Evening star., 1923-07-28
HITS DISTRIBUTION
ASARCH MENACE
Peoples Legislative Service
Director Says Farm Re-
vivaI Is Need.

The greatest menace to general
welfare of the United States today is
not bolshevism. nor socialism, nor
capitalism nor imperialism; 1t is the
"monstrous system OF distribution,
which we have allowed to grow up in
America" according to a statement
issued for the Peoples Legislative
Service by Basil N. Manly, director.
This system OF distribution must
give way to cooperative system, in
the opinion of Mr.. Manly, IL the
farmer In the country and the worker
In the city are to receive the real
value of their toll, the real value of
their dollar.
Mr.. Manly says that figures of the
department OF Agriculture disclose
the fact that two million persons
moved from American farms to Ameri-
can cities during the year of 1922
Ihis was partially offset by $4,000
persons going from the cities to the
farms. But the movement, both ways,
hlr. Manly asserts. serves to show the
unrest In the country.
Fears Excess OF Labor.
The tremendous movement from the
farms to the cities. he predicts will
result in oyerstocking the labor mar
ket In the industrial centers and in
huge bread lines eventually, he con-
This movement from the farms
70 the cities is particularly a menace
to the workers in the city factories
ana on the railroads. 1t is a greater
'open-shop' drive. 1t is greater
menace than unrestricted immigra-
tion.
1T can be checked in only one way
That is by restoring agricultural pros
perity, by stabilizing prices at a decent
level. by making the farm a place
where man can settle down to
life OF industry with the assurance
that If he produces the crops which
the nation needs. he will receive
enough for them to enable him to buy
enough of the city's products to sup
port his family in health and rea-
sonable comfort and give the chill
dren an education.
What are the roots of this trouble?
They lie in the monstrous system of
distribution. which we have allowed
to grow up I'm America, where the
farmer gets only 81 cents out of every
dollar that the city worker pays for
farm products. while the city worker
gets only 80 cents out of every dollar
that the farmer pays for factory
goods.
Thus the farmer and the city
worker have one common enemy.
That enemy is the monopolistic group
which owns. controls and operates
this monstrous system of distribution.
By combinations, by consultations,
by price agreements, by manipulation
of markets, by restriction of produc-
ton. by stock watering. by multipli-
cation of middlemen. by every device
through which an additional dollar or
penny Of profit can be squeezed out
between the producer and the con-
sumer. they have created this fright
full condition They are destroying
the American nation by draining off
Its substance in the form of profits to
be squandered in wastefully luxurious
living or In the promotion of i'm
peria1istic exploitation in other coun-
tries.
This system must be destroyed and
new system of cooperative distri-
button. for service and not for profit,
must be builded in its place This is
huge undertaking, but it is far less
difficult In Its essential elements than
the organization of this nation for the
great war;