Show INDUSTRY HELPS agriculture BUILD UP THE SALL TOWN decentralization of manufacturing brings markets for products closer to the farm gives employment and better standards of living to rural communities by T R PRESTON 7 president american bankers association class of people has been more diligent in trying to understand NO the agricultural problem than the bankers of this country the agricultural problem is a real problem and de mands the best thought of everyone this country cannot continue along happy lines with only sections of the country prosperous prosperity must be passed around if anybody is long to enjoy it this question can not be solved by the farmers alone but the majority opinion is that there is no legislative remedy for agriculture it an economic question pure and simple and must be worked out accordingly A few years ago it was contended that agriculture did not have sufficient credit facilities that proposition was often made a political question I 1 do not presume there are many who will question the fact that agriculture now has ample credit facilities mixing farms and factories it is a fact that no community and no state has ever become great purely from agriculture it is not to the interest of new york and other great centers to see the small communities and the agricultural sections losing their wealth and importance in the end it will react upon them to their disadvantage there seems to me a real remedy tor these small communities and also for agriculture this remedy which 1 the mixing ot industry with agrical ture Is now being applied in many localities cali ties with satisfactory results industry and agriculture are better balanced in ohio north carolina and pennsylvania than in any other states ft the union and in these states there Is no serious problem and we bear attle complaint from tir farmers this mixing ot industry ing examples from my own state to prove this proposition and I 1 mention these because I 1 am more with conditions there than elsewhere twelve years ago kingsport King sport ten bessee had a population ot about one thousand great industries like a large camera company a big cement plant and a number of other indus tries were located there partly through the influence of an outstanding new york business man in attle more mixing industry with agriculture mean prosperity for rural districts and agriculture is called by some decentralization of industry I 1 would not suggest that manufacturing institutions move from the cities to the small villages but I 1 do think it would be better for this country for future industries to be placed la these small villages rather than td be further congested in aha great center this would to part also be a solution of our labor problem tae bringing of industries to small all lacea increases the market for figr cultural products gives employment to surplus labor elevates the stand ards of living increases public revenue reduces taxes and vastly increases educational facilities two striking examples I 1 believe I 1 can give you two than twelve year these have brought the population of that city up to seventeen thousand just a few miles away at they are build ing a great rayon plant the first unit to cost th population ot that town la now two thousand but it la estimated that this will be difed by fire in less than two years it is stated that the total investment in manufacturing industry in that corn munley within a period of five years will probably reach the balancing of industry and agri culture wui solve most of our so called agricultural problems leme and we will not need such political measures as will in opinion do harm if enacted to the very class they pretend to benefit |