Jackson County sentinel. (Gainesboro, Tenn.) 1914-current, 1922-02-09

spollage waste, scarcity, the results
of defective distribution Of farm prod
ucts. Should Il not occur to us that
we have Q common interest with The
farmer In his attempts to attain . %
gree Of efficiency In distribution Ger
responding to his efficiency In produe-
tionf De not the recent fluctuations
in the May wheat option, apparently
unrelated to normal interaction q
supply and demand, offer timely
proof Of the need Of some such stsbil-
ising agency a. the grain growers have !.
in contemplation
II 10 ccntended that, II their pro
posed organizations be perfected ana
operated, the farmers will have In
their hands an instrument that win BE-
capable Of dangerous abuse. We are
told that II win be possible to pervert
II to arbitrary and oppressive price
fixing from Its legitimate use Of order
Ing and stabilixing 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 nrst place, q loose organize
ton, such as any union Of farmers
must Be at best, cannot be SO arbl-
trarily and promptly controlled as :
great corporation. The one isia lum-
bering democracy and the other an agile
autocracy. In the second place, with
I'll possible power of organization, 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 to foil 1t. In the third place,
thar power win avail the farmers
nothing II Il be abused. In our time
and country power Is Of value to its
possessor only so long as II Is not
abused. Il IL fair to say that / have
seen no signs in responsible quarters
Of q disposition to dictate prices
There seems, on the contrary, to be =
commonly beneficial purpose to realize
Q stability that will Hva an orderly
and abundant now of farm products
to the consumer and ensure reasonable
and dependable returns to the pre-
Queer.
In view Of the supreme importance
to the national well-being Of pros
porous and contented agricultural pop
ulation, we should be prepared to 90
long way In assisting the farmers to
get an equitable share of the wealth
they produce, through the insugura-
tion Of reforms that will procure q
| continuous and increasing stream Of
farm products. They are far from get
ting 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 occupatlonal class, with the
possible exception Of teachers, reli-
gi0us 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, II must DO
remembered that, although represent
Ing one-third 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
h today q 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 gen.
orally beneficial Indignation Of their
business, OF the same kind and charac-.
ter that other business enjoys. II II.
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, II only frs our
own enlightened self interest, IN o..
tanning an abundant and steady fiow Of
farm products7 t .
In examining the agricultural sitsa
ten with q view to Its Improvement.
We shall be most helpful IL we MAIN
tain detached and judicial viewpoint.
remembering that existing wrongs may
b chiefly an accident Of unsyfnmetri--
col economic growth instead Of crea-.
ton Of malevolent design and conspira-
cy. We Americans are prone, as Pro-
|. fsssor David Friday we'll says In his
admirable book, profits, Wages and
Prices" to seek a criminal intent be-
hind every dificult and undesirable eco
nomic situation" I can positively AZ
sert from my contact with men Of
large affairs. Including bankers, that,
as a whole. they are endeavoring to
fulfill as they see them the obligations
that 60 with their power. Preoccupied
with the grave problems and heavy
tasks of their own Immediate affairs,
they have not turned their thoughtful
personal attention or their construc-
tive abilities 40, the deficiencies Of agri-
cultural business organization. Ag1-
culture, II may be said. suffers from
their preoccupation and neglect rather
than from any purposeful exploitation
nv them They ought now In begin IN