The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-10-23
1uF WHEAT GROWERS
ARE THE HARDEST HIT
,,rcu COST OF LABOR IS ONE
op CAUSES TO WHICH HIS
p1IGHT IS ATTRIBUTED.
COME REMEDIES SUGGESTED
N. Authority Says Freight Rates
Mus+ Come Down, While Another
H. convinced Diversified Farming
And Coop Selling Is the Thing.

rs Convinced diversified FARMING
And Coop Selling Is the Thing.
u;eter Farmer is counting his cash
I'D finding that he isn't making both
and, meet. That isn't true of all farm
-, but it is true of lot of them. 1t
;. particularly true of the wheat farm
.r inst at the present time.
Co serious is the situation that Pres
dent Coolidge has sent Eugene Mey-
,r IT., banker of marked ability and
head of the war finance corporation,
- tb- northwest to find out how best
fl help the farmers of that section.
Gist of the Trouble.
The sum and substance of the farm
.rs' troubles has been stated briefly;
labor is the biggest single item OF
cost Of anything produced on the face
If the earth today, whether it be on
tho farm or in the city; the average
rost Of farm labor in this country IS
about $3.50 a day in the south and
05O day in the west; the average
rost of labor in the city runs any
where from $3.50 to $40 day.
II costs less to produce on the farm
than it does in the factory in the. city.
. The farmer sells his product for a
comparatively low price, but when he
goes to the city to buy the necessities
4 NJ life he must paw comparatively
\ bigh price In other words, when the
i farmer has to raise an acre OF produce
4 TO buy new dress for the mtssus
there is something radically wrong.
Either the acre of produce doesn't
hiring enough or the new dress is too
high, or both.
Remedies Suggested.
President Coolidge and Secretary
Of Agriculture Wallace have been in
consultation with various authorities
on agriculture during the last two
weeks i'll an endeavor to, arrive at
some satisfactory cure OF the ailments
affecting agriculture.
One suggested that the freight rate
on grain was too high and ought to
be lowered. Another said the tariff
was at fault. Still another suggested
that diversified farming was the solu-
ton. A fourth was convinced that
cooperative marketing would cure all
the ills worrying the American farm
err
The conferences held in Washing
ton have simmered down to this con-
clusion on the part of the authorities:
Il L..
ing and the farmer must learn to CO.
operate.
The department Of agriculture has
announced that the cotton crop
this year will be 11,015,000 bales, or
12500O0 bales more than last year.
Not so long ago the cotton grower
was Spreading broadcast his woes
through the south but he seems to
be fairly we'll contented with the
world just as present.
Learned Cooperation.
Cooperative marketing associations
have done wonders in the cotton belt,
the tobacco belt and for the rals1n
growers and fruit growers of the Pa
cihc coast These associations allow
the farmer to market his crop under
the best conditions instead OF beng
forced to dump his products on the
market regardless of supply, demand
or price.
The future status of the wheat
farmer in this country is bound to I'M
dergo change because of Canada
The wheat crop of Canada this year
is abnormally large, about three-fltths
as large as the entire American crop.
This condition is new, but is likely to
continue, In other words, Canada is
growing more and more wheat from
year to year. 1t is not altogether I'M
probable that Canada will become
known as the greatest wheat produc-
ing country in the world,
That neans only one thing, say
agricultural authorities; wheat grow
erS Of the United States will have to
90 In for diversified farming.
Significant Development.
A significant development is taking
place in Nebraska. The center of the
United States. the famous "l/55
Ranch" Of 1,400 acres, is being SPLIT
up into farms of 40 acres each. This
'''Nt - 1870 lllICS llOIl w" 49,
city and 1873 miles from San Fran
CISCO. Nebraska is beginning to see,
and to believe, that farmer can make
just about as much money on small
body Of land where he can do all the
work himself as he can on big farm
where he has to hire most of the work
done.
Another chronic ailment of Ameri-
can agriculture is tenant farming. In
Iy1O 80 ner cent of the farmers OF the
united States were tenants. Ihis IS
pad for the soil, say authorities. And
i Is bad for the tenant, too, they say,
because he is supporting two families
IN many cases-his own and the lam
lJ OF the man he rents from.
Conditions Worst in West.
Conditions are admittedly the worst
IN the west Not only is the farmer
crying fer relief, but the banker OF
ne west is making his influence felt
al Washington. These bankers. hold
ag farm mortgages, are fearful that
i5ney viii soon find themselves with :
.9l OF land they won't know what to
do with
On the other hand, a farmer hold
ssIg a $2OO-an-acre mortgage on his
arm must nay $12 an acre in interest
ana from 81 to 81 an acre in taxes
gTg i he can figure up other costs
a lueSe two items alone are ruinous