Show SOME ASPECTS OF FARMERS PROBLEMS by BERNARD M BARUCH reprinted from atlantic monthly now that the farmers ill III are stirring thinking and uniting as never before 0 eradicate these inequalities they ire subjected to stern economic lee tures lures and are met with the accusation hat they are demanding and are the recipients of special privileges let us as u see what privileges the government has conferred on the farmers much aluch has been made of section 6 of the claaton ton antitrust anti Antl trust act w which pur ported to permit them to combine with immunity under certain conditions admitting tl at nominally this ex empty n was in the nature of a special privilege though I 1 thin think it was so in appearance rati ratler er than in fact we find that the courts have nullified it by judicial interpretation why should not the farmers be permitted to ac com P lish by operative cooperative methods what other businesses are already doing by eo operation cooperation in the form orm of In corpora 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 I 1 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 tor for a hundred thousand corporate shareholders to direct 25 or 30 or 40 per pey cent of an industry and wrong for a hundred thousand co operative farmers to control a no larger proper tion of the wheat crop or cotton or any anyon 01 product the department of agriculture Is often spoken of as a special concession to the farmers but in its commercio com mercin results it Is of as much benefit to the buye 4 and consumers of agricultural products pro duets as to the producers or even more I 1 do not suppose that anyone opp a the benefits that the farmers derive from the educational and re search work of the department or the help that it give ghe them in working out unproved cultural methods and pric in develop ng better yielding va a I 1 letl VI through breeding and selection in it 1 reducing cing new varieties from re root mot parts of the world and adapting the them lo 10 our climate and acono economic eco nic con ditton and in devising deN ising 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 prod action and their general beneficial effects are obvious it Is complained tl ti at whereas the law restricts federal reserve bani s to three months time for commercial coD mercial paper tie 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 busness bus ness with country people e crop farmer has only one turn over oner a veir while the ner n ercher chirt t and manufacturer I 1 ave many incidental ly I 1 note that the federal reserve board has just authorized the fed red ral reserve reser e binks to discount export paper for a period of six months to conform to the nature of the busl bust ness s the farm loan banks are pointed to as an instance of special govern ment favor for farmers are they not rather tl e outcome of laudable efforts to equalize rural and urban condl eions and about all the government does there Is to help set up an ad organization and lend a ittle credit at the start eventually the farmers will pro provide ide all the capi tal and carry all the liabilities them selves 0 it Is true that farm loan bonds are tas tax exempt but so ore re ands of municipal light and traction lants and ne nev v housing Is to be fx ex em ampt p t from taxation in new york tor for en years on the other hand the farmer reads t f plans for municipal housing broj ets that run into the billions ot of hun freds of millions annually spent on he merchant marine he reals that he rall railways ways are being favored with lo ncr creased eased rates and virtual guaranties f earnings by the government with he result to him of an increased toll w m all that he sells and all that he ays lie ile heirs hears of many ions of governmental concern concerti for par iclal industries and Int ereita res lulng the railways from insolvency Is in for the benefit of the auntry as a N whole hole but wl stat at can be af f more general benefit than enczur ige nent of ample production of the principal es of I 1 fe and their vei flo ito v from contented producers to itis fied consumers nah ahle le it may be conceded that pedal governmental aid may be nee in tl ti e general interest we must ill all agree that it Is d to see eliy w hy i and the prod action an I 1 dis tits rib tion of firm products are not ic corded the same opportunities that are pro provide odel for other businesses espe lally filly as the enjoyment by the farmer af a such tiles bould appear to ie pe even more coi col tr I 1 atory to tl it e gen april good than in tl e case of other industries 11 e spirit of american lemoc raci is opposed alike to enacted si privilege an I 1 to tl it e special pr v lege of unequal or fortun ty that arises automat cally from the fa lure to correct glar ng econom c t es I 1 am opp sed to the injection of government into business lousiness but I 1 do believe tl at it is in essential function bof of democratic gov eminent fo ro equable eq ualle opportunity tunit so ylo far is it is within its it po N er to do so wl ether by the repeal of archila statutes or the enactment ol 01 modern ones if the anti trust laws beep keep the farmers from endea endeavoring Noring to integrate tl it air industry while other industries find a way may to meet modern conditions without violating such stat utes then it would seem reasonable I 1 to find a way for the farmers to meet them under the same conditions this 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 poll policing cing agency and regulative cor corrective reethe or equally ing legislation j apparently Is of a special nature Is often of the most general beneficial consequences arven the first congress passed a tariff ac act that was avowedly for the protection of manufacturers but a protective tariff always has been defended as a means of pro noting the general good tl it rough a particular approach and tl e statute books are filled with acts for the benefit of shipping commerce and labor IV now what Is tie tl e farmer asking without irving to catalogue the re medial measures that have been sug in his behalf the principal pro that beir bear directly on the im provene t of his distributing and mar relations may be summarized as f ilos first storage warehouses for cot ton wool and tobacco and elevators or grain of sufficient capacity to meet he maximum demand on them at the leak eak of the marketing period the farmer thinks that either private capt tal must furnish these facilities or the state must erect and own the eleva tors and warehouses second weighing and grading of agricultural products and certification hereof to be done by impartial and lis interested public inspectors this ie Is already accomplished 0 o some extent by the federal licensing of wei ghers and graders to elemir ate underpay ing overcharging and unfair grading md ind to facilitate the utilization of th the e 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 agrical ture should collect tabulate summa and regularly and frequently pub lish and distribute to the farmers fall information from ill all the markets of tl it e world so that thea the sl all be as well informed of their selling position as buyers now are of their buying post tion fifth freedom to integrate the busl bust ness of agriculture by means of cn soll soli dated selling agencies co kordinat ing and operating cooperating in such way as to put the farmer on an equal footing with the birge buyers of his products and with commercial relations in other nd wl WI en a business requires specialized talent it his to buy it so will the farmers and perhaps the best w way ay for them to get got it woul I 1 be to utilize some of tl it e present machinery of the larg est established agencies deiling in firm p of course it if he wishes tt tl e farmer may go further and engage in flour milling 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 j estice should they be forbidden to ta e farmer and permitted to others the he corporate form of association can not no v be wholly adapted to his ob ejects and cond alons tle tl e looser cooperative ope rathe form seems more generally suitable therefore he wishes to be free if he finds it desirable and teas feas ible to resort to co operation with I 1 Is fellows and beigl bors without run ning 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 enjoy Is not however homeer to concede that any business integration should have legislative sanction to exercise donop power tie tl e american penpit are as firmly opposed to industrial a to political autocracy whether at tempted by rural or by urban industry for lack of united effort the farmers as a whole are still marketing bleir tl air crops by antiquated methods or by no methods at all but tl ey are surrounded by a business world that has been modernized to the last minute and Is tirelessly striving for effle efficiency lency this efficiency Is due in large measure to big business to united business to in te grated business the farmers now dow seek the benefits of such largeness un ion ton and Int integration egnation tt TI e american cartne Is a modern of the moderns in tl e use of labor saving machinery and he has made vust st strides in recent vears in scientific hillige and eff efficient lelent farm management but is is a business in contact with other I 1 us inesse Is a one horse ha in con petition with high power les tl TI e american farmer Is the greatest and n ost intractable of individualists while industrial pro luction and all of the huge corn com mercial mechanism aniam and its ac he cess ces ories I 1 lave me articulated and co erdl bated them themselves seIN es all the way f frair nat ural raw n ate materials rials to sales the bust busi bussies ies ie s of agriculture I 1 las as gone on in much tl it e one min f dishion of tl e back woods of the first part of tie nine century when the farmer was self sufficient and did not depel d upon or cire very nery much the greal great world vas do doing the I 1 result Is tl it at a the agricultural agricultural group Is almost a much it a disalv intake in deal ng N ditl otier economic groups as the ji firm er of funny pages in the ha id ida of sleek urban confidence men who sell yh him cantril central lark I 1 ark or lit it CT ci leago city I 1 all the leaders of th far barners ners thoroughly understand this and they are Intelli gei aly striving t integrate their industry so that it will be on an equal footing with other other bus bust nesses |