodity,
or a large part Of 1t, why Is 1t not
proper for group Of farmers to unite
for the marketing Of their common
products, either in one or in several
selling agencies? Why should it be
right for hundred thousand corporate
shareholders to direct 25 or 80 or 40
per cent of an Industry, and wrong for
ffvy0
farmers to control a no larger proper
ton of the wheat crop. or cotton. or
any other prOduct7
The Department Of Agriculture is
often spoken Of as special concession
to the farmers but in its commercial
results, it Is of.as much benefit to the
buyers and consumers OF agricultural
products as to the producers, or even
more. I do not suppose that anyone
opposes the benefits that the farmers
derive from the educational and re-
search work of the department, or the
nelp that it gives them in working out
improved cultural methods and prac-
tices, in developing better yielding va
rieties through breeding and selection.
In introducing new varieties from re-
mote parts of the world and adapting
them to our climate and economic con-
dition. and in devising practical meas
ures for the elimination or control OF
dangerous and destructive animal and
plant diseases, insect pests. and the
like. All these things manifestly tend
to stimulate and enlarge production,
and their general beneficial effects are
obvious
1t is complained that. whereas the
law restricts Federal Reserve banks
to three months t.me for commercial
paper. the farmer is allowed six
months on his notes. This is not
special privilege, but merely such
recognition of business conditions as
makes it possible for country banks
to do business with country people.
TIE crop farmer has only one turn
over q year, while the merchant and
manufacturer have many. Incidental
ly, note that the FedeSal Reserve
Board has just authorized the Fed
eral Reserve banks to discount export
paper for a period of six months, to
conform to the nature of the busi-
ness:
The Farm Loan banks are pointed
to as an instance of special govern
ment favor for farmers. Are they not
rather the outcome of laudable efforts
to equalize rural and urban condi-
tions? And about all the government
does there is to help set up an ad-
minstrative organization and lend a
little credit at the start Eventually
vae farmers will provide all the capi
tai and carry all the liabilities them
ic .fys,,o hot ENer I
bonds are tax exempt; but so are
bonds of municipal light and traction
plants. and new housing is to be ex-
empt from taxation. in New York, for
ten years
On the other hand. the farmer reads
of plans for municipal housing prof