The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1922-01-20

spOliage, waste. scarcity, the results
IF defective distribution of farm prod
ucts Should it not occur to us that
we have "a common interest with the
FARMER in his attempts to attain a de-
gree Of efficiency in distribution cor
responding to his efficiency in produc-
tion? DO not the recent fluctuations
In the May wheat option. apparently
unrelated to normal interactiOn Of
supply and demand, offer a timely
PROOF of the need Of some such stabil-
izing agency as the grain growers have
In contemplation?
IL Is cOntended that. IL their pro-
posed organizations be perfected and
operated, the farmers will have In
thelr hands an instrument that will be
capable or dangerous abuse. We are
told that 1t will be possible to peryert
1t TO arbitrary and oppressive price
liking from It's legitimate use Of order
ing and stabillzing the flow Of farm
products to the market, to the mutual
benefit OF producer and consumer. I
have no apprehensions on this point.
In the first place, q loose organiza-
tion, such as any union Of farmers
must be at best, cannot be so arbi-
trarily and promptly controlled as o
great corporation. The one Is a lum-
bering democracy and the other an agile
autocracy. In the second place. with
all possible power Of org ,nization, the
m cannot succeed to 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 1t. In the third place.
their power will avail the farmers
nothing II 1t be abused. In our TING
and country power Is Of value to It's
possessor only 20 long as 1t 10 not
abused. 1t is fair to say that I have
seen no signs In responsible quarters
OF a disposition to dictate prices.
There seems, on the contrary, to be q
commonly beneficial purpose to realize
4 stability that will give an orderly
n abundant now Of farm products
10 the consumer and ensure reasonable
and dependable returns to the pro-
Queer.
In view Of the supreme Importance
to the national well-being Of a pros-
porous and contented agricultural pop-
%ulation, we should be prepared to 20
a long way In assisting the farmers to
get an equitable share Of the wealth
they produce, through the inaugura-
ton OF reforms that will procure q
continuous and increasing stream Of
farm products. They are far from get
ting a fair share now. Considering
his capital and the long hours of labor
put In by the average farmer and his
'amily, he Is remunerated less than
my other occupational class, with the
possible exception OF teachers. reli-
yious and lay. Though We know that
he present general distress Of the
Is exceptional and is linked
With the inevitable economic readtust-
nent following the war, II must be
that. although represent
ne One-third Of the industrial product
nd half the total population of the
Iation, the rural communities ordt-
arily enjoy but a fifth to a quarter Of
he net annual national gain. Notwith-
the taste Of prosperity that
ne armer had during the war, there
today a lower standard Of living
m0ng the cotton farmers of the South
ian in any other pursuit In the country.
In conclusion, 1t seems to me that the
armers are chiefly striving for a gen.
allv hpno6do1 fptoUrotiop ~ <hos-
u~siness, Of the same kind and charac-
r that other business enjoys. II II
lould be found on examination that
lie attainment Of this end requires
ethods different from those which
her activities have followed for the
purpose should we not sympa-
etically consider the plea for the
ght to cooperate, II only from our
rn enlightened self interest. in o.
lining an abundant and steady flow OF
rm products?
In examining HI agricultural situa-
IN with a view to Its Improvement,
shall be most helpful IL we main
a detached and judicial viewpoint,
that existing wrongs may
chiefly an accident Of unsymmetrt-
economic growth instead Of a crea-
n of malevOlent design and c~onspira-
We Americans are prone, as Pro-
'sor David Friday well says In his
book, Profits, Wages and
to seek q criminal intent be-
d every difficult and undesirable eco
mic situation" l can positively as
t from my contact with men Of
&c affairs, including bankers, that,
a whole, they are %endeavoring to
ali as they see them the obligations
t 60 with their power. P~reoccupied
h the grave problems and heavy
ks Of their own immediate affairs,
y have not turned their thoughtful
sonal attention or their construc-
abilities to the deficiencies Of agri-
.ural business organization. Agrl-
,ure, it may be said, suffers from
r pr~eoccupatfon and nogloot rotbo,