Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1922-11-30
HELPING
THE FARMER

THE FARMER
The fact that the President and Con-
grcss, even the members not affiliated
with the Farm Bloc" are talking o.
needed aid to the farmers" proves
that there is something wrong in cur
economic and industrial system. Far
me s with whom we talk from time to
time state it badly in somewhat this
way: ''We don't get enough for what
we sell, and we have to pay too much
for what we buy" Of course, this
trouble is not restricted to farmers.
But it seems to be aggravated in their
| case.
| 1t is practically foregone conclu
| sion that whatever the Government
| does in an effort to "aid the farmer
| will be superficial and temporary, like
giving a soporific or a mild local anaes-
/ thetic to a patient who needs major
| operation The real causes of the
! trouble are beyond the reach of leg
| islation.
The bumps i'll our economic road are
| Iue to greed. The more unrestrainad
the greed the bigger the bump. Tha
| farmer hits more of these bumps be-
cause his road is longer from where ne
5 to where he wants to go than is that
II any other industry. There may De
mere bumps to the mile than in the
other roads, too. He has paid less
] attention to the smoothing out of his
avn pathway than some other indus
| Siies have.
The Farm Bureau Federation, with
| its plans for cooperative marketin :
/ seems to be removing and cutting
down many Of the larger bumps The
unrestrained greed of many brokers
| and commission firms and produce
gamblers is being reduced, or remov-
ed from the farmers path entirely.
Many of the distractions the farmer
has placed in his own way His own
greed is responsible for many Of the
bumps. The University Extension in
| Wisconsin, and similar institutions II
some other states, through Agricul
tural Courses, County Agents, pub
locations of experiment findings, etc,
are helping to reduce and remove these
In other words, the help the farmer
needs is such help as will make his
marketing more direct, and his con
duct of his own business more accur.
ate and scientific.
One more set of bumps there is in
the farmers road which neither of
these agencies has attacked as yet, is
the kind that exists by reason of thu
unjust, unreasonable, archaic and al
together inexcusable system of Land
saXation. Taxes on land are relics Of
the feudal days when the farmer did
not own the land. A feudal lord held
title to the land, paid The expenses of
apkeep, furnished improvements, and
collected the taxes as a sort of rental
charge. He in turn paid the govern
ment taxes to his overiOrds Now
when the farmer owns the lands, I'M
proves them, repairs the depreciation.
and furnishes all the equipment, he
IS still taxed as he was in the old feu-
dial days. The real estate tax, and
particularly the one we have in Wis
consin which taxes higher for the I'M
proved land which the farmers own
efforts have made more valuable, puts
a double burden upon the land own
ing farmer. A farmer is to a certain
extent penalized for making his farm
better. Enterprise in the farming
industry is loaded with an undue bur
den and a lack of enterprise is at =
premium.
| The best help that can be given the
farmer IS a radical, intelligent, civil
lied adjustment of the tax burden.
This thing the State and United Stat
es Government can do for him. They
ought to lose no time about it. OF
what avail is it to the farmer to teach
/ aim improved methods of marketing
II better ways of farming if every I'M
provement is to be penaEzed by a re
nv hi Arl h,,.s ely,., =