Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1922-02-02
Some Aspects of the
Farmers Problems
Continued from last week.

endorsement to any specific plan. and
still less to applaud the vagaries of
some OF their leaders and groups,
Neither should we, on the other hand,
allow the froth of bitter agitation
false economics, and mistaken radical
ism to conceal the facts of the farm
ers' disadvantages, and the practicable
ity of eliminating them by well-c0n-
sidered measures. 1t may be that the
farmers will not show the business
sagacity and develop the wise leader
ship to carry through sound plans; but
that possibility does not Justify the
obstruction Of their upward efforts.
We, as city people, see in high and
speculatively manipulated prices,
spoilage, waste, scarcity, the results
of defective distribution Of farm prod
ucts. Should 1t not occur to US that
we have a common interest with the
farmer In his attempts to attain de-
gree of efficiency in distribution cor
responding to his efficiency in produc-
ton? Do not the recent fluctuations
in the May wheat option, dpparenuy
! unrelated to normal inteHaction Of
supply and demand, offer a timely
proof Of the need Of some such stahf-
ling agency as the grain growers have
in contemplation?
It is contendod that, if their pro-
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 it will be possible to pervert
1t to arbitrary and oppressive price
liking from its legitimate use Of order
Ing and stabillzihg 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, 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 a lum-
bering democracy and the other an agile
autocracy. In the second place, with
all possible power Of org .nization, 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 ia foil it. In the third place,
their power will avail the farmers
nothing If it be abused. In our time
and country power is of value to it's
possessor only so long as it is not
abused. 1t is fair to say that have
seen no signs in responsible quarters
OF disposition to dictate prices.
There seems, on the contrary, to be a
commonly beneficial purpose to realize
stability that will giv1 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 q pros
porous and contented agricultural pop
ulation, we should be prepared to go
Long way In assisting the farmers to
get an equitable share of the wealth
they produce, through the Inaugural
ton OF reforms that will procure
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
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, 1t must be
remembered that, although represent
Ing one-thlrd Of the industrial product
and half the total population of the
nation, the rural communities ordi-
narily enjoy but fifth to 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, II 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. II It
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
taning an abundant and steady flow Of
| farm products?
In examining the agricultural situa-
+ ton with a view to Its improvement,
we shall be most helpful If we main.
tain detached and judicial viewpoint,
remembering that existing wrongs may
De chiefly an accident Of unsymmetr.
.al economic growth Instead Of a crea-
lion Of malevolent design and conspira-
y. We Americans are prone, as Pro-
lessor David Friday we'll says In his
admirable book, Profits, Wages and
Prices" to seek a criminal intent be-