The producers news., 1926-11-05
WHY FARMERS ARE NOT
COMING BACK"
By WILLIAM BOuCK


semi-edtOrial in its character headed "Group of
Great Business Men Holding Meeting to COnsid-
er the Farmers Problems" Thus follows state
ment that the farmers troubles have been taken
up by interested business men and they will devise
plans to help the farmer.
Well, heard little tale once that ran like this:
''The Wolf felt so sorry for the poor sheep that
he invited him to come and lie down in his warm
den-The Sheep accepted the invitation and laid
down in the VOLTS den-inside the Wolf"
Regularly every few days or weeks some group
of business men propose to help the famer-and
do-to get rid of his products
Regularly every few weeks senators and con-
gressmen down in Babylon Washington Yell
10 the poor farmer and forthwith from some
mysterious recess pull out some farm legislation
and proceed to pass bills to enable bankers andin-
him and add it to their wealth-in very scien-
tific way.
Regularly every few months for the last fifty
years or more the farmer has cried out in the
agony of suffering caused by interest profits and
pillage until his sensibilities were crushed-and
in the chaos which followed these intervals of
'squashing" he left the farms by thousands-went
into the cities where he sold his unorganized labor
ing reduced to the lowest social status and others
lured by fantastic tales of wealth and happiness
upon the farms left the Cities settled upon the
farm vacated by others-and in few months live
up their little surplusand they too are reduced to
penury and beggery and take their place in the
lowest social strata
Now it is an uncontested fact, we'll known to
every one that the farmer today has the least
income, according to his labor, of any time in our
history-and that his condition has and is steadi-
ly getting worse
Let's talk it over.
We are living in a capitalist age
We part of the greatest capitalist nation
ever known.
What is this thing-this entity-this dark, low
ering cloud we call capitalism?
1t is that system of business or industrial
government of which ours is the greatest example
in all the world that filches the weight of all
lth-taxes-interest and profits from the
pockets of the producer.
In early days the farmers had lots of free land
to move upon where everything he had was filched
from him.
That day is gone-forever-nO more free land
Our present system, means that the overlords
year by year raise this standard and cost of liv-
ing-each being jealous of the ascendency of the
other.
Next year one builds anew palace-employs more
lackeys-buys greater cars-and lives like king
Next year some other overlord--not to be over
done and afraid of the jibes of friends that his
is not as grand, as his rival builds a better one
and employs mare lackeys and buys immense linn
cuisines and his cost of living goes up.
The farmer pays the bill
Last year the great railroads, packing plants
steel mills oil refneries and all the long list Of
industries made billion dollars clean.
This year that billion is added to their stack and
the price goes up to pay dividends on these great
profits of the year before.
You pay the bill.
Last year the Reserve banks made perhaps a
billion dollars clean profit. They added it to their
stacks-or credited other bonding and holding com.
panies with immense capitalization and the inter
est and rates of exchange and bonuses go up to
pay dividends on the accumulated profits which
you paid in the first place
The farmer pays the bill
And so it goes on-year after year through the
whole gamut of industries, banks, and speculative
enterprises -piling up profits which pyramid them
selves upon the farmer producers because he is
the last resort and can't escape the scalping.
/ we nave nOllered-We have voted for good meI
who know nothing of the cause-we have tried tt
throw off this monstrous weight-and each yeal
it clings tighter and tighter and in spite of oul
LaFollettes, Frasers, Brookharts, and others oul
last condition is worse than our first.
What's the cause?
This country's constitution was drafted for that
very purpose-as a capitalist charter to provide
certain and sure methods for exploitation of the
many big-the few-the members of the constitu-
tiOnai convention Hamilton, Madison and others
frankly said so.
Not until the farmers and workers of America
re-write that constitution and form a capitalist
charter into workers emancipation bl-cutting
out forever exploitation of the many by the few
and guaranteeing to every industrious citizen the
products of his toll, will this horrid and monstrou.
condition Of exploitation, spoken Of above, bc
/ stopped.
We can holler our heads off against conditions
or against Morgan or Rockfeller-but unless we
go to the root of this Upas tree and dig it ou
and burn it up root and branch-Other Rookie
fellers and Morgans will Immediately take theil
place and the robbers will not cease even for