Norwich bulletin., 1922-03-03

went to their deaths before the German
machine-guns.
But. in tbs so~did realm OF rnonAy-rnAl-
ing. noney-getting business. It Is the
economic necessities Of market conditions
which govern-and must govern. II is
not the price which one would like.
whether for goods or materials or labor.
which is fair but the price which shall at
ford equitable, impartial stimulus to the
general movement OF business, tsvotv
ing production and rii6rafsntJire and
transportation and wages and all KINDRED
ezpenditures .f
Nor may IL be for one moment forget
ten that the farmers OF the United States,
as a whole, are not CAPITALISTS but work
men and laiborers- They compose the larg
est class Of laborers in the country. TlIeY
are every whit as dependent as any fac
tory hand upon their daily work for. their
they take greater risks Of failure than any
other class Of laborers. Also. as q rule
/, their pay, ct it's best, is smaller tran
that ordinarily given less productive
worknen for fewer hours OF work
And their. pay. has already been. ont
cutrnot once or twice but a dozen, times
cut not by any trifing ten or twelve Fer
cent. but from sixty to eighty per cent.
| Indeed, in many cases it has been out to
nothing. The farmer must not only work
! for his wages. but he must sell his pro-
/ duce before he can collect those wages.
And today millions Of dollars worth OF
farm products are wasting on ths farms
! because they can't be sold at a price to
return any wages whatever
: Does the farmer really want to see the
wages Of railroad men and builders and
| shop workers reduced? No = i,
Did the farmer really want to see his
own scantier wages reduced? No!
But the reduction was made in his case
just the same. 1t was forced upon. him
and he is still being held down to It He
wasn't asked whether he wanted the re-
duction or not He wasn't asked if he
could stand 'thesreducrion1 not. IIeiwas
MT consulted at any stage of the proceed
ings. No lasbor-board was erected to l.eal
his side. No investigation was set on 700
to see how much Of a cut the lowering o
living expenses would enable him to bear
He wasn't given opportunity to say AYE
Yes" or No; about anything. He was
just told that the crops he had beer
getting q dollar for would he1refortl
bring him thirty-two cents, and he coll,
get his wages out OF that thrty-two cent
or go without
} That's about the way he was cut Ans
} that was about the extent OF the consid
Grafton shown him in the process.
Under the circumstances be cant he'll
but feel q little surprised and a 600,
deal irritated at the whinpering OF hi
corri1eers IN the. labor field over the emf
: nentiy fair and righteous demand tia
they Pail share in the cutting down. &
: least to such a degree as will enable hir
to stand on one leg in their two-leGge
company. q .,~--.S -.
} lgreat workshop expect or ask him
; alone, to butt his head against that hzr
} stone wall? Why should he endure nc
? only his own loss, but, .vicariously, tn
= losses Of the others?
when was he designated 40 sespe-Eoa
for the entirs world, of labor, to bear q
It's bzrdens and al its failures ard Al IT
; sins on his OWE lread into the. wilderness
why must he fare .unapooTnazied, int
the desert CT painful economist .e
: AS cur text clearly and vigorously de
I clares, prices Of manufactured goods ''hsv
: not come down in proportion to- those :
, wheat, corn oats and .lf7,estock' int
, farm products and factory; products reac
$ e. fairer relation in Erice the tillers of til
T soil wiz have. to continue their buyer
: strike They will have to- y for the sin
q f!e reason that they have not the none
|
s Yet one can seldom pick up a daily ps
8 per without reading Of some strike, threa'
. ened or actual, against the attempt to RI
: duce in some measure the prices of she
2 or factory made goods by leSsening the
v cessive laibor-cost of their production. {
4 against an attempt. to reduce their prict
= by cutting down the labor-costs OF tran
T. rortation. Or against an attempt to r,
n duce their prices by lessenirg the laibo
@ costs OF mining.
r 1t La mot only the unfsirnesS OF tn
70 ers which angers the farmer, but Il
: undiscerning and short-sighted folly
!. It By this attempted freezingout
It the largest buying class in the count
they are actually helping to destroy the
- own opportunities for occupation at al
u wage whatever. For. no manufacturer
i always going to hire work1nen to pr
IF duce goods which he cant sell
,e These. self blinded people are biting
" their own noses to spite the farniei
o face; they are killing the geese viii
y lay golden eggs -
Is Perhaps nothing Will step Thorn. 3
'r it is at least hopeful to read such pi
y mary economic truth so simply and su
g. cinctly set forth as in the extract ha
70 quoted. And it Is, also. somewhat CO
n solatory to US farmers to note that, ev
1t in New York city, there are those W
l. appreciate our situation, and who syl
n. pathize with our difficulties
rs THE FARMER
> ..t .s