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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 1922)
THE NORTH PLATTE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE i i; i ft & t 5, ' sit ( 4'! t I 1 I Some Aspects of the Farmers' Problems By BERNARD M. BARUCH (Reprinted from The wholo rural world is In a tor xnont of unrest, and thcro Is an un paralleled volumo and Intensity of de termined, If not angry, protest, and an ominous swarming of occupational con ferences, Interest groupings, political movements and propaganda. Such a turmoil cannot but arrest our atten tion. Indeed, It demands our careful study and examination. It 1b not like ly that six million aloof and ruggedly Independent men hnvo como togcthci and banded themselves Into nctlvt unions, societies, farm bureaus, and go forth, for no sufficient cause. Investigation of the subject conclu Blvcly proves that, while there Is much overstatement of grievances nnd mis conception of remedies, the furmen are right In complaining of wronga 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 enso 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 40 per cent of tho population, It Is ob vious that tho subject Is ono of grave concern. Not only do tho fnrmcra mnko up one-half of tho nation, but the well-being of the other hulf de pends upon them. So long as wo have nations, a wise polltclal economy will aim at a large! uegrco of national solf-sufllclcncy and self-contulnmcut. Home fell when the food supply was too far removed from tho belly. Like her, we shall destroy our own agriculture and extond our ( sources of food dlstuntly and prcenrl "ously, If wo do not see to It that our farmers are well and fairly paid for their services. Tho farm gives the nation men as well as food, Cities dorlvo their vitality and nro forever renewed from tho country, but an Im poverished countrysldo exports Intelli gence nnd retains unlntclllgcnce. Only tho lower .grades of mentality and character will remain on, or seek, tho farm, unless agriculture Is capable of being pursued' with contentment nnd adequate compensation. Ilence, to em-1 bitter and Impoverish tho farmer Is to (dry up and contaminate the vital Sources of tho nation. Tho war showed convincingly how dependent tho nation Is on tho full productivity of the farms. Despite herculean efforts, agricultural produc tion kept only n few weeks or months nhend of consumption, nnd that only by Increasing tho acroago of certain staple crops bt the cost of reducing that of others. We ought not to for get that lesson when wo ponder op the furmor'8 problems. They nre truly common problems, and there should bo no attempt to dual with them as If they were purely selfish demands of n cleur-cut group, antagonistic to tho rest of the community, Rather should we consider agriculture In the light of llrmul national policy, Just as wo consider oil, coal, steel, dye stuffs, and so forth, as sinews of na tional strength. Our growing popula tion nnd a higher standard Of living demand Increasing food supplies, nnd more wool, cotton, hides, nnd tho rest. With the disappearance of free or cheap fertile land, additional acreage and Increased yields can come only from costly effort. This we need not expect from nn Impoverished or un happy rural population, It will not do to tnke a nnrrow vlow of the rural discontent, or to appraise It from the standpoint of yesterday This Is peculiarly an ago of flux and chango and new dcnls. Recnuso thing always has been so no longer means that It Is righteous, or always shnll be so. More, perhaps, tlinn ever before, there Is a widespread feeling that all human relations can be ltu proved by taking thought, nnd that It Is not becoming for tho reasoning nnl mal to leave his destiny lnrgcly to chanco and natural Incidence. Prudent and orderly adjustment of production and distribution In accord anco with consumption Is recognized as wise management In every business but that of farming. Yet, I venturo to Bay, thcro Is no other Industry In which It Is so Important to the pub licto tho clty-dwcllor that produc tion should bo sure,, steady, nnd In creasing, nnd that distribution should be in proportion to tho need. Tho un organized farmers naturally act blind ly and Impulsively and, In conse quence, surfeit nnd dearth, accompa nied by disconcerting prlco-vurlntlons, harass tho consumer. Ono year pota toes rot In the fields because of excess production, and thcro Is a scarcity of tho things that havo been displaced to mnko wny for tho expansion of tho potato acreago; next year tho punish ed farmers mass their fields on some other crop, nnd potatoes enter the class of luxuries; nnd so on. Agriculture Is tho greatest and fun damentally tho most Important of our American Industries. The cities nre but the branches of tho tree of na tional Hfo, tho roots of which go deep ly Into tho land. we all flourish or decline with the fnrmor. So, when wo ef tho cities read of tho present unl vtrsal distress of tho farmers, of a lump of six billion dollars In the farm value of their crops In n single1 year, Atlantic Monthly) of their inability to meet mortgages or to pay current bills, and how, seeking relief from their Ills, they nre plan ning to form pools, Innugurato farm ers' strikes, and demand legislation abolishing grain exchunges, private cattle markets, and thq like, we ought not hastily to brand them as economic heretics and highwaymen, and hurl at them tho charge of being seekers of special privilege. Rather, we should ask If their trouble Is not ours, and sco what can bo dono 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 bo put on a sound and solid permanent foundation? Tho farmers aro not entitled to special privileges; but arc they not right lu demanding thnt they be placed on nn equal foot ing with the buyers of tholr products and with other Industries? II Let us, then, consider some of the farmer's grievances, nnd see how far they nro real. In doing so, we should rcmomber that, while there have been, nnd still nre, Instances of purposeful abuse, tho subject should not be ap proached with any general Imputation to existing distributive agencies of de liberately Intcntlonnl oppression, but rather with tho conception that the marketing of fnrm products has not been modernized. j An ancient evil, and a persistent one, Is the undergradlng of farm prod ucts, with tho result that what tho farmers sell as of one quality Is re sold ns of u higher. That this sort of ehlcnncry should persist on any Im portant scale In these days of busi ness Integrity would seem almost In credible, but there Is much evidence thnt It does so persist. Even as I write, the newspapers announce the suspension of" several firms from the Now York Produce. Exchnnge for ex porting to Germany as No. 2 wheat a Whole shipload of grossly Inferior wheat mixed with oats, chaff .and the like. Another evil Is thnt of Inaccurate weighing of farm products, which, it Is charged, Is sometimes u matter of dishonest Intention and sometimes of protective policy on the part of tho local buyer, who fenrs that ho may "weigh out" more than he "weighs In." A greater grlevnnco Ib that nt pres ent the Held farmer has little or no control over the tlmo nnd 'conditions of marketing his products, with the result that he Is often underpaid for his products and usually overcharged for marketing service. The differ ence bctwoon what tho farmer re ceives and what tho consumer pays often exceeds all possibility of Justi fication. To cite a single Illustration. Last year, according to figures attest ed by tho railways and tho growers, Georgia watermelon-raisers received on tho nverago 7.5 cents for a melon, tho railroads got 12.7 cents for carry ing It to Baltimore and the consumer paid ono dollar, leaving 70,8 cents for tho service of murketlng and Its risks, as against 20.2 cents for growing und transporting. Tho hard annals of farm-llfo nro rcpleto with such com mentaries on tho crudeness of pres ent practices. Nature prescribes that tho farmer's "floods" must bo finished within two or three months of the year, while flnanclnl and storago limitations gen erally compel him to sell them nt the same tlmo. As n rule, other Industries are In a continuous process of finish ing goods for tho markets; they dis tribute ns they produce, and they can curtail production without too great Injury to themselves or tho commu nity; but If tho farmer restricts his output, it is with disastrous conse quences, both to himself and to the community. The nverngo farmer Is busy with production for tho major part of tho year, and hns nothing to sell. The bulk of his output comes on the mar ket at once. Decnuso of lack of stor ago facilities and of flnanclnl support, tho farmer cannot carry his goods through tho yenr and dispose of them ns they aro currently needed. In the great majority of cases, farmers havo to entrust Btorngo In warehouses nnd elevators and the financial carrying or tneir products to others. Farm products are genorally mar ketcd at a tlmo when there Is a con gestlon of both transportation nnd e i . iiuuui-a wiica cars ana money are Bcarce. The outcome, In many in stances, Is that tho farmers not only sell under pressure, and therofore at a dlsndvantnge, but nro compelled to take further reductions in net 'returns. In order to meet tho charges for the service of storing, transporting, financ ing, and ultimate marketing which charges they claim, are often exces slve, bear heavily on both consumer and producer, nnd are under the con trol of thoso performlns tho services, It Ic truo thnt they nro relieved of the risks of n changing market by selling at once out they are qulto will Ing to tnke the unfavorable chance, if the favorable ono nlso Is theirs and they can rctnln for themselves a part of the service charges that are unl- I form, In good jenrs and bad, with high prices and low. While, In the main, the farmer must sell, regardless of market conditions, ' at the time of the maturity of crops, ' he cannot suspend productlou In toto. lie must go on producing if tin Is to go on living, ana If tho world is to exist The most he can do is to curtail pro duction a llttlo or alter Its form, and that because' he Is In the dark as to : tho probable demand for his goods I may be only to Jump from the frying pan Into tho fire, taking the consumer with him. Even tho dnlry farmers, whose out put Is not sensonnl, complain that they fQid themselves at a disadvantage In the marketing of their productions, especially raw milk, because of the high costs of distribution, which they must ultimately bear. in Now thnt tho farmers are stirring, thinking, and uniting as never before to crndlcato theso" Inequalities, they are subjected to stern economic lec tures, and are met with the accusation that they are demanding, and nro tho recipients of, spcclnl privileges. Let us see what privileges the government has conferred on tho fanners. Much hns been mndo of Section 0 of the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, which pur ported to permit thorn to comblno with Immunity, under certain conditions. Admitting that, nominally, this ex emption was In the nnture of a special privilege, though I think It vas bo In nppenrnnce rather than In fact, wo 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 nre 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 tho entire production of n commodity, or a large part of It, why Is It not proper for n group of farmers to unite for the marketing of their common products, either In ono or in several selling agencies? Why should It be right for a hundred thousand corporate shareholders to direct 25 or 80 or 40 per cent of an Industry, nnd wrong for a hundred thousand co-operative farmers to control a no larger propor tion of the wheat crop, or cotton, or nny other product? The Department of Agriculture Ib often spoken of ns a special concession to the farmers, but In Its commercial results, It Is 'of as much benefit to the buyers nnd consumers of agricultural products as to the producers, or even more. I do not suppose that anyond 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 rieties through breeding and selection. In introducing new varieties from re mote parts of the world nnd adapting them to our climate and economic con dition, nnd In devising practical mens ures for the elimination or control of dnnKcrous and destructive animal and plnnt diseases, Insect pests, and the like. All theso things manifestly tend to stimulate nnd enlarge production, and their general beneficial effects are obvious. It is complained that, whereas the law restricts Federal Reserve banks to three months' tlmo for commercial paper, the farmer Is allowed six months on his 'notes. This is not a special privilege, but merely such a recognition of business conditions, as makes It possible for country banks to do business with country people. The crop farmer has only one turn over a yenr, while tho merchant nnd manufacturer hnve many. Incidental ly, I note that the Federal Reserve Board has Just authorized tno fed eral Reserve banks to discount export paper for a period of six months, to conform to the nature of the busi ness. The Farm Loan bnnks nro pointed to ns an Instance of speclnl govern ment favor for farmers. Aro they not rather tho outcorao of laudable efforts to equalize rural and urban condi tions? And nbout nil the government does there Is to help set up an ad mlnlstrntlve organization nnd lend a llttlo- credit at tho Btart. Eventually the farmers will provldo all tho capl tal and carry all tho liabilities them selves. It Is truo that Farm Loan bonds are tax exempt; but so are bonds of municipal light and traction plants, and new housing Is to be ox empt from taxation, In New York, for ten years. On the other hand, the farmer reads of plans for municipal hot;lng proj ects that run Into the billions, of hun dreds of millions annually spent on tho merchant marine; he rends that the railways aro being' favored with Increased rates and virtual guaranties of onrnlngs by tho government, with the result to him nt an 'ncrenscd toll on nil that ho sells and all that ho liuys. no hears of many manifesta tions of governmental concern for par tlculnr Industries and Interests. Res cuing tho railways from insolvency la undoubtedly for tho benefit of the country ns a whole, but what can be of more general benefit thnn encour agement of nmplo production of the principal necessaries of Ufo nnd their even flow from contented producers to satisfied consumers'? Whllo It may be conceded that spcclnl governmental aid may be nec essary In tho goncrnl interest, wo must all ngrco thnt It Is difficult to see why agriculture and tho production and dls trlbutlon of farm products are not ac corded the snmo opportunities that are provided for other businesses; espe cially as the enjoyment by the farmer of such opportunities would appear to be oven mora contributory to the gen eral good than In tho case of other Industries. The spirit of American democracy Is unalterably opposed, alike to enacted spcclnl privilege and to the special privilege of unequal op portunity that' arises automatically from the failure to correct glaring economic Inequalities. I am opposed to tho Injection of government Into business, but I do believe thnt It Is an ! essentlnl function of democratic gov ernment to equalize opportunity so fnr as It Is within Its power to do so, whether by the repeal of archaic statutes or the ennctment of modern ones. If the anti-trust laws keep the farmers from cndenvorlng scientifically ,to Integrate their Industry while other industries find a way to meet modern conditions without violating such Btnt otes, 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 n defensive and policing ngency ; and regulntlve, 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 hns been defended ns a means of promoting the general good through n particular approach ; and the stntute books, nre filled with acts for the benefit of shipping, commerce, nnd labor. IV Now, whnt is the farmer asking? Without trying to catnlogue the re medial measures that hnve been sug gested in his behnlf, the principal pro posals that benr directly on the Im provement of his distributing and mar keting relations may be summarized as follows: First J storage warehouses for cot ton, wool, nnd tobneco, nnd elevators for grain, of sufficient capacity to meet the maximum demand on them nt the peak of the mnrketlng period. The fanner thinks that either private capi tal must furnish these facilities, or the state must erect nnd own the eleva tors nnd warehouses. Second: weighing and grading of agricultural products, and certification thereof, to be dnn by Impartial and disinterested public Inspectors (this Is already accomplished to some extent by the federal Shenslng of weighers and graders), to eliminate underpay ing, overcharging, nnd unfnlr grading, and to facilitate the utilization of the stored products ns the basis of credit. Third : n cortnlnry of credit sufficient to ennble the mnrketlng of products In nn orderly manner. Fourth: the Department of Agricul ture should collect, tabulate, summa rize, and regulnrly und frequently pub lish and distribute tp the fnrnifr.s. full Information from' all the markets of the world, so that they shall be ns well Informed of their selling position ns buyers now nre of their buying posi tion. Fifth: freedom to Integrate the busi ness of agriculture by means of con solidated selling ngencfes, co-ordinating nnd co-operating In such wny as to put the farmer on an equal footing with the lnrge buyers of his products, and with commercial relations In other Industries. When a business requires specialized talent, It hns 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 lnrg est established agencies dealing In farm products. Of coursej if he wishes, the farmer may go further and engage In flour-mllllng nnd other manufactures of food products. In my opinion, however, he would be wise to stop short of that. Public Interest may be opposed to nil groat 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 operative form seems more generally suitable. Therefore, he wishes to be free, If he finds it desirable nnd feas ible, to resort to co-operation with his fellows nnd neighbors, without run- '( nlng afoul of the law. To urgo thnt tho farmers should have the same lib erty to consolidate and co-ordinate their peculiar economic functions, which other Industries In their fields enjoy, Is not, however, to concede that any business Integration should have legislative sanction to exercise monop olistic power. Tho American people are as firmly opposed to Industrial ns to political autocracy, whether at tempted by rm.M'or by urban Industry. For inr-k of united effort the fnrmers as a wind am itlll mnrkflng their crops hy -d metlioi' r by no method they n. t oiyuled by n hUHifiess world thai ius liven modernized to tho last minute nnd Is tirelessly striving for efficiency. Tills efficiency Is duo In large mensuro to big business, to united business, to In legratcd 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 nglrculturo la a "ono horse shay" in competition with high power automobiles. Tho American farmer is the grcntest and most Intractable of Individualists, While industrial pro duction and all phases of the huge com mercial mechanism and Us myriad ac cessories have articulated and co-ordi nated themselves all tho way from nat urnl raw materials to retail sales, the business of agriculture has gone on In much the one man fashion of the back woods of the first part of tho nine teenth century, when the farmer was self sufficient and did m,t depend upon, or enro very much, what the great world was doing. The result Is that the agricultural group Is almost as much at a disadvantage In dealing with other economic groups as the Jny farm er of the funny pnges 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 Btrlvlng to Integrate their Industry so thnt It will be on an cqunl footing with other busi nesses. As nn cxnmplo of Integration, take the steel Industry, In which tho model Is the United Stntes Steel Corporation, with its Iron mines. Its coal mines, Its lake nnd rail transportation, Its ocean vessels, Its by-product coke ovens, Its blnst furnaces, Its open hearth und Bessemer furnaces, Its rolling mills, Its tube mills and other mnnufacturlng processes thnt are carried to the high est degree of finished production com pntlble with the large trade It ha built up, All this Is generally conced ed to be to tho ad vantage of the con sumer. Nor does the steel corporation Inconsiderately dump Its products on the market. On the contrary, It so acts that It Is frequently a stabilizing Influence, ns Is often the case with oth er large organizations. It Is master of Its distribution ns well as of Its pro duction. If prices nre not satisfactory the products are held back or produc tion Is reduced or suspended. It Is not compelled to send a year's work to the market nt one time nnd take whatever It can get under such circumstances. It has one selling policy nnd its own export department. Neither nre the grades and qualities of steel determin ed nt tho caprice of the buyer, nor does the latter hold tho scales. In this sin gle Integration of the steel corporation Is represented nbout 40 per cent of the steel production -of Amerlcn. The rest Is mostly In the hnnds of n few large companies. In ordinary times the steel corporation, by exnmple, stabilizes nil 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 bo wrong for the furmers to utilize central agencies thnt would have simi lar effects on ngrlculturnl products? Something like that Is what they are aiming at. Some farmers favored by regional compactness and contiguity, such ns the cltrus-frult-rnlsers of California, al ready have found n wny legally to merge and sell their products Inte grally nnd In accordance with seasonal and local demand, thus Improving their position nnd rendering the con sumer n reliable sendee 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 stnte or nation. With-, out removing local control, they have built up a very efficient marketing agency. The grain, cotton, nnd to bacco farmers, and tho producers of hides and wool, because of their num bers nnd tlie vnstness of their regions, and for other reasons, have found Integration a more difficult task; though there are now some thousands of farmer's co-operative elevators, warehouses, creameries, and other en terprises of one sort and another, with a turn-over of n billion dollers n year. They nre giving the fnrmers business experience nnd training, and, so far as they go, they meet the need of honest weighing nnd fair grading; but they do not meet the requirements of rationally ndjusted marketing In any largo nnd fundamental way. The next step, which will bo a pat tern for other groups, is now being prepared by tho grain-raisers through the establishment of snles media which shall handle grain separately or col lectively, ns the Individual farmer may elect. It Is this step the plan of the Committee of Soventeen which has created so much opposition and Is thought by some to be In conflict with the nntl-trust laws. Though there Is now before congress a measure de signed to clear up doubt on this point, the grain-producers nre not relying on any Immunity from anti-trust legisla tion. They desire, and they nre en titled, to co-ordlnnte tholr efforts Just as effectively as tho large business In terests of tho country have done. In connection with tho selling organiza tions tho United States Grain Growers Incorporated Is drafting a scheme of financing Instrumentalities and auxili ary agencies which are Indispensable to tho successful utilization of modern business methods. It Is essential that the far.uers should proceed gradually with these plans, nnd alm to nvold tho error of scrapping the existing mnrketlng ma chinery, which has been so laboriously built up by long experience, before they hnve a tried and proved substi tute or -'Momentary ii'-linnlsm, The.v in" ' ''fill m"' -no ennii'suci, own m lose the perspective of tin.. .iu.-e In the national system. They must ynnrd 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 tako a tolerant and. sympathetic view of tho farmers' strivings for bet ter things Is not to give a blanket endorsement to nny specific plan, and still less to npplnud the vagaries of somo of their leaders nnd groups. Neither should we, on tho other hnnd, allow tho froth of bitter notation, false economics, nnd mistaken radical ism to conceal the facts of the farm ers' disadvantages, nnd the practicabil ity of eliminating them by well-con-sldercd measures. It may bo thnt the farmers will not show the business sagacity nnd develop the wlso leader ship to carry through sound plans ; but that possibility does not Justify the obstruction of their upward efforts. We, ns city people, see In high nnd speculatively manipulated prices, spoilage, waste, scarcity, the results of defective distribution of farm prod ucts. Should It not occur to us that we havo a common Interest with the farmer In his attempts to attain n de greo of efllclencj In distribution cor responding to his efficiency In produc tion? Do 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 somo such stabil izing ngency ns the grain growers have In contemplation? It Is contended thnt, If their pro posed organizations bo perfected nnd operated, the farmers will havo in their hands nn Instrument that will be capable of dangerous abuse. We nro told thnt It (will bo possible to pervert It to nrbltrnry and oppressive prlce flxlng from Its legitimate use of order ing nnd stabilizing the flow of farm products to the market, to tho mutual benefit of producer nnd' consumer. I have no apprehensions on this point. In the first place, a loose organiza tion, such ns nny union of fanners must be at best, ennnot bo so nrbi trarlly and promptly controlled ns a grent corporation. Tho one' Is n lum bering democracy and the other an nglle autocracy. In the second place, with all possible power of organization, the fnrmers cannot succeed to nny great extent, or for nny considerable length, of time, In fixing prices. The great law of supply nnd demnnd works In various nnd surprising ways, to the undoing of tho best laid plans that attempt to foil it. In the third plnce, their power will avail the farmers nothing if it be abused. In our time and country power Is of vnluo to its possessor only so long as It is not abused. It Is fair to say that I have seen no sighs In responsible quarters of n disposition to dlr-tutc prices. There seems, on the contrary, to bo ii commonly beneflclnl purpose to realize a stability that will givi an orderly nnd nbundant flow of farm proddcts to tho consumer and ensure rcnsonable and dependable returns to the pro ducer. In view of the supreme Importance (o the national well-being of a pros perous and contented ngrlculturnl pop ulntlon, we should be prepared to go a long wny in assisting the fnrmers to get nn 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 nre far from get ting a fair share now. Considering his capital nnd the long hours of Inbor put In by the average farmer nnd his family, lie Is remunerated less than any other occupational class, with the possible exception of teachers, rell "glous nnd lay. Though wo know that the present general distress of the farmers. Is exceptional nnd Is linked with the Inevitable economic readjust ment following the war, It must be remembered that, although represent ing one-third of the Industrial product nnd hnlf the total population of the nation, the rural communities ordi narily enjoy but n fifth to a quarter of the net annual natlonaf gain. Notwith standing the tnste of prosperity that the furmers had during the wnr, there Is today a lower standard of living among the cotton fnrmers of the South than In nny other pursuit In the country. In conclusion, it seems to me that the farmers are chiefly striving for a gen erally beneficial .Integration of their business, of the same kind nnd charac ter that other business enjoys. If It should be found on examination that tho attainment of this end requires methods different from those which other nctlvltles 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 an abundant and steady flow of: farm products? In examining the agricultural situa tion with n view to Its Improvement; we shall be most helpful If we main-; tain n detached and judicial viewpoint,, remembering that existing wrongs may be chiefly an accident of unsymmetri cal economic growth Instead of a cren tlon of malevolent design and conspira cy. Wo Amerlcnns nro prone, ns Pro fessor David Friday well Bays In his admirable book, "Profits, Wages and Prices," to seek a "criminal Intent be hind every difficult nnd undesirable eco nomic situation." I can positively as sort from my contnet with men of large affairs, Including bankers, that, as n 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 affairs, they have not turned their thoughtful personnl attention or thetr construc tive iV" " the deflclenc'" of ngrl eulT" -i '" orgnnl:-.ii' Airrl- OU.I Ji'l' ' r their ' if m -""I tlinn fro i ,i..-po?f-.i .n..-;n. by them. Tliey ought now l. '.f,u, t, respond to tho fnrmors' difficulties, which they must realize aro their own. On the other hand, my contacts with the farmers have filled mo with respect for them for their sanity, their pa tience, their balance. Within the last year, and particularly at n meeting called by the Kansas State Board of Agriculture and nt another culled by the Committee of Seventeen, I have met many of the lenders of the new farm movement, nnd I testify In all sincerity thnt they nre endeavoring to deal with their problems, not ns pro moters of a narrow class Interest, not as exploiters of the hapless consumer, not ns merciless monopolists, but as honest ment bent on the Improvement of tho common weal. j Wo can nnd must meet such men and such a cause half way. Their business Is our business tho nation's business. i, i
