The Hayti herald., 1922-01-20
Some Aspects of the
Farmers Problems
BY BERNARD M. BARUCH
(Reprnted from Atlantic Monthly
(Reprinted from Atlantic Monthly
BY BERNARD M. BARUCH

herculean efforts, agricultural produc.
tion kept only few weeks or months
ahead Of consumption, and that only
by increasing the acreage Of certain
staple crops at the cost Of reducing
that Of others. We ought not to for.
get that lesson when we ponder on
the farmers problems. They are truly
common problems, and there should
be no attempt to deal with them as
II they were purely selfish demands
Of a clear-cut group, nntagonistic to
the rest Of the community. Rather
should we consider agriculture in the
as we consider oil, coal, steel, dye.
stuffs, and so forth, as sinews of ma.
tional strength. Our growing popula.
ton and higher standard Of living
demand increasing food supplies, and
more wool, cotton, hides, and the rest.
With the disappearance OF free or
cheap fertile land, additional acreage
and increased yields can come only
from costly effort. This we need not
expect from an Impoverished or un-
happy rural population.
1t Will not do to take a narrow view
Of the rural discomfort, or to appraise
1t from the standpoint Of yesterday.
This IS peculiarly an age of flux and
change and new deals. Because q
thing always has been so no longer
means that it is righteous, or always
shall be so. More, perhaps, than ever
before, there is widespread feeling
that all human relations can be i'm
proved by taking thought, and that 1t
is not becoming for the reasoning ami
NAL to leave his destiny largely to
chance and natural incidence.
Prudent and orderly adjustment Of
production and distribution in accord
ance with consumption is recognized
as wise management in every business
hut that Of farming. Yet | venture
20 say, there IS no other industry In
which It is so important to the pub.
Iic-to the city.dweller-that produc.
ion should be sure, steady, and in.
'reaSing, and that distribution should
he in proportion to the need. The un.
organized farmers naturally act blind,
ly and impusively and. in conse.
quence, surfcit and dearth, accompa-
MED by disconcerting price. variations,
harass the consumer. One year pota-
toes rot in the fields because of excess
production, and there Is a scarcity of
the things that have been displaced
to make way for the expansion of the
potato acreage: next year the punish
ed farmers mass their fields on some
other crop, and potatoes enter the
class of luXurieS; and SO on.
Agriculture is the greatest and fun.
damentally the most important Of our
American industries. The cities are
but the branches of the tree of ma
tional life, the roots of which go deep.
ly into the land. We all flourish or
decline with the farmer. So, when we
Of the cities read Of the present uni.
versal distress Of the farmers, Of q
slump of six billion dollars in the farm
value Of their crops in single year,
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