The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-09-09
A LESSON FOB FARMERS

necessary stand II initiation is 10
be averted there must be control.
In his Labor Day chat h. spoke
70 the point, as usual emphasizing
the fact that initiation cannot be
averted without more rigid eco
nomic contro, To be adequate.
such control must be general and
Tar reaching. II is a IRENE ndous
undertaking. being esta blished step
by step The particular group TO
whom attention is now turned is
the farmer.
Merchants and manufacturers
have been pretty we'll curbed They
have no redress. They must com.
ply or close their doors. Already
a good many have closed and more
will close. The same will be true
OF farmers. They have the same
choice and thousands will no doubt
turn 70 industrial pursuits.
Under present conditions that
trend will ht into the about plan.
We bought farm produce from
South America at the same time We
were blowing our own under That
was goodwill gesture. The ges-
ture can be continued even more
logically now as our farm produc.
tion is lowered by reason OF the
call for men IN war work and
service.
So long as the war continues
the lines must be constantly tight
ened for more concentrated effort
toward the one goal in which we
are all nterested-Victory. But
after the war the whole picture
will be changed We shall then
want local farm production re-
stored That can be accomplished
in two ways.
One will be the method with
which We are familiar. the lure Of
the country for the farmer who
loves the out-ofdoors and the free
dom as well as reasonable profits
Of agricultural development
The other method is that Of Rus.
STA and more recently Of Germany
force. Farm lands become govern.
ment owned and operation becomes
a sovernmentdirecte routine. That
is the thing the American farmer
should start thinking about and
guarding against And how should
be do It? Organize.
The greatest power comes with
organization. Certain branches OF
agriculture and horticulture are
already well started on the way 20
organization The orange and lemon
growers are an example. The biz
wheat growers OF the West aren't in
need OF any special sympathy or as.
sistsnce. They have done pretty
well for themselves, but the little
fellows haven't
There is no group Of people who
work harder, who net less profit
and who are more deserving than
ne average small farmer Yet the
lpot light Of limitation is turned
iull upon these workers. They
must obey orders. IL they had been
we'll organized they could have had
their prices up a long time ago to
point that would put their earn.
lngs in line with earnings of other
men and price ceilings would be
less Of burden.
To be sure there Is a farm bloc
In Congress. strong and active.
There the big growers are repre-.
scented. The title fellows feel some
indirect benefit. but not enough to
Insure the relative position they
deserve
However they will not be the
ones 10 complain. For centuries
the tillers OF the soil have worked
untiringly for uncertain and limited
compensation They gamble on
the weather and on the market
No matter how hard they work they
have little 10 say about how much
money they shall receive. Yet they
carry on, patient law-abiding. loyal
They can be depended upon 10 do
their part toward winning the war
They deserve the same considera.
ton that they would get II they
were fully organized and in posi-
ton 10 tell the government what
TO do instead % being told They
deserve the establishment OF :
parity percentage high enough 70
yielc average Incomes Compare biz
with incomes OF other men snt
women giving similar service.
The big question in the minds o
farmers !, going 10 be the iustlce o
limitation on farm production wher
enormous contracts are being pa s
ed out TO big manufacturers on
cost plus basis That question ha
bothered the little manufacturer
for soms time The argument &
that one rule should apply all alon
the line. II "costplus" is to be tn
rule let Il apply in all trades. !
limitations are 10 be applied 10 on
group. let Il be applied 10 all 4
short. make the rules fair, the sam
for everyone.