Evening star., 1925-04-23
The Farmers Problem.

Organization and cooperation. the
great factors in the upward rush OF
industry and labor in the United
States, are urged as the remedies for
the ills of the farmers of the country
by former Gov. Frank o. Lowden of
Illinois. Gov. Lowden is himself a
farmer. He has given the asricul-
turaI problem close study. His. ad
dress delivered before the Bureau of
Advertising of the American News
paper Publishers Association may be
regarded as singularly authoritative
In that address Gov. Lowden pictured
the distressed condition of the farm
ers, a condition which has existed for
years, he insisted, and still continues,
despite widely published reports to
the contrary.
An intelligent readjustment must be
brought about, so that the farmer
may obtain fair prices for his produce
and his labor The alternative is
shrinkage of producing farm area and
of farm products, until the consumers
feel the tremendous pinch of food
shortage and shortage of fabrics for
their clothing. The huge increase in
the cost of living through such hap
hazard, though inevitable, readjust-
ment would put the consuming public
in the position which has been occu-
pied by the farmers. Why, Gov. Low
den demanded in effect, should Amer
lean intelligence and American genius
not be exerted to solve the problem?
Especially as organization and guam
tity production and cooperation have
been the fields in which American
genius has shown so greatly to ad-
vantage. - ..--
Gov Lowden does not complain of
the law of supply and demand. With
an intensive organization of the farm
ers he does not expect the law of
supply and demand to cease to oper-
ate. What he does expect is that the
law of supply and demand will be
made to serve both farmer and1con-
sumner inteIligently; that there will be
an adjustment of the supply to the
actual demand. Under present con-
ditions, the cooperation in organiza-
ton is too strongly found on the pur-
chasing side and too little on the pro-
ducing side, of the agricultural indus
try. The unorganiZed farmer, like
the unorganized laberer formerly, has
been unable to meet with success the
conditions which have confronted him.
The agricultural industry is out of
gear with the other great basic indus
tries. of the country. The adjust
ment, Gov Lowtlen pointed out, so
that all may work in gear is essen
tial to the successful operation of the
entire social and economic structure
Under present-day conditions of agri-
culture, d bumper crop may bring no
more money than a small crop. This,
Gov. Lowden said, is entirely wrong.
As he pointed out, there has never
yet been too much food and too much
clothing in the world for all the peo-
pie. And the. less food and clothing
there is produced, the more suffering.
With the proper. cooperation and or
ganization of the farmers the farmer
may distribute his crop properly in
stead of dumping it on the market
along with the crops. of his fellows, all
within a few weeks time. He may
obtain in this way; a better and u
fairer price.
The appeal of Gov. Lowden is to the
farmers of the country themselves,
very largely, to organize. With intel
ligent leadership, the farmers them
selves can solve this problem. The
Government, of course. may aid
through wise statutes. Federal CO.
operative marketing laws are being
urged as an aid, to the farmer. But
50 far the farmers themselves have
been widely divided on such legisla-
ton There are certain selfish inter
ests, as Gov. Lowden- pointed out,
which fear that the successful or
ganization of the farmers may result
in reduction of gains of these inter
ests. They are, moreover, powerful
and active, and they see the advisa-
bility of keeping the farmers divided.
That is one of the reasons, perhaps.
why Federal legislation looking to CO.
operative marketing has met so many
stumbling blocks.