The Bingham County news. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1918-1930, 1922-03-10

II - commenced tn0t, II tnelr prV
posed organizations be perfected and
operated, the farmers will have In
their hands an instrument that will be
capable Of dangerous abuse. We are
told that 1t will be possible to pervert
1t to arbitrary and oppressive price
fixing from Its legitimate use Of order
ing and stabilizing the flow Of farm
products to the market, to the mutual
benefit Of producer and consumer.
have no apprehensions on this point.
In the first place, loose organiza-
ton, such as any union OF farmers
must be at best, cannot be so arbi-
trarily and promptly controlled as
great corporation. The one Is lum-
bering democracy and the other an agile
autOcracy. In the second place, with
all possible power Of org lnization, the
farmers 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
undoing 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 time
and country power Is Of value to It's
possessor only so long as 1t IL not
abused. It 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
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 a pros
porous and contented agricultural pop
ulation, we should be prepared to go|
long way In assisting the farmers t.
get an equitable share Of the wealth
they produce, through the Inaugural
ton of reforms that will procure al
continuous and increasing stream Of
farm products. They are far from get
| ting fair share now. Considering
his capital and the long hours of labor
| put In by the average farmer and his
family, he Is remunerated less than
any other occupational class, with the
| possible exception Of teachers, reli-
gious 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, it must be
! remembered that, although represent
| ing one-third of the Industrial product
! and half the total population of the
! nation, the rural communities ordi-
narily enjoy but fifth to a quarter of
| the net annual national gain. Notwith
standing the taste of prosperity that
| the farmers had during the war, there
Is today 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. If only from our
own enlightened self interest, in OBJ
tanning an abundant and steady flow Of
| farm products?
In examining the agricultural situa.
ton with view to Its Improvement,
| we shall be most helpful If 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-
lessor David Friday we'll says in his
admirable book, profits, Wages and
Prices" to seek criminal intent be-
hind every difficult and undesirable eco
uomic situation" / can positively as
sert from my contact with men Of
large affairs, including bankers, that,
as a whole, they are endeavoring to
! fulfill as they see them the obligations
that 20 with their power. PreOccupied
with the grave problems and heavy
tasks Of their own immediate affairs,
they have not turned their thoughtful
| personal attention or their cOnstruc
/ tive abilities to the deficiencies Of agri
cultural business organization. Agri-
culture, 1t may be said, suffers FROM
their preoccupation and neglect rather|
than from any purposeful exploitation
by them. They ought now to begin to
respond to the farmers difficulties,
which they must realize are their own.
On the other hand, my contacts with
the farmers have flied me with respect
for them-for their sanity, their pa
t,ence. their balance. Within the last
wear. and particularly at a meeting
called by the Kansas State Board Of
Agriculture and at another called by
the Committee Of Seventeen, l have
met many of the leaders of the new
farm movement, and l testify in all
sincerity that ehey are endeavoring tc
-, ,,ith their nrOblemS not as pro.