| OCR Text |
Show PAYROLL OF GIVILIZATION II ipin WANTS NO "DEADHEADS" ON LIST OF EMPLOYES. A CALL UPON THE LAW MAKERS TO PREVENT USELESS TAX UPON AGRICULTURE. By Peter Radford Lecturer Nutlonui Farmers' Union Tlio furiuer Is tho paymaster of industry and us such tie must meet the nation's payroll When Industry pays Its bill It must make u sight draft upon agriculture for the amount, A'hlch the farmer Is compelled to honor without protest This check drawn upon agriculture may travel to ind fro over tho hlglivas of commerce; com-merce; may build cities; girdle tho lobe with bunds of steel; may .search Mddcn treasures In the earth or traverse the skies, but In thu end It will rest upon tho soli No dollar a lit remain suspended In midair, It Is is certain to seek tho earth's surface as an apple that falls from a tree When a fanner buys a plow he payc tho man who mined thu metal tho Aoodman who felled tho tree, tho manufacturer nho uBscmblcd tho raw material and shaped It Into an ur tlclo of usefulness tho railroad that transported It and tho dealer who sold him tho goods Ho pays tho wnges of labor und capltnl omplojed m the transaction ns well us pays for tho tools machinery, buildings otc used In tho construction of tin-commodity tin-commodity nnd the same applies to all articles of use und diet of linn self and those engiiEed In tho subsidiary sub-sidiary Hues of Industry There Is no payroll In civilization Hint dots not rest upon tho back of tho farmer He must pay tho bills nil of them Tho total value of the nations annual ugrlculturul products ts around J12.000.000.000 and It Is safe to estimate esti-mate that 95 cents on every dollnr goes to meeting the expenses of hum sldlnry Industries Tho farmer does not work more than tblrt minutes por day for himself; tho remaining thirteen hours of tho day's toll lie devotes to meeting tho payroll of tho hired hands of agriculture, such as tho manufacturer, railroad, commercial commer-cial and other servants The Farmer's Payroll and How He Meets It. Tho tinnunl pnjroll of agriculture approximates $lL,,iii)u.uuuouo , )inr tlon of tho amount Is shtf.vd to foreign for-eign countries In exports but the total payroll of ministries working for tho farmer divides substantial!) follows Itollroi.ds $I,S52.uiiimjijij manufacturers $ LJiWi.uou.ouo mining $CD6.000.000, banks. SL'im mm uno ' .mercantile M.r.uu.nim.uoo. and u iieuw miscellaneous payroll constitutes thu romuliidor It takes tho corn crop, the most valuable In agriculture, which sold last year for JLii'.i-.'.uuo.uuii t My of tho employes of the railroads, tho mone derived from our uiiiim.i H.,e8 of livestock of approximately ,, 000.000 the yearly cotton crop. Vuli..-, at $920.000.0..... the wheat crop which Is worth ICIo.ooo.oim ,,i.d t,0 oat crop that Is worth $ii...m1)o.,.hJ nro required to meet tho annual 'pay' roll of tho manufacturers The money derlv.u fiou, the remaining staple crops Is used meeting ,, imyroli or the bankers, niercl.an otc. After these obligations no ( tho farmer has only fow Uxmcul"l,t vi-Eenbles 8t),ue ftult and ,10Uy which he can sell nnd call , ', "Z ceuds his ovvu ' When the farmer pays off his hel- ho has verv nk. It.fl ,,,, heso tremendous ,,a rolls he J been forced to mortgage homes, vv k women In the Held and Incre-is . ,! hours & his labor vo" .""," fore compelled to call uion ,T dustrles dependent pon lno ,",,' Tor subsistence to retrench ., i . Upend,tures a,,,, t'eut ' n' " , "UU '' necessary expensos This con L, absolutely necessary Ii, or.tr "oulo,'' i reduction in wages und wo want. If possible, to retain the present vvngo sealo paid railroad and ull other Industrial In-dustrial einplo)es Wo will dovoto this article to a discussion of unnecessary expenses and whether required by law or per-milled per-milled by tho managements of lie conccrnr., Is wholly immaterial Wo want all waste labor and extravagance extrava-gance of whatever character cut out We will mention the full crow bill us Illustrating the charnctor of unnecessary unneces-sary expenses to which wo refer Union Opposes "Full Crew" Dill. The Texas Farmers' Union registered regis-tered its opposition to this charnctor of legislation nt the last annual meeting meet-ing held In Fort Worth, Tox August i. 1914, by resolution, which wo quote, as followB! "Tho matter of prlmo Importance to tho farmers of this state Is an ado-quatH ado-quatH and efficient mnrketlng system ; and wo recognlzo that such a system Is Impossible- without adequate rail-toad rail-toad facilities, embracing tho greatest amount of service nt tho least possible pos-sible cost Wo further recognlzo that the farmers and producers In tho end pay approximately 95 per cent ot tho expenses of operating tho railroads, oml It Is therefore- to the Interest of tho producers Hint tho expenses of thu common cnrrlcrs bo ns small as is posslblo consistent with good ser-vlco ser-vlco and safety Wo, thorefore, call upon our law-makers, courts and juries to bear tho foregoing (nets In mind when dealing with tho common carriers of this state, and wo do especially espe-cially rcalllrm tho declarations of tho last annual convention of our Stato Union, opposing tho passage of tho so called 'full-crew' bill beforo the thirty-third legislature of Texas " Tho farmers of Missouri In tho Inst election, by an overwhelming mu-Jorlty, mu-Jorlty, .swept this law off tho statute book of that stato, and it should como off of all statute books whero It appears und no legislature of this nation should pass such a law or similar legislation which requires unnecessary un-necessary expenditures. The Bamu rulo applies to all regulatory regu-latory measures which Increase ho expenses of Industry without giving corresponding benefits to tho public. Thero Is outlines a body of men assembled as-sembled nt legislatures und thoy hnvo a right to bo there who, In their zeal for rendering their fellow-associates fellow-associates a servlco, sometimes fuvor an Increase In thu expenses of Industry In-dustry without duo regard for tho men who bow their backs to tho summer's sun to meet tho payroll, but these committees, while making a record for thciusclvos, rub tho skin oft the shoulders of tho farmer by urging tho legislature to lay another burden upon his heavy load and under tho lash of "bo It enacted" goad him on ' to pull and surge at tho traces of civilization, civil-ization, no matter how ho muy sweat, roam and gall at tho task. When legislatures "cut n melon" for labor they hand tho farmer a lemon. The farmers of tho United States aro not financially ablo to carry "dead heads' on their payrolls. Our own lured bands uro not paid uiiIosb wo liavo something for them to do nnd wo are not willing to carry tho hired help or dependent Industries unless thero Is work for them. Wo must therefore Insist upon tho most rigid economy Legislative House-Cleanlnn Needed. Whllo tho war Is on nnd thero Is a lull In business, ve vvuudiTTr tlvo bodies to take an lnv?tUU tho statute books and TC 1! extrnvngant and usolcss laws house-cleaning Is needed and J001 mles can bo Instituted here 17 that will patch the clothrs 0f Shu children, rest tired motiSft mortgages from despondent hJ ' Unnecessary workmen tnkS ofe usoless expenses chopped don . along the lino will add to the n ' porlty ot tho farmer and CncouPr him in his mighty effort to ,Z " clotho tho world ed an If any of these tnaustrles havo ,ur plus employes vvo can use them T the farm Wo have i" schedule ot wages, but we Pa, J5 farm hands on an nveraK0 0f n per day of thirteen hours when !L! board themBclves; work usually Z. about nine months of tho ycar and It? three months dead time they can S the chores for theli board It th prefer to farm on their own accoZ thero are more than 14.000.000.000 ncres of Idle land on tho earth's inV faco awaiting tho magic touch of th plow Tho compensation Is easily m! talnnblo from Federal Agricultural Department statistics Tho tot. average annual sales of a farm In tho continental United States amount, to $510.00; tho cost of operaZ 5310.00; leaving tho farmer " ; J annum to tlvo on and educate hi. family. Thero Is no occasion for tho let latures making a position for eurnlui employes of Industry Let thcn.com "back to the soli" and share with m tho prosperity of tho farm. |
