The Gate Valley Star (Gate, Okla.), Vol. 16, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 16, 1922 Page: 3 of 8
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W ■
THE GATE VALLEY STAR, GATE, OKLAHOMA, MARCH 16, 1922.
Some Aspects of the
Farmers' Problems
. By BERNARD M. BARUCH
ing to tuke the unfavorable chance.
If the favorable one also Is theirs and
they can retuln for themselves a part
of the service charges that are uni-
form, In good years and bad, with
high prices and low.
While, in the main, the farmer must
era! jro.nl than In the cn«e if other
Industries. The spirit American
democracy Is unalterably opposed,
Hliko U> enacted special privilege and
to the special privilege of unequal op-
portunity that arises automatically
While, In the main, the farmer must from the failure to correct glaring
' sell, regardless of market conditions, ! economic inequalities. 1 am opposed
at the time of the maturity of crops, j to the Injection of government Into
he cannot suspend production in toto. j business, but 1 do believe thai It In an
He must go on producing If he is to go ; essential function of democratic gov
on living and If the world Is to exist. I ernment tu equalize opportunity so
The most he can do Is to curtail pro- far as It Is within Its power to do so,
ductlon a little or alter Its form, and ! whether by the repeal
that—because he Is In the dark as to
the probable demand for his goods-
I
The whole rural world Is In a fer
ment of unrest, and there Is an un
(Reprinted from Atlantic Monthly)
may be only to Jump from the frying
o, their Inability to meet «age. or ",e Mk" ""
current bill* .Dd how. seeking '«• " • ^ ^
relief from their Ills, they .re plan- SMS„«al. con,plain thai they
nlng to form pool, ln.oeur.te farm- j J"11 d!aadvamag. In
er.' strikes, and demand testation nan l^ ^ ,he!r. productions. ;
paralleled volume and intensity of de- abolishing grain exchanges, private ] Ha„ mw milk t,e<nuBe of the ,
termined, If not angry, protest, and an cattle markets, and the like, we ought ; C()Sjg of distribution, which they 1
ominous swarming of occupational con- not hastily to biand them as econoiu c ultimately bear.
ference., interest grouping* politic.! heretic. and hlehw.,men «ndIburl . j
„ c,1Ph r I them the charge of being seekers or
movements and propaganda. Such Rather> we sllouW
turmoil cannot but arrest our atten-
tion. Indeed, It demands our careful
study and examination. It Is not like
ly that six million aloof and ruggedly
Independent men have come together
and banded themselves into active
unions, societies, farm bureaus, and so
forth, for no sufficient cause.
Investigation of the subject conclu
sively proves that, while there Is much
overstatement of grievances and mis
conception of remedies, the farmers
are right in complaining of wrongs
long endured, and right In holding that
it is feasible to relieve their Ills with
benefit to the rest of the community
This being the case of an industry
that contributes, in the raw material
form alone, about one-third of the na
tional annual wealth production and
Is the means of livelihood of about 49
per cent of the population, It is ob-
vious that the subject Is one of grave
concern. Not only do the farmers
make up one-half of the nation, but
the well-being of the other half de-
pends upon them.
So long as we have nations, a wise
politclal economy will aim at a large
degree of national self-sufficiency and
self-containment. Rome fell when the
food supply was too far removed from
the belly. Like her, we shall destroy
our own agriculture and extend our
sources of food distantly and precarl
ously, If we do not see to It that our
farmers are well and fairly paid for
their services. The farm gives the
nation men as well as food. Cities
derive their vitality and are forever
renewed from the country, but an Im
poverished countryside exports Intelll
gence and retains unlntelligence
Only the lower grades of mentality
and character will remain on. or seek,
the farm, unless agriculture Is capable
of being pursued with contentment and
adequate compensation. Hence, to em
bitter and impoverish the farmer Is to
dry up and contaminate the vital
sources of the nation.
The war showed convincingly how
dependent the nation Is on the full
productivity of the farms. Despite
herculean efforts, agricultural produc-
tion kept only a few weeks or months
ahead of consumption, and that only
by Increasing the acreage of certain
staple crops at the cost of reducing
that of others. We ought not to for
get that lesson when we ponder on
the fanner's problems. They are truly
common problems, and there should
be no attempt to 'deal with them as
if they were purely selfish demands
of a clear-cut group, antagonistic to
the rest of the community. Rather
should we consider agriculture In the
light of broad national policy, Just
as we consider oil, coal, steel, dye
stuffs, and so forth, as sinews of na
tional' strength. Our growing popula
tlon and a higher standard of living
demand increasing food supplies, and
* more wool, cotton, hides, and the rest
With the disappearance of free oi
cheap fertile land, additional acreage
and Increased yields can come only
from costly effort. This we need not
expect from an Impoverished or
happy rural population.
It will not do to take a narrow view
of the rural discontent, or to appraise
It from the standpoint of yeslerday
This is peculiarly an age of flux and
change and new deals. Because
thing always has been so no longer
means that It Is righteous, or always
shall be so. More, perhaps, than ever
before, there Is a widespread feeling
that all human relations can be im
proved by taking thought, and that It
is not becoming for the reasoning ani-
mal to leave his destiny largely to
chance and natural Incidence
Prudent and orderly adjustment of
production and distribution in accord-
ance with consumption Is recognized
as wise management in every business
but that of farming. Yet, I venture
to say, there is n<> other Industry In
which it Is so important to the pub-
lic—to the city-dweller—that produc-
tion should be sure, steady, and In-
creasing, and that distribution should
be in proportion to the need. The un-
organized farmers naturally act blind
ly and impulsively and, In conse-
quence, surfeit and dearth, accompa-
nied by disconcerting price-variations,
harass the consumer. One year pota-
toes rot in the fields because of excess
production, and there Is a scarcity of
ask If their trouble Is not ours, and
see what can be done to Improve the
situation. Purely from self-interest,
If for no higher motive, we should
help them. All of us want to get back
permanently to "normalcy;" but Is It
reasonable to hope for that condition
unless our greatest and most basic in
dustry can be put on a sound and solid
permanent foundation? The farmers
are not entitled to special privileges;
but are they not right In demanding
that they be placed on an equal foot-
ing with the buyers of their products
and with other industries?
Ill
Let us, then, consider some of the
farmer's grievances, and see how fat
they are real. In doing so, we should
remember that,*while there have been,
and still are, Instances of purposeful
abuse, the subject should not be ap
proached with any general Imputation
to existing distributive agencies of de
llberately Intentional oppression, but
rather with the conception that the
marketing of farm products has not
been modernized.
An ancient evil, and a persistent
one, Is the undergradlng of farm prtxl
ucts, with the result that what the
farmers sell as of one quality la re
sold as of a higher. That this sort oi
chicanery should persist on any Im
portant scale In these days of busl
ness Integrity would seem almost IB
credible, but there Is much evidence
that It does so persist. Even as I
write, the newspapers announce the
suspension of several firms from tht
New York Produce Exchange for ex
porting to Germany as No. 2 wheat a
whole shipload of grossly Inferior whea'
mixed with oats, chaff and the like.
Another evil Is that of Inaccuran
weighing of farm products, which, li
is charged, Is sometimes a matter o?
dishonest intention and sometimes of
protective policy on the part of the
local buyer, who fears that he maj
weigh out" more than he "weighs in
A greater grievance Is that at pres
ent the field farmer has little or n>
control over the time and condition?
of marketing his products, with the
result that he Is often underpaid foi
his products and usually overcharged
for marketing service. The differ
ence between what the farmer re-
ceives and what the consumer pays
often exceeds all possibility of justi
flcatlon. To cite a single Illustration
Last year, according to figures attest
ed by the railways and the growers.
Georgia watermelon-raisers received
on the average 7.5 cents for a melon,
the railroads got 12.7 cents for carry
Ing I? to Baltimore and the consumer
paid one dollar, leaving 798 cents for
Now that the farmers are stirring,
thinking, and uniting as never before
to eradicate these Inequalities, they
are subjected to stern economic lec-
tures, and are met with the accusation
that they are demanding, and are the
recipients of, special privileges. Let
us see what privileges the government
has conferred oD the fanners. Much
has been made of Section 6 of the
Clayton Anti-Trust Act, which put-
ported to permit them to combine with
Immunity, under certain conditions.
Admitting that, nominally, this ex-
emption was In the nature of a special
privilege,—though I think It was so In
appearance rather than In fact, we
find that the courts have nullified It
by Judicial Interpretation. Why should
not the farmers be permitted to ac-
complish by co-operative methods what
other businesses are already doing by
co-operation In the form of incorpora-
tion? If It be proper for men to form,
by fusion of existing corporations or
otherwise, a corporation that controls
the entire production of a commodity,
or a large part of It, why Is It not
proper for a group of farmers to unite
for the marketing of their common
products, either in one or In several
selling agencies? Why should It be
right for a hundred thousand corporate
shareholders to direct 25 or 30 or 40
per cent of an Industry, and wrong for
a hundred thousand co-operative
farmers to control a no larger propor-
tion of the wheat crop, or cotton, or
any other product?
The Department of Agriculture is
often spoken of as a special concession
to the farmers, but in Its commercial
results, It Is of as much benefit to the
bnyers and consumers of agricultural
products as to the producers, or even
more I do not suppose that anyone
opposes the benefits that the farmers
derive from the educational and re
search work of the department, or the
help that It gives them In working out
improved cultural methods and prac
tices, In developing better yielding va
rletles through breeding and selection.
In introducing new varieties from re-
mote parts of the world and adapting
them to our climate and economic con
dltlon, and In devising practical meas-
ures for the elimination or control of
dangerous and destructive animal and
plant diseases, Insect pests, and the
like All these things manifestly tend
to stimulate and enlarge production,
and their general beneficial effects are
obvious.
It Is complained that, whereas the
law restricts Federal Reserve hanks
to three months' time for commercial
paper, the farmer Is allowed six
months on his notes. This Is no< a
special privilege, but merely such a
recognition of business conditions as
1 makes It possible for country banks
to do business with country people.
The crop farmer has only one turn
over a year, while the merchant and
manufacturer have many. Incidental
ly, I note that the Federal Reserve
of archaic
statutes or the enactment of modern
ones If the anti-trust laws keep the
farmers from endeavoring scientifically
to Integrate their Industry while other
Industries find a way to meet modern
conditions without violating such stat
utes then It would seem reasonable
to find a way for the farmers to meet
them under the same conditions. The
law should operate equally In fact. Re-
pairing the economic structure on one
side is no Injustice to the other side,
which Is In good repair.
We have traveled a long way from
the old conception of government as
merely a defensive and policing agency;
and regulative, corrective, or equaliz-
ing legislation, which apparently Is of
a special nature, Is often of the most
general beneficial consequences. Even
the First Congress passed a tariff act
that was avowedly for the protection
of manufacturers; but a protective
tariff always has been defended as a
means of promoting the general good
through a particular approach; and
the statute books are filled with acts
for the benefit of shipping, commerce,
und labor.
the service of marketing and its risks. j Bonrd has Just authorized the Fed
against 20.2 cents ££ < ixTmSTo
m re^etrsZ'U'j^-m <"« > '
nentaries on the crudeness of pres j ne^e Farrn [^oan banks are pointed
ent practices. ' t0 as Hn instance of special govern-
Nature prescribes that the farmer's ; meIlt favor for farmers. Are they not
"goods" must be finished within two rather the outcome of laudable efforts
or three months of the year, while ' to equalize rural and urban condl-
flnanclal and storage limitations gen ' tlons? And about all the government
erally compel him to sell them at the * does there Is to help -set up an ad-
same time. As a rule, other industries mlnistratlve organization and lend
are in a continuous process of finish j nttle credit «t the start,
ing goods for the markets; they dis
tribute as they produce, und they can
curtail production without too great
Injury to themselves or the eommu
IV
Now, what is the farmer asking?
Without trying to catalogue the re
medial measures that have been sug
gested In his behalf, the principal pro
posals that bear directly on the im
provement of his distributing and mar
keting relations may be summarized as
follows:—
First: storage warehouses for cot
ton, wool, and tobacco, and elevators
for grain, of sufficient cnpacity to meet
the maximum demand on them at the
peak of the marketing period. The
farmer thinks that either private capl
tal must furnish these facilities, or the
state must erect and own the eleva
rors and warehouses.
Second: weighing and grading of
agricultural products, and certification
thereof, to he done by Impartial am)
disinterested public inspectors (th^ is
already accomplished to some extent
by the federal licensing of weighers
and graders), to eliminate underpay-
ing, overcharging, and unfair grading,
and to facilitate the utilization of the
stored products as the basis of credit
Third: a certainty of credit sufficient
to enable the marketing of products
In an orderly manner.
Fourth: the Department of Agrlcul
ture should collect, tnbulate, summa
rlze, and regularly and frequently pub
llsh and distribute to the farmers, full
Information from all the markets of
the world, so that they shall be as well
informed of their selling position as
buyers now are of their buying posl
tlon.
Fifth: freedom to Integrate the busl
ness of agriculture by means of con
solidated selling agencies, co-ordlnat
ing and co-operating In such way as to
put the farmer on an equal footing
with the large buyers of his products
and with commercial relations Iti other
Industries.
When a business requires specialized
ralent, it has to buy it. So will the
farmers; and perhaps the best way for
them to get It would be to utilize some
of the present machinery of the larg
est established agencies dealing In
farm products. Of course, If he wishes,
the farmer may go further and engage
In flour-mlULng and other manufactures
of food products. In my opinion,
however, he would be wise to stop
short of that. Public Interest may be
opposed to all great Integrations; but,
In Justice, should they be forbidden to
the farmer and permitted to others?
The corporate form of association can
not now be wholly adapted to his ob-
jects and conditions. The looser co
self sufficient and did not depend upon,
or care very much, what the great
world was doing. The result Is that
the agricultural group Is almost as
much at a disadvantage in dealing wits£
other economic groups as the Jay farm
er of the funny pages In the hands of
sleek urban confidence men, who sell
him acreage in Central Park or the
Chicago city hall. The leaders of the
farmers thoroughly understand this,
and they are Intelligently striving to
Integrate their Industry so that It will
he on an equal footing with other busi-
nesses.
As an example of Integration, take
the steel Industry, In which the model
Is the United States Steel Corporation,
with its Iron mines, Its coal mines, Its
lake and rail transportation, Its ocean
vessels. Its by-product coke ovens, Its
blast furnaces, Its open hearth and
llessemer furnuces, Its rolling mills, Its
tube mills and other manufacturing
processes that are carried to the high-
est degree of finished production com
patible with the large trade It has
built up. All this Is generally conced
ed to be to the advantage of the con
sumer. Nor does the steel corporation
Inconsiderately dump Its products on
the tnnrket. On the contrary. It so
acts that It Is frequently a stabilizing
Influence, as Is often the case with otlv
er large organizations. It Is master of
Its distribution as well as of Its pro-
duction. if prices are not satisfactory
the products are Iwld back or produc-
tion Is reduced or suspended. It Is not
compelled to send a year's work to the
market at one time and take whatever
It can get under such circumstances,
| It bus one selling policy and Its own
exit >rt department. Neither are thr
grades and qualities of steel determln
ed at the caprice of the buyer, nor does
the latter hold the scales. In this sin
gle Integration of the steel corporation
is represented about 40 per cent of the
steel production of America The rest
Is mostly In the hands of a few larg
companies. In ordlnnry times the
steel corporation, by example, stabilizes
all steel prices. If this Is permissible
(It Is even desirable, because stable
and fair prices are essential to solid
and continued prosperity) why would
It be wrong for the farmers to utilize
central agencies that would have slml
lar effects on agricultural products?
Something like that Is what they are
aiming at.
Some farmers favored by regional
compactness and contiguity, such as the
cltrus-fruit-ralsers of California, al
ready have found a way legally to
merge and sell their products Inte-
grally and In accordance with seasonal
and local demand, thus Improving
their position and rendering the con
sumer a reliable service of ensured
quality, certain supply, and reasonable
and relatively steady prices. They
have not found It necessary to resort
to any special privilege, or to claim
any exemption under the anti-trust
legislation of the state orn itlcn. With
out removing local control, they ^ave
built up a very efficient marketing
agency. The grain, cotton, and to-
bacco farmers, and the producers of
hides and wool, because of their num
bers aud the vastness of their regions
and for other reasons, have found
Integration a more difficult task;
obstruction of their upward efTorta.
We, as city people, see In high and
srjculatlvely manipulated prices,
waste, scarcity, the results
^JjuJeMttlre distribution of farm pr. d-
> #jS(i.,s^wld it not occur to us that
w« have a common interest with the
farmer In his attempts to attain a de-
gree of efficiency In distribution cor-
responding to his efficiency In produc-
tion? Dn not the recent fluctuations
In the May wheat option, apparently
unrelated to normal Interaction of
supply and demand, offer a timely
proof of the need of some such stabil-
izing agency as the grain growers have
in contemplation?
It Is contended that, If their pro-
posed organizations be perfected and
operated, the farmers will have in
their hands an Instrument that will be
capable of dangerous abuse. We are
told that It will be possible to pervert
It to arbitrary and oppressive prlce-
flxlng from Its legitimate use of order-
ing and stabilizing the flow of farm
products to the market, to the mutual
benefit of producer and consumer. 1
have no apprehensions on this point.
In the first place, a loose organiza-
tion, such as any union of farmers
must be at best, cannot be so arbi-
trarily and promptly controlled as a
great corporation. The one Is a lum-
bering democracy and the other an agile
autocracy. In the second place, with
all possible power of org nlzntlon, the
farmers cannot succeed to any great
extent, or for any considerable length
of time, In fixing prices. The great
law of supply and demand works In
various and surprising ways, to the
undoing of the best laid plans that
attempt to foil It. In the third place,
their power will avail the farmers
nothing If It be ahused. In our time
country power is of value to Its
possessor only so long as It Is not
■bused. It is fair to say that I have
no signs In responsible quarters
of a disposition to dictate prices.
There seems, on the contrary, to be a
commonly beneficial purpose to realize
a stability that will glv> an orderly
d abundant flow of farm products
to the consumer and ensure reasonable
and dependable returns to the pro-
ducer.
In view <yf the supreme Importance
to the national well-being of a pros-
perous and contented agricultural pop-
ulation, we should be prepared to go
long way In assisting the fnrmers to
get an equitable share of the wealth
they produce, through the Inaugura-
tion of reforms that will procure a
continuous and Increasing stream of
farm products. They are far from get-
ting a fair share now. Considering
his capital and the long hours of labor
put In by the average farmer and his
family, he Is remunerated less than
any other occupational class, with the
possible exception of teachers, reli-
gious and lay. Though we know that
the present general distress of the
farmers is exceptional and Is Hiked
with the Inevitable economic readjust-
ment following the war, It must be
remembered that, although represent-
ing one-third of the Industrial product
and half the total population of the
nation, the rural communities ordl-
mturratlon a more utuicuu man, ««" . -•
tough there .re nn« some thousands narll, enjw but ,, fifth to a quarter■
Eventually
Ible, to resort to co-operation with his
fellows and neighbors, without run
nlng afoul of the law. To urge that
the farmers should have the same lib-
erty to consolidate and co-ordinate
their peculiar economic functions,
which other Industries In their fields
the farmers will provide all the capi- enjoy, Is not, however, to concede that
tal and carry all the liabilities them- any business Integration should have
«etves It Is true that Farm Loan legislative sanction to exercise monop-
bonds are tax exempt; but so are • ollstlc power. The American people
honds of municipal light and traction j are as firmly ..pposed to Industrial as
output, It is with disastrous conse- plants, and new housing Is to be ei- ; to^l^iMl jutocracy, w e er a
quences, both to himself
rommunlty.
The average farmer Is busy with On the other hand, the farmer reads
production for the major part of the 0f plans for municipal housing proj-
ects that run Into the billions, of hun
of farmer's co-operative elevators
warehouses, creameries, and other en
terprlses of one sort and another, with
a turn-over of a billion dollers a year,
They are giving the farmers business
experience and training, and, so far
as they go, they meet the need of
honest weighing a nd fair grading; but
they do not meet the requirements of
rationally adjusted marketing In any
large and fundamental way.
The next step, which will be a pat
tern for other groups, is now being
prepared by the grain-raisers through
the establishment of sales media which
shall handle grain separately or col
lectlvely, as the Individual farmer may
elect. It Is this step—the plan of the
Committee of Seventeen—which has
created so much opposition and Is
thought by some to be In conflict with
the anti-trust laws. Though there Is
now before congress a measure de
signed to clear up doubt on this point
operative form seems more generally ! the grain-producers are not relying on
suitable. Therefore, he wishes to be any Immunity from anti-trust leglsla-
free If he finds It desirable and feas- j tlon. They desire, and they are en-
titled, to co-ordinate their efforts Just
nitv; but If the farmer restricts hlJ
rous conse niants anu ntr r , , . , , .
and to the empt from taxation, In New York, for , tempted by rural or by urban Industry
1 For lack of united effort the farmers
ten year • ' .jB . whole are still marketing their
year, and has nothing to sell. The
bulk of bis output comes on the mar
ket at once. Because of lack of stor
age facilities and of financial support,
the farmer cannot carry his goods
through the year and dispose of them
as they are currently needed In the
great majority of cases, farmers have
to entrust storage—in warehouses and
elevators—and the financial carrying
of their products to others.
Farm products are generally mar
keted at a time when there is a con
the things that have been displaced gestlon of both transportation ami
to make "way for the expansion of the finance—when cars and money are
potato acreage; next year the punish-
ed farmers mass their fields on some
other crop, and potatoes enter the
class of luxuries; and so on.
Agriculture Is the greatest and fun-
damentally the most important of our
American industries. The cities are
but the branches of the tree of na-
tional life, the roots of which go deep-
ly Into the land. We all flourish or
decline with the farmer. So, when we
scarce. The outcome. In many in
stances, is that the farmers nut onl>
sell under pressure, and therefore at
a disadvantage, but are compelled to
take further reductions In net returns,
IE. order to meet the charges for the
service of storing, transporting, flnan<-
ing, and ultimate marketing—which
charges they claim, are often exces
slve, fcear heavily on both consume:
and producer, and are under the con
of the cities read of the present nnl- j trol of those performing the services
rersal distress of the farmers, of a It Is true that they are relieved of
■* ' " ^ - changing marfcPI hi
dreds of millions annually spent on
the merchant marine; he reads that
the railways are being favored with
Increased rates and virtual guaranties
of earnings by the government, with
the result to him of an 'ncreased toll
oo all that he sells and all that he
buys. He hears of many manlfesta
tlons of governmental concern for par-
ticular industries and Interests. Res
tulng the railways from insolvency is
undoubtedly for the benefit of the
country as a whole, but what can be
of more general benefit than encour-
agement of ample production of the
principal necessaries of life and their
even flow from contented producers to
satisfied consumers?
While it may be conceded that
special governmental aid may be nec-
essary In the general Interest, we must
all agree that it Is difficult to see why
agriculture and the production and dis-
tribution of farm products are not ac-
corded the same opportunities that are
provided for other businesses; espe-
clallv as the enjoyment by the farmer
rf winh nnnn-Timll'f? "T"ld
as a whole are still marketing thel
crsps by antiquated methods, or by no
methods at all. but they are surrounded
by a business world that has been
modernized to the last minute and Is
tirelessly striving for efficiency. This
efficiency Is due In large measure to
big business, to united business, to In
tegrated business. The farmers now
seek the benefits of such largeness, un-
ion and integration.
The American farmer Is a modern of
the moderns In the use of labor saving
machinery, and he has made vast
strides In recent years In scientific
tillage and efficient farm management,
but as a business in contact with other
businesses agirculture Is a "one horse
shay" In competition with high power
automobiles. The American farmer Is
the greatest and most Intractable of
individualists. While industrial pro-
duction and all phases of the huge com-
mercial mechanism and Its myriad ac-
cessories have articulated and co-ordi-
nated themselves all the way from nat-
ural raw materials to retail sales, the
business of agriculture has gone on In
much the one man fashion of the kack
•roods
aim
as effectively as the large business In
terests of the country have done. In
connection with the selling organiza-
tions the United States Grain Growers
Incorporated Is drafting a scheme of
financing Instrumentalities and auxill
ary agencies which are Indispensable
to the successful utilization of modern
business methods.
It Is essential that the farmers
should proceed gradually with these
plans, and aim to avoid the error of
scrapping the existing marketing ma
chinery, which lias been so laboriously
built up by long experience, before
they have a tried and proved substi-
tute or supplementary mechanism.
They must be careful not to become
enmeshed In their own reforms and
I use the perspective of their place in
the national system. They must guard
against fanatical devotion to new doc-
trines, and should seek articulation
with the general economic system
rather than Its reckless destruction as
It relates to them.
To take a tolerant anrt sympathetic
view of the farmers' strivings for bet-
ter tilings is not to give a blanket
endorsement to any specific plan, and
still less to applaud the vagaries of
some of their leaders and groups.
Neither should we, on the other hand,
allow the froth of bitter agitation,
false economics, and mistaken radical-
ism to conceal the facts of the farm-
ers' disadvantages, and the practlcabll-
I ity of eliminating them by well-con-
! sidered measures. It may be that the
farmers will not show the business
i sagacity and develop the wise leader-
of the first part of the nine- j Bhip to carry through sound plans; but
the net annual national gain. Notwith-
standing the taste of prosperity that
the farmers had during the war, there
Is today a lower standard of living
among the cotton farmers of the South
than In any other pursuit in the country.
In conclusion, it seems to me thpt the
farmers are chiefly striving for a gen-
erally beneficial Integration of their
business, of the same kind and charac-
ter that other business enjoys. If It
should be found on examination that
the attainment of this end requires
methods different from those which
other activities have followed for the
same purpose should we not sympa-
thetically consider the plea for the
right to co-operate, If only from our
own enlightened self Interest, In ob-
taining un abundant and steady flow of
farm products?
In examining the agricultural sltun
tlon with a view to its Improvement,
we shall be most helpful If we main-
tain a detached and Judicial viewpoint,
remembering that existing wrongs may
be chiefly an accident of unsymmetrl- ,
cal economic growth instead of a crea-
tion of malevolent design and conspira-
cy. We Americans are prone, as Pro-
fessor David Friday well says In his
admirable book. "Profits, Wages and
Prices," to seek a "criminal intent be-
hind every difficult and undesirable eco-
nomic situation.*' I can positively as-
sert from my contact with men of
large affairs, including bankers, that,
as a whole, they are endeavoring to
fulfill as they see them the obligations
that go with their power. Preoccupied
with the grave problems and heavy
tasks of their own Immediate nffalrs,
they have not turned their thoughtful
personal attention or their construc-
tive abilities to the deficiencies of agri-
cultural business organization. Agri-
culture, It may be said, suffers from
their preoccupation and neglect rather
than from any purposeful exploitation
by them. They ought now to begin to
respond to the farmers' difficulties,
which they must realize are their own.
On the other hand, my contacts with
the farmers have filled me with respect
for them—for their sanity, their pa-
tience, their balance. Within the last
year, and particularly at a meeting
called by the Kansas State Board of
Agriculture and at another called by
the Committee of Seventeen, 1 have
met many of the leaders of the new
farm movement, and I testify in all
sincerity that they are endeavoring to
deal wlih their problems, not as pro-
moters of a narrow class Interest, not
as exploiters of the hapless consumer,
not as merciless monopolists, but as
honest ment bent on the improvement
• f the common weal. j
We can and must meet aucb men
and such a cause half way. Their
ouslneaa Is our biisinesa—the nation's
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Stevens, Arthur J. The Gate Valley Star (Gate, Okla.), Vol. 16, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 16, 1922, newspaper, March 16, 1922; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc168462/m1/3/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.