Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-07-31
BROOKHART URGES
MARKET AGENCY To
AVOID A CALAMITY

@ of Iowa, speaking at the Farmers
y union picnic today. again strongly
r advocated a special SESSION OF con-
=r~~aa to avert the Impending ca
, lamity'' in tho Agricultural industry
: by speedy and drastic action in es-
>, tablishing a government marketing
q agency.
r. Only temporary relief would be
iIfound in the agency, however, he
asserted, the complete remedy COM
ing from cooperative control oil
e production, processing, credit and
marketing by the farmers them
7selves."
o., TT is unfair" he said, TO fix the
Il price of the farmers products in the
competitive markets Of the world.
o The farmer is entitled to charge for
his products sold at home at the
cost of production and reasonable
profit. This can only be done by
a government marketing agency that
e will bid such a price to the farmers
Wants Tariff Wall
The tariff should prevent compe-
ttion from abroad under these cir
= cumstances, the same as 1t does IN
steel. The only loss then under SUCH
4sn operation would be from the sur
plus sold abroad, which would not
g.. be very great"
During his recent visit to Europe
he found crops everywhere better
than last year, and very much bet
ter in Russia. l also found the pur-
chasing power of the people Of Eu-
rope is reduced because of the Ruhr
invasion and the consequent unem-
plovment in England and Germany.
The gamblers and spectators In
food products" he continued, nave
concealed from the farmers the con-
ditions in Europe as long as possible
fearing an extra session OF congress-
Farm Labor Ties Urged
ANY concrete or constructive
remedy for the agricultural situa-
tion.4s defined by the critics of the
great progressive movement in the
west as radicalism or ridiculed as
foolish panacea. They never fail TO
end ND their discussion denounclns
the alliance of the farmers and the
,laboring people as unholy, ill-advised
and vicious. In answer L say thal
agriculture has always been exploit
ed nv the middleman in our eco
nomic organization.
THE farmer has no voice In the
nricA he will pay for his necessities
and while organized labor has &C
in a
wages still it has no voice IN the
price it will pay for necessities. ANY
advance in wages, therefore is
usually nullified by advances in the
cost of living in the profits. lner-
ficiencv and waste OF the middle
man.
EFFECT OF WHEAT SLUMP
EXAGGERATED, HE SAYS
DIES MINES, Iowa, July 28.-tBy
the Associated ess.)-GeneraI ell
feet of the drop in wheat prices 10
below a. dollar a bushel has been eX-
ageerted in the minds of many peo-
nile, both as regards its effect upon
farmers generally and upon b .'lness
other than farming, E. T. Meredith,
secretary of agriculture during Pres
ident Wilson's administration, de-
clared in a, statement to the ALSO
ciated Press.
"Those that grow wheat exclu'
siyely or nearly so, and consequently
are dependent upon the return from
their wheat crop almost entirely Tor
their income" he said, have hao
their incomes cut by the recent de-
cline in wheat prices, and the serl'
business of the situation, so FAR as
they are concerned, is a matter OF
interest and Importance to every
other interest of the nation, labor
and business being concerned as Wen
as the farmer. Certainly steps should
Immediately be taken to prevent
such q situation being again forced
upon a. group Of people who are
producing one of our staple products.
Ten Per Cent of Farming
1.-THE entire income American
farmers receive from wheat. how
ever, represent but ten per cent OF
the total income of the farmers as
group. Then that commodity
which represents ten per cent OF
the total income is only ten per cent
lower in price than it was a year
ago. 1t appears then, that so far as
the price OF wheat alone Is con-
cerned, the present price of corn is
as much higher than the price for
that grain a year ago as wheat Is
lower, and inasmuch as there are
more than three times as many
bushels of corn produced as there are
of wheat, this very increase in the
price of corn greatly exceeds the
shrink in wheat. Whether corn will
maintain it's high price I do not
know, but If 1t docs. those who are
both corn and wheat growers, which
Is a large number, are, at least, in
no worse situation than they were
a year ago, and many OF them are
in a much better situation.
1T is interesting to note that a
ten per cent drop in wheat ten per
cent a busheD is only equal to but
three and one-quarter per cent of
the wealth produdced each year by
our dairy cows and that the Ameri
can hen produces more new wealth
than the total wheat crop alone.
Suggests Remedy
''I firmly believe that a practical
method can be devised and put into
operation whereby wheat growers
and other farmers can produce their
crops with an assurance Of receiv
ing at least a certain price per unit
of their production as Is the sitpa-
ton with those who manufacture
certain products, so that those who
cannot produce at that price may
know it in advance rather than aft
erward.
In other words, the law OF sup
ply and demand. which means sup
ply. productive possibilities and con-
sumptive demand shall be inter-
preted to the farmers in advance
rather than obliging them to oper-
ate in the dark, as is now the case.
1t is a pressing demand of national
Importance"
Oscar Underwood
7. C,,,n Rooot.o