Imperial Valley press., 1939-04-02
Nv ROGER BABSON

ing tradesmen received / estimate
that the cost of food would be four
times higher than current prices
provided everyone taking part IN
its production were paid the hlgh
wages received by painters, car
penters, bricklayers, etc. / earnest
ly hope that farmers will never
organize and ruthlessly boost their
prices. But giving union workers a
little of their own medicine might
bring labor TO its senses!
Americas economy is made up
of two almost equal parts-agrlcui-
ture and industry. These two COM
ponents must be in balance If we
are to have continued prosperity.
Today the two are far out OF bal
ance. The wages of the farmer (hS
prices) have fallen back to pre-
war levels. while the wages of in
dustry are about three times higher.
Efficiency of industrial labor, thru
new machinery, has Increased
greatly. Some of this efficiency
has been passed along in lower
prices to the farmers. Nevertheless,
prices of goods which they must
buy have gone up about 20 per cent
since 1918, while average prices
received by farmers for their prod
ucts are actually lower.
Two Sets of Rules
This, in a nutshell, is the much
publicized farm problem. On one
hand. we have millions of farmers
absolutely unorganized with no re-
striction on their hours or their
pay scales (prices) On the other
hand, we have groups of highly Or
eanized labor unions strictly limit
ing hours, unwisely raising pay
scales. and-in some caseS-limiting
even the amount of work done per
hour. Stiff initiation rules by some
unions create an artificial short
age of workers. Pay scales are not
reduced even in the hardest times,
while rules of seniority hamString
efficiency.
Farmers bear many costs, other
than industrial labor, which are
also fixed. Farm taxes have in
creased Freight rates are the same,
depression or prosperity. Insur-
ance premiums are stable. Prices
of trucks and farm tools vary only
slightly, whereas wheat slumpS
from $l20 per bushel to go cents
per bushel in one season. Over
alls and dresses drop only 10 per
cent, while wool and cotton slide 40
per cent. The regimenting of part
of our economic system keeps the
prices Of finished goods relatively
inelastic, while a free market for
commodities makes farm prices
stretch and contract like a rubber
band.
Farmers Getting Short End
The farmer is thus caught in a
wise. Because he is not organized,
the Law of Supply and Demand
dictates what he will get for his
produce. But because labor is Or
ganized, the Law of Supply and
Demand is temporarily set aside
particularly as to wages in the
building trades and other strongly
organized industries. In this re-
spect, the farmer is greatly han
dicapped. If certain parts of the
economic system are to be rigidly
regimented, then all parts should
be. If we favor the unionizing of
labor and the fixing of other costs,
such as freight rates, taxes, and
the like, then We should favor a
powerful farmers union.
Think what a farmers union
could do! Today, farm labor makes
about 20 TO rs cents an hour. This
compares with SIPS for the build
ing trades, 83 cents for steel work
ers, and so cents for textile and
shoe operators. Wages of these
groups are all reflected in the
price of goods the farmer must
buy. So are service industries, such
as trucking, gasoline, and elec-
tricity. Pay scales are not SO high
in the latter industries as in the
building trades. Yet, if all the
: various types of labor, which con-
. tribute to the raising of farm prod
ucts, were paid at the building
trade rates, farmers would have
to sell their products at about
four times current prices to make
costs!
What il Farmers UniOnize?
If farmers should organize they
would agree not to sell any prod
ucts at less than union" prices
such as $500 per dozen for eggs
sl.00 per pound for butter, 81
cents per pound for cotton. They
should stick to these prices regard
, less of the amount of eggs, butter
and cotton ON hand. They woulo
let the surpluses rot if necessary
and then get on WPA, which il
what building tradesmen do. I
truly is tragic to think of wha
would happen if farmers played
the same game that union labol
plays. OF course, in the end botr
farmers and labor would be worse
off than before there were any
unions or price-fixing.
AS the situation stands now, in
; dustrial workers are exploiting
farm workers and the farm work.
ers cannot get together and retail.
late. or course, any suggestion tt
unionize farmers is pure fantasy
bring it forward merely to SHOW
what the result would be if WI
regimented our entire economy il
the same way that half Of it |!
C.l-l