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Show Some Aspects of the ;- Farmers' Problems '" By BERNARD M. BARUCII .1 (Reprinted from Atlantic Monthly) i i The whole rural world is In a fer- j meat of unrest, and there Is an un- ; paralleled volume and intensity of de- termineil, if not angry, protest, and an ominous swarming of occupational con- j ferences, Interest groupings, political j movements and propaganda. Such a turmoil cannot but arrest our attention. atten-tion. Indeed, It demands our careful study and examination. It Is not likely like-ly that six million aloof and ruggedly independent men have come together and banded themselves into active unions, societies, farm bureaus, and so forth, for no sulhcient cause. Investigation of the subject conclusively conclu-sively proves that, while there is much overstatement of grievances and misconception mis-conception of remedies, the fanners are right in complaining of wrongs 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 form alone, about one-third of the national na-tional annual wealth production and is the means of livelihood of about 49 per cent of the population, It is obvious ob-vious that the subject is one of grave concern. Not only do the farmers make up one-half of the nation, but the well-being of the other half depends de-pends upon them. So long as we have nations, a wise politcial economy will aim at a large degree of national self-sufficiency and self-containment. Koine fell when the food supply was too far removed from the belly. Like her, we shall destroy nur own agriculture and extend outsources out-sources of food distantly and precariously, precari-ously, 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 im-poverished countryside exports intelligence intelli-gence and retains unlntelligeuce. Only the lower grades of mentality and character wilj remain on, or seek, the farm, unless agriculture Is capable of being pursued with contentment and adequate compensation. Hence, to em-hitter em-hitter 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 produc-tion 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 for-get 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 selfish demands of a clear-cut 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, coal, steel, dye-stuffs, dye-stuffs, and so forth, as sinews of national na-tional strength. Our growing population popula-tion 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 unhappy 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 age of flux and change and new deals. Because a thing always has been so no longer means that it is righteous, or always shall he so. More, perhaps, than ever before, there is a widespread feeling that all human relations can he improved im-proved hy taking thought, and that it is not becoming for the reasoning animal ani-mal to leave his destiny largely to chance and natural incidence. Frudent and orderly adjustment of production and distribution in accordance accord-ance with consumption is recognized as wise management in every business I but that of farming. Yet. I venture j to say, there is no other industry in i which it is so Important to the pub-j pub-j lie to the city-dweller that production produc-tion should be sure, steady, and increasing, in-creasing, and that distribution should be in proportion to the need. The un organized farmers naturally act blind ly and impulsively and, in consequence, conse-quence, surfeit and dearth, accompanied accompa-nied by disconcerting price-variations, harass the consumer. One year potatoes pota-toes rot in the fields because of excess production, and there Is a scarcity of the tilings that have been displaced to make way for the expansion of the potato acreage ; next year the punished punish-ed farmers mass their fields on some oi her crop, and potatoes enter the class of luxuries; and so on. Agriculture is the greatest and fundamentally fun-damentally the most important of our American industries. The cities are but the branches ..f the tree of nu denal life, the roots of which go deeply deep-ly into the land. We all flourish or Jecline with the farmer. So. when we .if the cities read of the present uni versal d! stress of the farmers, of 11 slump of six billion dollars in the farm j value of their crops in a single year, of their inability to meet mortgages or to pay current bills, and how, seeking relief from their ills, they are plan ning to form pools, inaugurate farm ers' strikes, and demand legislation abolishing grain exchanges, private cattle markets, and the like, we ought not hastily to brand them as economic heretics and highwaymen, and hurl at them til e charge of being seekers of special privilege. Rather, we should ask If their trouble is not ours, and see what can be done to Improve the situation. Purely from self-interest. If for no higher motive, we should help them. All of us want to get hack permanently to "normalcy ;" but is it reasonable to hope for that condition unless our greatest and most basic industry in-dustry can be put on a sound and solid permanent foundation? The farmers are not entitled to special privileges; hut are they not right in demanding that they he placed on an equal footing foot-ing with the buyers of their products and with other industries? II Let us, then, consider some of the farmer's grievances, and see how far they are real. In doing so, we should remember that, while there have been, and still are, instances of purposeful abuse, the subject should not he approached ap-proached with any general imputation to existing distributive agencies of deliberately de-liberately intentional oppression, but rather with the conception that the marketing of farm products has not been modernized. An ancient evil, and a persistent one, is the undergrading of farm products, prod-ucts, willi the result that what the farmers sell as of one quality is resold re-sold as of a higher. That this sort of chicanery should persist on any important im-portant scale in these days of business busi-ness integrity would seem almost incredible, in-credible, but there is much evidence that it does so persist. Even as I write, the newspapers announce the suspension of several firms from the New York Produce Exchange for exporting 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 that of inaccurate weighing of farm products, which, it Is charged, is sometimes a matter of dishonest intention and sometimes of protective policy on the part of the local buyer, who fears that he may "weigh out" more than he "weighs in." A greater grievance is that at present pres-ent the field farmer has little or no control over the time and conditions of marketing his products,' with the . result that he is often underpaid for his products and usually overcharged for marketing service. The difference differ-ence between what the farmer receives re-ceives and what the consumer pays often exceeds all possibility of justification. justi-fication. To cite a single illustration. Last year, according to figures al tested test-ed by the railways and the growers, Georgia watermelon-raisers received on the average 7.5 cents for a melon, the railroads got 12.7 cents for carrying carry-ing it to Baltimore and the consumer paid one-dollar, leaving 79 8 cents for the service of marketing and its risks, as against 20.2 cents for growing and transporting. The hard annals of farm-life are replete with such commentaries com-mentaries on the crudeness of present pres-ent practices. Nature prescribes that the farmer's "goods'' must be finished within two or three months of the year, while financial and storage limitations gen erally compel him to sell them at the ame time. As a rule, other industries .ire in a continuous process of finish ing goods for the markets; they dis tribute as they produce, and they can curtail production without too great injury to themselves or the community; commu-nity; but if the farmer restricts his output, it Is with disastrous conse quences, both to himself and to the community. The average farmer Is busy with production for the major part of the year, and has nothing to sell. The bulk of his output comes on the mar ket a once. Because lack of storage stor-age facilities and of financial support, 'he farmer cannot carry his goods through the year and dispose of them as they are currently needed. Jn the great majority of cases, farmers have to entrust storage in warehouses and elevators and the financial carrying .f their products to others. Farm products tire generally mar :;eted at a time when there is a con estion of both transportation and finance when cars and money are ! seal 'P. The outcome, in ma'.'-y n ! stances. Is that the farmers not only s"ll under pressure, and therefore at a disadvantage, bur are compelled to take furl her re luct inns in net returns, in order to meet the charges for the service of storing, transporting, financ jrig, and ultimate marketing which charges they claim, are often excessive, exces-sive, bear heavily on both consumer and produce.-, and are under the control con-trol of tiio.-e performing the services It is true that they are relieved of ! the risks of n chnnriiig market by i selling at . nee ; but they are quite will- |