Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-11-13
THE AGRICULTURAL SITUATION

TIE A0HsOO@tOHAI StI VA iON
Merited tributes to the work of
the Grange were those spoken by
OR national secretary Of agriculture.
This organization has contributed
materially to every outstanding i'm
provement to the good roads de-
velopment, extension of rural mail
facilities included: 1t is in a position
to aid greatly in encouraging CO.
operative marketing which Secre-
tary Jardine sees to be an impera-
tive need at the present time.
His report of existing conditions
Is encouraging. The good results
have been secured largely by rea-
son of better directed intelligence.
energy ana determination on the
part Of the farmer. in all Of which
he has received the support of the
Grange. that never. has been inclin-
ed to yield to spectacular appeal or
adopt cure-alls. As 4 result, there
has been q certain amount Of cur
tailment and Improvement in quality
Of farm products to the advantage
Of the farmer.
Much remains to be done and ex-
perience shows that the farmer must
bear the brunt Of the undertaking.
In this undertaking he receives
splendid support from the Grange
organization and in the opinion OF
Mr.. Jardine as Of many other OBJ
servers also needs other organized
effort especially In the way OF mar
keting his products to advantage.
He will need aid, but this to be ef-
fectual, to assist in establishing a
long time policy, needs to be sane
and constructive rather thas revolu-
tionary.
The farmer has already demon
| strated his ability to work out in a
| noticeable degree from under the
! burden he has been carrying, but
! he is not yet out, notwithstanding
his efforts and the burden is one
which we all are concerned to have
| lightened If this may be done with
| out revolutionizing principles shown
to be good. the doing of which
1 would entail far more Of injury than
1 Of benefit to anybody.
The National Industrial Confer
ence Board recognizes the general
concern there should be to have
agricultural endeavor receive it's due
/ The Board has recently made analy-
sis of agriculture's balance sheet
! for the crop year showing that the
! average return for the labor and
management applied to the farm by
all farm operators, that is owners
and tenant farmers combined
amounted to s679 per farm operator
J for the year, which includes the
/ food, fuel and shelter supplied by
! the farm. But the farmer who OWLS
and operates his own farm should
receive return on his money in
vested in the farm as we'll as re-
turn on his labor, the Boards study
points out. Taking the farm own
perpetrators as a group by itself
and allowing them out of their farm
income a return of 51a per cent or
their investment-which is the low
est rate of interest their money
would earn if invested in farm
worcestershire remaining income
from the farm representing return
on labor and management, averaged
only S440 per farm owner cooperation
for the latest crop year. This sum
amounts to less than half of the
tenant farmers average income
and less than a third of the aver
age annual earnings per worker OF
other oceupational groups for the
same period. 1t is less than the
average annual earnings OF hired
farm help, which were s575 not in
Guiding board
In what degree the plight of the
cotton farmers contributed to this
average does not appear, but one
may not escape the conclusion that
artificial stimulus will avail little in
the face of a disposition to produce
more than is needed. Agriculture
may not and should not enjoy re-
lief from this unwisdom any more
than should other industry. The
Grange perceives the unwisdom and
injustice in spending the money OF
the taxpayers to irrigate more LAND
and encourage increase in the num-
Der of farmers when there already
is a surplus. That agriculture In
this country today is easily liable
to overproduction cannot be doubted
in the light of adequate agricultural
production in war when the farmers
helpers were at war and foreign
countries were calling for huge
| quantities Of our food stuffs to take
the place Of those, which their own
| workers, being in the war, were un-
able to supply.