The Connecticut labor news., 1923-10-20
BABSON, PAD ECONOMIST"
 HAS ANOTHER FIT OVER WHAT LABOR IS GETTING
He's Optomistic Everywhere But Where the Worker Is Concerned and Then He Gets Ter rified at Outlook Forgetting to Say
 Anything About His Own Graft"

QuenIly gets Ills name Into the news papers because he runs a column sub out again. This time he "economizes" by saying that the entire trouble with the country is that the wages of La Dor is too high While thus. offering the public an opinion he naively neg lects to say what he himself got in wages for writing the bunk or what he collected from the newspapers gullible enough to fall for and pay for his stuff Roger gets 1t both ways from the inside first and from the papers next so of course can "econ- omize."
 Ordinarily The Labor News would ignore Roger and his sputum, but as 1t is wei that Labor men know what he's saying about them, The Labor News this week reprints part of his latest effusion. To show The Labor News is not paying him it is here stated that the following was lifted" from the Waterbury American and that 1t appeared in number of other papers also. Says Roger:
 '1n spite of Bressure on the Presi- dent from several quarters to call a special session of Congress for the purpose of devising some plan for the assistance of the wheat growers of the west, the whole agricultural community does not appear to be clamoring for government assistance. Repr resentatives of the cotton grow CTS appear to be fairly we'll satisfied with their lot, and judging from the freedom with which the staple Is be- ing sold in the south and IS moving to market, the producers are not dis gruntled over their reward.
 Most of the complaints from the agricultural districts come from wheat farmers. Prices are not low com pared with pre-war quotations, for they are considerably above the aver age levels prevailing for five years be- fore the outbreak of European hostil- ities. The return to the farmers is low in purchasing power, chiefly be, cause of the high prices for industrial products, principally labor, On the other hand corn is commanding figure considerably above the average of pre-war returns, while live stock prices are fairly reTnunerat1ve to those engaged in this branch of agriculture Taking returns for farming generally, they are probably as profitable as they have been except in days of unusual agricultural prosperity, and 1t IS a question If the occasion for discon- tent is not to be found in a contrast between exceptionally good times and moderately poor ones.
 Improvement in Conditions.
 Without doubt, there has been a decided tendency to exaggerate the distress of the western farmer. One of our correspondents, who has spent considerable time recently 1n Mis- souri, Nebraska, Iowa and South Da- kota, writes us that at all of the | leading agricultural centers he has | found vast change for the better. | This was especially true among live stock producers.
 "One observer of national promi- hence fails to voice lament over the position of the farmer Roger w.
 Babson arrived in Chicago after a survey of five weeks, which included the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Wis consin, Kansas and Montana. In an interview published by one of the | leading Chicago newspapers, he sum marized his observations, in part, as | follows:
 Survey by Babson.
 "'With exception of Montana, all | of the states I have visited have turned the corner and are now hnan- cially on their feet. In the large farm | ing sections of the Middle West, | three-fourths of the farmers, those who bought their farms 20 years ago | for $40 an acre ,are making money. l It is the unfortunate man who has either bought land for from $2oo to | $25o an acre in the last five years, or who are renters, that are in trouble. When I left the east, l was bearish on the whole country, but the wonderful recovery the farmers are making has changed my view. l am still bearish on the east, but am look regarding the country contigu- ous to Chicago. However, there must be a readjustment between the wages the skilled mechanics are getting, and the wages or money a farmer receives for his labor Labor is entirely too high;
 the farmer is doing considerably bet ter than 90 per cent of the white collar employees in Chicago. It is the farm renters who are really out of luck, and there is only one thing for them to do-that Is, to quit
 "In setting forth the observations of MT. Babson and our own cores pondent, we believe we have furnish ed a competent picture of conditions as they exist in the great farming dis tricts of the west and middle west. Judging from these outlines, there would seem to be no cogent reason for governmental intervention. Moth ing of this sort was attempted 1n the dehating period three years ago, when cotton broke from .43 cents per pound to I2 cents and below. Nothing of the sort is attempted for the relief of other industries when economic mistakes are made. Most producers have to bear the consequences of their
 errors, and time, with its elements of readjustment, works out the solution. GGT|Lo a,-;e+;pr aco1oroic cyStem iS