San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-02-18
WHY THEY LEAVE FARMS

y Most Texans are more or less familiar
with the story of the carload OF Rio
Grande cabbage that sold down there III
the valley for 81 ton and sold on the
retail market in Chicago at $50 a ton.
So Now comes farmer from North Da-
kota who AYERS that he shipped carload
Of potatoes TO Minneapolis for which he
received S1.30 net, although the potatoes
sold in Minneapolis for 1886 cash at the
ear door. This farmer paid S35 for the
sacks in which he placed the potatoes so
that he really lost about $3.50 on the
deal. He had, all his summers work for
nothing, his land tax, his blowing and
hoeing and harvesting, poisoning potato
bugs, hauling potatoes to the shipping
point, storage ad inter- mand other Incl
adentals for nothing.
while such instances are somewhat
Unusual, yet they give a very cogent
reason as to why farm boys and farm
girls are flocking to the cities and towns
looking for jobs. Not every farmer
Hoses money on every shipment yet a
majority of them do not make enough
off their products to make a decent
living. People working under those
conditions readily become discouraged.
The older folks may stay on the farm
but youth is ever impetuous and dis
content readily finds the boy or girl
in a receptive mood.
The American farming problem is
one of the outstanding problems of the
nation. The trouble seems to be more
ia the uncertainty and instability Of the
market for all farm products than in
Complaints about such incidents as the
one above illustrated.
5aFarmers can not produce a definite
amount OF livestock, grain or foodstuffs
Because they have no assurance. that
they can dispose profitably of such a
crop. The diversification of farm crops
will not solve the problem except to a
limited extent because various localities
are more favorable to a one-crop farm
than to diversified farming. At least
Texas will produce cotton as its major
crop for many. years before another
money crop can be found under present
market conditions that will give even
semblance of as sure a money return.
Even so, cotton crop is largely TN
profitable to the actual grower thereof.
s. There seems to be we'll founded sus-
picion that there are too many middle
men for the good of the actual producer
TO say nothing of the consumer and of
these middlemen, the transportation
units far exceed all other expenses at
tached to the marketing of the average
crop. Cheaper transportation is newt
able or a revision of our marketing svs-
TEN whereby the farmer will get a pro-
portionate return on his products in
which case the consumer can not escape
another raid on his pocketbook.
That the condition complained of by
the North Dakota farmer is in existence
IN practically every part of the country
can not be denied. Within fifty miles
OF San Antonio, farm products are 90
ing begging for want of buyer. while
the same products on the San Antonio
market are scarce and high. This
ranges from chickens and eggs to baled
cane, and from meat to corn meal
There is little doubt that the factor OF
supply and demand has been largely
succeeded by the factor of transportation
and service or in other words the middle
man. The farmer most certainly is los.
ing money and as for the consumer in
general, he pays enough for what he
eats and wears to make the average
farm gold mine, were the money &c
~3rculate that far.