The Washington times., 1922-01-23

for the future.
You men are thoroughly familiar
with the distressing details OF pres
ent conditions In the agricultural
community. The whole country
has an acute concern with the con-
ditions and the problems which YOU
are met to consider. 1t is truly
national interest. and not entitled
to be regarded as primarily the con-
Germ Of either q class or a section.
Agriculture Is the oldest and most
elemental Of industries. Every
other activity Is intimately related
to and largely dependent upon It.
1t is the first industry to which So
ciety makes appeal in every period
of distress and difficulty. When war
is precipitated, the first demand is
made on the farmer. that he will
produce the wherewithal for both
combatant and the civil population
to be fed, and in large part also to
be clothed and equipped. It Is Gu
rtous fact that agriculture has
always been the first line of sup
port 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 develop
ing this idea.
Until comparatively very recent
times the land was the first prize
Of victory in war. The conqueror
distributed the subjugated soil
among his favorites, and gave them
Thus the ownership Of the land
became the symbol Of favor and
aristocracy, while. the working Of
II was regarded as the task of
menials, dedicated to iIl.paid toll In
order that the owners of the land
and the rulers of the state might be
sble to maintain themselves in
luxury 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, succeed
ing those Of slavery. Later, we
see the creation Of a rural peasantry,
comprising broadly those who till
the sold, but in most cases do not
own 1t. and whose political rights
are very restricted. 1t is. indeed.
not until We come to very recent
times and to our own country's de-
above the faint Of. this unjust
heredity. and restored to the full
dignity and Independence to which
II is entitled.
Soil Is Neglected.
Even IN our times and under the
most modern and enlightened
establishments the soil has con-
tinued to enjoy less liberal institu-
tons for it's encouragement and
promotion than many other forms
Of industry. Commerce and manu-
featuring have been afforded ample
financial facilities for their en-
couragement and expansion, while
agriculture on the whole has Jagged
behind. The merchant, the manu-
facturer, the great instruments Of
public transportation, have been
provided methods by which they
enlist necessary capital more readily
than does the farmer. A great
manufacturing industry can consoli-
date under the ownership Of a
single corporation with a multitude
Of stockholders. a great number Of
originally separate establishments,
and thus effect economies and con-
centrations, and acquire for itself
power In the markets where II must
buy, and in the markets where 1t
must sell, such as have not been
made available to agriculture. The
farmer Is the most individualistic
and Independent citizen among US.
He comes nearest to being self-suf-
ficient; but precisely because Of this
he has not claimed for himself the
right to employ those means OF CO.
operation, coordination, and con-
40 N
other industries. A score or more
Of manufacturers consolidate their
interests under a corporate organiza-
ton, and attain q great increase OF
their power in the markets, whether.
they are buying or selling. The
farmer, from the very mode OF his
life, has been estopped from these
effective combinations; therefore,
because he buys and sells as an
individual II Is his fate to buy In the
dearest and sell in the cheapest
market.
Farmer Needs Capital.
The great Industrial corporation
sells it's bonds in order to get what
we may call its fixed or plant
capital. Just as the farmer sells q
mortgage on his land in order to
get at least a large part Of his fixed
or plant capital. am not COM
mending the bonding or mortgage
system of capitalization, rather
only recognizing a fact. But there
in large part the analogy ends.
Both the manufacturer and the
farmer still require provision Of
working capital. The manufactures.
whose turnover is rapid, finds that
in the season when he needs un-
usual amounts of working capital
he can go to the bank and borrow
on short-time notes. His turnover
is rapid, and the money will como
back in time to meet his short-term
obligation. The merchant finances
his operations In the same way.
But the farmer Ia In different
case. His turnover period is long
one; his annual production In small
compared to the amount Of invest.
ment. For almost any crop the
a..