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Show Some Aspects of the Farmers' Problems By BERNARD M. BARUCIl ing to take the "unfavorable chance, If the favorable one also Is theirs and I hey cun retain for themselves a part of the service charges that are uniform, in good years and bad, with high prices and low. While, In the main, the farmer must sell, regardless of market conditions, lit the time of the maturity of crops, he cannot suspend production In tote. He must go on producing If he 1s to go on living, and if the world Is to exist The most he can do is to curtail production a little or alter Its form, and use he Is In the dark as to the probable demand for his goods--may he only to jump from the frying pan Into the Are, taking the consumer with him. Even the dairy farmers, whose output Is not seasonal, complain that they find themselves at a disadvantage In the marketing of their productions, especially raw milk, because of the high costs of distribution, which they must ultimately beur. that-beca- (Reprinted from Atlantic Monthly) I The whole rural world Is In a ferment of unrtst, and there Is. an un paralleled volume and Intensity of determined, If not angry, protest. and an ominous swarming of occupational ton ferences, Interest groupings, political Such a movements and propaganda. turmoil cannot but arrest our aitcn 'tlon. Indeed, It demands our careful study and examination. It Is not like ly Ibat six million aloof and ruggedlj independent men have come together and banded themselves Into active ' unions, societies, farm bureaus, and bo forth, for no sufficient cause. Investigation of the subject conclu sive! proves that, while there Is muc h overstatement of grievances ami misconception of remedies, the farmers re right In complaining of wnms 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 of the naform alone, about tional annual wealth production ami Is the means of livelihood of ubout 19 per cent of the population, it is obvious that the subject is one of grave concern. Not only do the farmers f make up of the nation, but of the other half dethe pends upon them. So long ss we have nations, a wise polltclal economy will alio at a large ami degree of national Koine fell when the food supply was too far removed from the belly. Like her, we shall destroy ouf own agriculture und extend our sources of food distantly und precariously. 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 Impoverished countryside exports Intelligence and retains unintelligence. Only the lower grades of mentality and character will remain on, or seek, the farm, unless agriculture Is capable of being pursued with contentment nml adequate compensation. Hence, to embitter 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 production 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 forget that lesson when we ponder on the farmer's problems. They are truly common problems, and there should be no attempt to deal with them as If they were purely selllsh demands of a clear-cu- t 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, coul, steel, dye stuffs, and so forth, as sinews of national strength. Our growing population and a higher standard of living demand increasing food supplies, and more wool, cotton, hides, and the 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 an Impoverished or un happy rural population. It will not do to take a narrow view of the rural discontent, or to appraise It from the standpoint of yesterday. This Is peculiarly. an aga of flux and change and new deals. Heoause 'a ..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 relation, can he Improved by taking thought, and that It Is not becoming for the reasoning animal to leave his destiny largely to chance and natural Incidence. Prudent and orderly adjustment of production and distribution In accordance with consumption Is recognized ss wise management In every business but that of farming. Yet. I venture to say, there Is no other Industry In which It Is so Important to the public to the that production should he sure, steady, and increasing, and that distribution should be In proportion to the need. The un organized fanners naturally net blind ly and Impulsively and, In consequence, surfeit and dearth, nceoinpa Died by disconcerting harass the consumer. One jcar potatoes rot In the fields because of excess production, and there Is a scarcity of the things that have been displaced to make way for the expansion of the potato acreage; next year the punished farmers mass their fields ou some other crop, , and potatoes enter the class of luxuries', and so on. f Agriculture Is the greatest and fundamentally the most Important of our American Industries. The cities are but the branches of the tree of national life, the roots of which go deep ly Into the lnnd. We all flourish or decline with the farmer. So, when we f the cities read of the present unl ; versa! distress ef the farmers, of a slump of six bltlloa dollars In the form i value of their crops la t single year, one-thir- d one-hal- well-bein- r -- price-variation- f their inability to meet mortgages or to pay current hills, mid. how, seeking relief from their UK they are planning to form pools, Inaugurate farm ers' strikes, an demand legislation I abolishing grain exchanges, private cattle maiUtjs, jH-- l tUt! like, we ought not hastily to brand them as eeonuuiic heretics and highway men, and hurl at them the charge of being seekers of HI special privilege, Rather, we should Now that the farmers are stirring, ask if their trouble is not ours, and thinking, and uniting as never before see what can be done to improve the to eradicate these Inequalities, they situation. lecPurely from are subjected to sterne-conomlIf for ni higher niotho, we should tures, and ure met with the accusation help them. All of us want to get back that they are demanding, and are the permanently to "normalcy;" but Is It recipients f, special privileges. Let reasonable to I. ope for that condition us see what the government unless our greatest and most basic In lias conferredprivileges Much on the farmers. dustrv can be put on n sound and solid lias been made of Section 8 of the permanent foundation? The fanners t Act, which pur iiyton are n..i entitled to special privileges; to them to combine with ported permit hut are they not right in demanding under certain conditions. that they be placed on an. equal foot- Immunity, that, Admitting, nominally, this exing with the bityeis of their products was In the nature of a special emption and with other industries? privilege, though I think It was so In appearance rather than in fact, we II find that the courts have nullified it Let us, then, consider some of the by Judicial Interpretation. Why should farmer's grievances, and see how far not the farmers be permitted to acmethods what they are real. In doing so, we should complish by are other businesses doing by already remember that, while there have been, In the form of Incorpora and still are, Instances of purposjjjit-ubuse- , tlon? If It be proper for men to form, the subject should not he apby fusion of existing corporations or proached with any general imputation otherwise, a corporation that controls to existing distributive agencies of dethe entire production of a commodity, liberately Intentional oppression, hut or a larje part of it, why Is It not rather with the conception that the proper for a group of farmers to unite marketing of farm products bus not for the marketing of their common been modernized. products, ell her in one or in several selling agencies? Why should It be An ancient evil, and a persistent KiLiit for a hundred thousand corporate one, Is the undergrading of farm prod shareholders to direct 25 or 30 or 40 ucts, with the result that what the cent of an Industry, and wrong for farmers sell as of one quality Is re hper hundred thousand sold as of u higher. That this sort of farmers to control a no larger proporchicanery should pers'lst on any im tion of the wheat crop, or cottop, or portant scale in these days of busi- any other product? ness integrity would seem almost In The Iiepartment of Agriculture Is credible, but there Is much evidence often spoken of as a special concession that It does so persist. Even as 1 to the fanners, but In Its commercial Is of as much benefit to the write, the newspapers announce the results. It consumers of agricultural and buyers firms from the suspension of several to the producers, or even as products New York Produce Exchange for ex more. I do not suppose that anyone porting to Germany us No. 2 wheat a opposes the benefits that the farmers whole shipload of grossly inferior whea1 derive from the educational and mixed with oats, chaff and the like. nil work of the department, or the Another evil Is that of inaccurate help that It gives them In working out weighing of fa mi products, which. It Improved cultural methods and pracis charged, is sometimes a matter of tices, In developing better yielding vadishonest Intention and sometimes of rieties- through breeding and selection. In Introducing new varieties from reprotective policy on the part of the mote parts of the world and adapting local buyer, who fears that he may them to our climate and economic con "weigh out" more than he "weighs in." dition. and In devising practical measA greater grievance Is that at pros ures for the elimination or control of ent the field farmer bus little or no dangerous and destructive animal and control over the time and conditions plant diseases, insect pests, and the of marketing his products, with the like. All these things manifestly tend result that he Is often underpaid tor to stimulate and enlarge production, beneficial effects are his products and usually overcharged and their general obvious. for marketing service. The differ It Js complained that, whereas the ence between what the farmer relaw restricts Federal Reserve banks ceives and what the consumer pays to three months' time for commercial often exceeds all possibility of Justipaper, the farmer Is allowed six fication. To cite a single Illustration months on his notes. This Is not a attestto Ijist year, according figures special privilege, but merely such a ed by the railways and the growers. recognition of business conditions as received makes It possible for country banks Georgia watermelon-raiseron the average 7.f cents for n melon, to d business with country people. farmer has only one turnthe railroads got 127 cents for carry- The crop over a year, while the merchant and ing It to P.altimore und the consumer manufacturer have many. Incidentalpaid one dollar, leaving 7!) S cents for ly, I note that the Federal Reserve. the service of marketing and Its rUks, Hoard has Just authorized the Fedas against 20.2 cents for growing und eral Reserve banks to discount export The hard annals of paper for a period of six months, to transporting. farm-lifare replete with such com- conform to the nature of the busimentaries on the crudeness of pres- ness. The Farm Ioan banks are pointed ent practices. to as an Instance of special governNature prescribes that the farmer's ment favor for fanners. Are they not "goods" must be finished within two rather the outcome of laudable efforts or- three month of the year,, w hile to equalize- rural and. urban condifinancial and storage limitations gen- tions? And about all the government erally "compel him to sett them ar the does" "tfiere"ls"t61iPTp"e1tip an adsame time. As a rule, oilier Industries ministrative organization and lend a ore In a continuous process of finishlittle credit at the start. Eventually ing goods for the markets; they dis the fanners will provide all the capitribute as they produce, and they can tal and carry all the liabilities themcurtail production without too great selves. It is true that Farm Loan Injury to themselves or the roiniiiu bonds are tax exempt ; but so are nity; but If the former restricts bis bonds of municipal light and traction output, It Is with disastrous conse- plants, and new bousing Is to be quences, both to himself and to the from taxation, In New York, for coininuultv. ten years. The average farmer Is busy with On thj other hand, the farmer reads production for the major part of the of plans for municipal housing projyear, mid has nothing to sell. The ects that run Into the billions, of hunhulk of his output comes on the mar dreds of millions annually spent on Uet at om-e- . P.ecuuse of hick of stor the merchant marine; he reads that age facilities and of financial support, the railways are being favored with the farmer cannot curry his goods Increased rates and virtual guaranties through the year and dispose of them of earnings by the government, with as I hey ore currently needed. In the the result to hlin of an 'ncreased toll great majority of cases, farmers have on ail that he sells and all that he to entrust stornge In warehouses and He hears of many manifestaelevators and the llnuiKliil carrying buys. of tions governmental concern for parof their products to others. Industries and Interests. Resticular Farm products are generally mar the railways from Insolvency Is keted st a time when there Is a con cuing undoubtedly for the benefit of the gestlon of both transmutation and as a whole, but what can be finance when cars and money are country of more general benefit than encourseui e. The outcome, In mar y In agement of ample production of the st mires. Is that the farmers not only" necessaries of life and their s"ll under pressure, and therefore at principal even flow from contented producers to n advantage, but are compelled to satisfied coniumers? lake further reductions In net returns, While it may be conceded that in order to meet the charges for the governmental aid may be necspecial service of storln,;, transporting, financIn the general Interest, we must essary ing, and ultimate marketing which all agree that It Is difficult to see why charges they claim, are often exoes agriculture snd the production and disslve, bear heavily on both consumer tribution of farm products are not acan. I producei, und jire under the con corded the Mini opportunities that are trol of those performing the services for other businesses; espeIs true that they nre relieved of provided It as the enjoyment by the farmer cially the risks of changing market by of such opportunities would appear to scltluj at mce ; but they are quit will fca even mora contributory to tit gen.. c Anti-Trus- re-se- a s e - ei-em- In the case of other Industries. The spirit" of American democracy Is unalterably opposed, alike to- enacted special privilege and to the special privilege of unequal ep portunity that arises automatically from the failure to correct glaring economic Inequalities. I am opposed to the Injection of government Into business, but I do believe that It Is an essential function of democratic government to equalize opportunity so far as tt Is within Its power to do so, whether by the repeal of archaic statutes or the enactment of modern ones. If the anti-trus- t laws keep the farmers from endeavoring scientifically to Integrate their Industry while other Industries find a way to meet modern conditions without violating such statutes, 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. Repairing 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 equalizing 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 Oiled with acts for the benefit of shipping, commerce, and labor. eral good than ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT OP HATTlfi AKHWORTII, CITY CORDER OP" BEAVER CITY, FOB THE YEAR EXDL(J DECEMBER Sl,a lff2lr" " T Receipt Cash on hand, January 1, 1921 . Licenses Cemetery Fees 1 . in; - lnes JO: Miscellaneous Receipts Meter Rent , Paving Assessments Interest on Paving Assessments Cemetery Tax Cemetery Lots City Taxes Dog Taxes Water System Customers Electric Light Customers. . 4:;- - .,.........,.... ......... II- :- ... , "l, 511C ; . .,...t...:.,..u.-..'..T-.'.'.'..'...S- llll : Loan Meter Deposits 58:; : 219 ; I. -.-- a.tot , Total ----- iiisoui M'liieuuj Salaries Library Expense Operation and Maintenance Water System Operation and Maintenance Electric Light System Roads, Rivers and Bridges Books Stationery and Printing, Office Sup and Ex Light, Fuel. Jauitor Etc. City Hall Incidental Board of Health Officers 1 B 32:; 3934 , ii- - j; , 121 Cemetery Expense Electric Suppl.es Note $2000.00 interest on Note , 26. C7 Accrued Interest on Water Bonds 1800.00 Accrued Interest on Sidewalk, Intersection Bonds 440.00 Accrued Interest on Water Bonds, (second issue 220.00 Accrued Interest on Paving Warrants 240.00 Paving Warrants Refund on Meters P.efund of License , Legal ., Lumber Beaver County, Collecting City Taxee-Real Estate to Celebrations Donation Rent on Coal Shed Refund on Fines Election Expense : Criminal Ccet Camp Ground Expense pi !02( 270i 12 if 135;' 161. 381 15ff , IV what ts the farmer asking? Without trying to catalogue the re medial measures that have been suggested In his behalf, the principal proposals that bear directly on the Improvement of his distributing and marketing relations may be summarized as follows : First: storage warehouses for cotton, wool, and tobacco, nnd elevators for grain, of sufficient capacity to meet the maximum demand on them at the peak of the marketing period. The farmer thinks that either private capital must furnish these facilities, or the state must erect and own the elevators and warehouses. Second: weighing and grading of agricultural products, and certification thereof, to be" done by Impartial and disinterested public Inspectors (this Is already accomplished to some extent by the federal licensing of weighers and graders), to eliminate underpaying, overcharging, and unfair grading, nnd to facilitate the utilization of the stored products as the bssls of credit. Thlrd: a certainty of credit safflclent to enable the marketing products In an orderly manner. Fourth: the Department of Agriculture should collect, tabulate, summarize, and regularly and frequently publish 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 position. Fifth : freedom. to Integrate the business of agriculture by means of con solidated selling agencies, In such way as to Ing and put the farmer on an equal footing with tbe large buyers of his products, and with commercial relations In other industries. When a business reqnlres specialized talent. 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 and other manufactures In my opinion of food products. however, he would be wise to stop short of thst. 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 sssoclatlon cannot now be wholly adapted to his ob Jects and conditions. The looser cooperative form seems more generally suitable. Therefore, be wishes to be free, if he finds It desirable and feas with his Ible, to resort to fellows and neighbors, without run nlnjr afoul of the law,., To urge that, the farmers should have the same liberty to consolidate and their peculiar economic functions, which other Industries In their fields enjoy, ts not, however, to concede thst any business Integration should have legislative sanction to exercise monopolistic power. The Amerlcsn people are as firmly opposed to Industrial as to political autocracy, whether st tempted by rural or by urban Industry. For lack of united effort the farmers as a whole are still marketing their crops by antiquated methods, or by no methods at all, but they are surrounded by a business worfd 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 Integrated business. The farmers' now seek the benefits of such largeness, union and Integration, Now, tf ( ash Water System Uii ..$25,4nif. ASSETS PROPERTY $40,843.88 20,165.64 Real Cemetery Lota OSce Furniture and Fixtures Miscellaneous Tools MATERIALS Water System Supplies Electric Light Supplies 1! 1511? Total Electric Light System 215' $ 2 3, JSCs' cn Hand December 31st. 1321 . - Us- 3,035.00 1,615.00 408.29 188.11 AM) Kl ! 6fi,25;:i JB. .". Meter Deposits Accrued Interest Accrued Interest Accrued Interest Accrued Interest 13.22:.7 LIABILITIES $30,000.00 3.000.00 8,000.00 4.000.00 r 4:.. 00 $ on Water Bonds on Paving Warrants on Sidewalk Intersection Bonds Water Bonds (2nd Issue 3. DO 300.00 15.00 128.31 64.16 5P .32.75 surplus at flour-millin- g $71,894 County of Beaver, State of Utah. ps. I Ilattle Ashworth, City Recorder of Peiver City, Utah hereby t fy that the above Is a full, true and correct statement of the receipti disbursements of Beaver C ty, Utah, and a true statement of the col tion of Beaver City for the year 1921. to the best of mv knowledge. H ATT IE ASHWORTH. City Recorder. Passed and approved by the City Council, December 31, 1921. (Attest:) Hattie Ashworth, City Recorder. Tourist Cafe and Bakery When in Beaver at any time, come in and rest warm and make yourself at home, We are glad to have you come and rest awhile. First, Last and Always for Beaver H. E. OSTERLOH Opposite Camp Ground Phone 80 3 Good Things To Eat That's where wc shine. From our stock of groceries, fruits, vegetables and meats the most exacting taste can be suited. A trial will convince you. CITY MARKET i Phone Beaver City, Utah Continued in our next weeks issue Famous Theatrical "Fake." boy success fully "faked" a Shakespeare play. He was William II. Ireland, who lived In London about a century ago, Young Ireland tore the fly leaves from old books, concocted an Ink that looked faded, and forged Shakespeare's signature to a play that be wrote to fool bis father. The play 'wn actually presented by the great .actor, Kemble, and would have continued on Its own merits had not the tragedian "horsed" the lines, which be believed bogus. Uoawelt, Johnson's biographer, was one of the literary men that Tell for" tut fraud, A seventeen-year-ol- d . Waters Garage REPAIRING GENERAL AUTO Experienced Auto Mechanics OXYACETYLENE WELDING Special Attention given to Overhauling Gas and Tractor Engines . WATERS GARAGE Beaver City - . ft PPLIES $1,329.24 683.48 Lumber 313.69 ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE I'npa'd Balance on Paving Assessments $4,289.17 Interest on Paving Assessments 589.42 Poll Taxes 791.00 971.50 Cemelary Taxes 137.74 Special Acreage Tax Electric Light CuBioiuera 737.15 n Water SysU-.Customers 572.10 Heaver County (City TaxeB) 3,240.85 382.10 Suspense Cash in Hand City Treasurer 1,511.27 Water Bonds Tavlng Warrants Sidewalk Intersection Bonds Water Bonds second issue) . 1 ' f A |