The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-01-24

tions and the problems which you
are met to consider. IL Is truly
national interest and not entitled
to be regarded as primarily the
concern of either a class or sec
ton.
Dependent ON Agriculture.
Agriculture is the oldest ana
most elemental Of Industries. Every
other activity is intimately related
to and largely dependent upon II.
1t is the first Industry to which so
ciety makes appeal in every period
OF distress and difficulty. when wa
is precipitated the first demand is
made on the farmer. that he viii
produce the wherewithal for both
combatants and the civil population
to be fed, and in large part also to
be clothed and equipped. 1t Is b
curious fact that agriculture has
always been the first line of support
Of communities in war. and too
commonly the victim OF those dis
tresses which emanate from great
conflicts. - Perhaps | may be par
doned a word by way of developing
this idea. Until comparatively very
recent times the land was the first
prize of victory in war. The con-
queror' distributed the subjugateu
soil among his favorites. and gave
them his prisoners as slaves to work
it, Thus the ownership of the land
became the symbol of favor and
aristocracy, while the working OF il
was regarded as the task of me-
malls, dedicate dto ill-paid toll in
order that the owners Of the land
and rulers of the state might be
able to maintain themselves in lux
ury and to enforce their political
authority.
Coming down through the ages.
we see the advance of civilization
gradually emancipating the soil
from this low estate. We see the
institutions of serfdom and villen-
age. under the feudal order, sue
ceeding those of slavery. Later we
see the creation of a rural peas
antry. comprising broadly those
who till the soil. but in most cases
do not own it, and whose political
rights are very restricted. 1t is
indeed not until We come to very
recent times and to our own coun-
try's development that We see the
soil lifted above the faint of this
unjust heredity and restored to the
full dignity and independence to
which it is entitled.
Farmer is Individualistic.
Even in our own times and I'M
der the most modern and enlight-
ened establishments the soil has
continued to enjoy less liberal in
situations for it's ENCOURAGEMENT
and promotion than many other
forms of industry. Commerce and
manufacturing have been afforded
ample financial facilities for their
encoura ement and expansion.
while agriculture on the whole has
Jagged behind The merchant. the
manufacturer. the great instru-
ments of public transportation.
have been provided methods by
which they enlist necessary CAPT.
tai more readily than does the
farmer. \ great manufacturing
industry can consolidate under the
ownership of a single corporation
with a multitude of stock holders.
a great number Of originally sep
arate establishments, and thna ef-
feet economies. and concentra lions
and acquire for itself a power in
Nhf NHttt IL DuN
and in the markets where IL must
sell such as have not been made
available to agriculture.
The farmer is the most individu-
alistic and Independent citizen
among us. He comes nearest to be-
ing self-sufficient. but precisely be-
cause OF this he has not claimed for
himself the right to employ those
means of cooperation. co-ordina-
ton and consolidation which serve
, SO usefully in other industries. A
score or more of manufa cturers con-
solidate thfir interests under a
corporate organization and attain
a great increase of their power in
the markets, whether they are buy
ing or selling. The farmer. from
the very mode of his life. has been
stopped from these effective
combinations. Therefore, because
he buys and sells as an individual
1t is his fate to buy in the dearest
and sell in the cheapest market.
Agriculture Needs Capital
The great Industrial corporation
sells its bonds in order to get what
we may call its fixed or plant can't
tai, just as the farmer sells a
mortgage on his land in order to
get at least d large part of his
nNed or plant capital. | am not
commencing the bonding or mort
gaze system of Capitalization.
rather only recognizing fact.
But there in large part the analogy
ends. Both the manufacturer and
the farmer still require provision
or working capital. The manufac-
turer' whose turnover is rapid.
finds that in the season when ne
needs unusual amounts Of working
capital he can 90 to the bank and
borrow on shoTt-time notes. His
turnover is rapid, and the money
VIII come back in time to meet his
short-term obligation. The merchant
finances his operations in the same
way.
But the farmer is in a difreren,
case. His turnover period is a long
one: his annual production is small
compared to the amount of invest
ment For almost any crop the turn
over period is at least a year; for
livestock II may require two or
three years for single turnover.
Yet the farmer is compelled, il he
borrows his working capital, to bor-
row for short periods. to renew his
paper several times before his turn
over is possible. and to take the
ehance that IL he is called upon I'M
timely to pay off his notes he may
De compelled to sacrifice growing