Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1922)
THE GAZETTE-TIMES, IIEITNEU, OKKfJOX, THURSDAY, JAN. 19, 1922. rAGE THKF.n DS. F. E. FAERIOR DENTIST Office upatairs over Poetofflc Heppner, Oregon DR. R. J. VAUGHAN DENTIST Permanently located In the Odd Fellows building, Rooms and S Heppner, Oregon A. D. McMURDO, M. P. PHYSICIAN BUBO EON Office in Patterson Drug Store Trained Nurse Assistant Heppner, Oregon 0. C. CHICK, M. D. PHYSICIAN St SURGEON Trained Nurse Assistant Office upstairs over Poetofflce Heppner, Oregon WOODSON & SWEEK ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Office in Masonic Buildlng Heppner, Oregon SAM E. VAN VACTOR ATTORN EY-AT-LAW First National Bank Building Heppner, Oregon S. E. NOXSON ATTORN EY-AT-LAW Office In Court House Heppner, Oregon Office Phone, Main 643 Residence Phone, Alain 665 FRANCIS A. McMENAMIN LAWYER Roberts Ruildlng, Heppner Oro F. H. ROBINSON LAWYER IONK, OHEOON BOY V. WHITEIS Fire Insurance writer for best 014 Line Companies. Heppner, Oregon B. J. STARKEY ELECTRICIAN House Wiring a Specialty Heppner, Oregon Phone 872 B. E. MILLER "The Old-Time Auctioneer" He Sticks and Stays Reasonable Rates (or Sales lone, Oregon HEPPNER SANITARIUM DR. J. PKRRY CONDBIt Physlclan-ln-Char-t DR. PARI T, RICHARDS Associate Physlelan Treatment of all sleewea. Isolated wards for contagious dlseasea ITRB INSURANCE WATERS & ANDERSON Successors to C. C. Patterson Heppner Oregon TO MOORE HOSPITAL NOW OPEN TO THIS PUBLIC For Surgical and Medical Patients. Batlre New Equipment. Large atwlera Surgery. DR. '. C. CHICK, M. D. I'kyalrlaa and Surseoa Pkaae Mala 1133 MATERNITY HOME MM. it. C. AIKBN, HEPPNER. I am prepared to take a limited nutnbar of maternity caaea at my home. Patlcata privileged to ekoea (aetr ewa aihyalclaa. Beat of attention and care assured. Pkoae SBR LEGAL NOTICES IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THffl STATE OF OREGON FOR THE COUNTY OF MORROW. Christina Cook, Plaintiff) s. ) Charles D. Coleman and Lo-)SUMMONS tus Rablson, Defendants) To Charles D. Coleman, defendant: IN THE NAMB OF TUB STATE OF OREGON: Tou are hereby summoned and required to appear and answer the complaint of plaintiff filed gainst you in the above entitled court and eause on or before six weeks from the date of first publication of this summons, to-wlt: On or before the Xth day of January, 1922, and you are hereby noti fied that If you fall so to appear or an. swer, for want thereof plaintiff will ap ply to the court for the relief demanded In hor complaint, vis. for Judgment agalnat you for 1900.00 and Interest thereon at the rata of ten per oent per annum from February 20, 1919, for the further sum of 1100.00 attorneys fee and the coats and disbursements of this suit; that the real property mortgaged by you to plaintiff to secure the fore going obligation, via, Southwest quar ter of Section I, Northeaat quarter of Saotlon 17, Northwest quarter, North half cf the Southwest quarter and Weat half of Northwest quarter of Southeast quarter of Section 16 In Townahtp f South Range 15 E. W. M.. be said upon foreclosure and the proceeda applied to plaintiff's Judgment and that you be foreclosed of all right, title and Inter eat In or to said real property save the statutory right of redemption. Thla aummona la aerved upon you by publication thereof In The Gaiette Timet, a weekly newspaper publtahed at Heppner, Oregon, once a week for six weeks, by order of Hon. Gilbert W. Phelps, Judge of the above entitled Court and the dsts of first publication is December 15. 1921. WOOD80N at SWEEK, Attorneys for Plaintiff, 1212-7t Heppner, Oregon. NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION Isolated Tract (0211(9) PI HMO LAND SALE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U. S. LAND OFFICE at The Dalles. Ore. November 29, 1921. NOTICE la hereby given that, as di rected by the Commissioner of the Gen eral Land office under provisions of Sec. 2455, R S , pusurant to the application of Jos. A. Robblns, Serial No. 0211(9, we will offer at public sale, to the high eat bidder, but at not less than $1.50 per acre, at 10:45 o'clock A. M., on the Fifteenth day of February, next, at this office, the following tract of land: NE14 NW, Bee. 80, T. 4 8. R. 24, E. W. M. (containing 40 acres) "This tract Is ordered into the n.jm'cl on a showing that the greater po.-tlcn thereof Is mountainous or too rough for cultlva. Hon." The sale will not be kept open, but will be declared closed when those pre. sent at the hour named have ceased bid. ding. The person making the highest kid will be required to immediately pay to the Receiver the amount therof. Any persona claiming adversely the above-described land are advised to Ale their clalma or objections on or before the time designated for sale. T. C. QUEEN, Receiver. NOTICE TO CREDITORS Notice Is hereby given that the un deralgned has been appointed by the County Court of the State of Oregon for Morrow County Administratrix of the Estate of William L. Barlow, de ceased; and that all persons having claims against the said estate must present the same, duly verified accord. Ing to law, to me at the office of my attorney, S. E. Notson, In Heppner, Ore Kon, within six months from the date of first publication of this notice, said date of first publication being Decern her 22, 1921. MART 8. BARLOW. Administratrix. NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION, ISOLATED TRACT, Pablle l.mm Sale. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U. 8. Land Office at LaOrande, Oregon, December 31, 1921. NOTICE Is hereby given that, as directed by the Commls. sloner of the General Land Office, un. der provisions of Sec. 2455, R. 8., pur suant to the application of Jerm O Connor, of Heppner, Oregon, Serial No. 021143, we will offer at publlo sale, to the highest bidder, but at not less than 13.25 per acre, at 10 o'clock A. M on the !3rd day of February, 1922, next. at this office, the following tract of land: NWKNEW. Section (, Tp. 4 S R. 28 E. W. M. The sale will not be kept open, but will be declared closed when those present at the h'our named have ceased bidding. The person making the high est bid will be required to Immediately pay to the Receiver the amount thereof. Any persons claiming adversely the above-described land are advlaed to file their claims, or objections, on or before the time designated for sale. CARL N. HELM, Register. J. H. PEARE. Receiver. NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION. ISOLATED TRACT. Pablle Laaf gale. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U. S. Land Office at LaGrande, Oregon, December 81, 1921. NOTICE is hereby given that, as directed by the Commls. sloner of the General Land Office, un. der provisions of Sec. 2455, R. S., pur. susnt to the application of Jerm O' Connor, of Heppner, Oregon, Serial No 021142, we will offer at publlo sale, to the highest bidder, but at not less than 14.00 per acre, at 10 o'clock A. M., on the 23rd day of February, 1922, next at this office, the following tract of land: SE!SW!4, Section 80, Tp. 3 8., R. 28 E W. M. The sale will not be kept open, but will be deolared closed when those present at the hour named have ceased bidding. The person making the high- eat bid will be required to Immediately pay to the Receiver the amount thereof. Any persons claiming adversely the above-described land are advised to file their claims, or objections, on or before the time designated for sale. CARL N. HELM. Register. J. H. PEARE, Receiver. NOTICE OF STOCKHOLDERS ANNU AL MEETING. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the Annual Moating of the stockholders of the Heppner Mining Company will be held at the office of S. E. Van Vac tor, Heppner, Oregon, on the second Tuesday In February, 1923, being the th day of February, 1922, at the hoar of 2 o'clock In the afternoon of said Iny. This meeting Is for the purpose of electing officers and the transaction of such other business as may appear. D. B. STALTER, President J. O. HAGER, Secretary. NOTICE. TO HIGHWAY MOTOR TRANSPOR TATION COMPANIES AND PER SONS, And to whom It may Concern: You and each of you are hereby noti fied that the law passed at the special session of the Legislature providing for supervision and regulation of trans portation of persons and property for compensation over publlo highways by motor vehicles is now In force and ef fect and you are advised to secure In structions by communicating with the Commission Immediately. For your reference and convenience a oopy of the law Is now on file With County Clerk. Dated at Salem, Oregon, this 81st day of December, 1921. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF OREGON, By Fred A. Williams, Chairman. ATTEST: Wm. P. Ellis, Seoretary. NOTICE TO CREDITORS. " Notice Is hereby given that the un dersigned has been appointed by the County Court of the State of Oregon for Morrow County, Administrator b the Estate of Bernard F. Doherty, de ceased; and that all persons having claims against the said estate must present the same, duly verified accord ing to law, to me at the office of Attor ney F. A. McMenamln, In Heppner, Ore gon, within six months from the date the first publication of this notice cember 29, 1921. Date of last publi cation being January SIS, 1923. JAMES O. DOHERTY, Admnlstrntor of the Estate of Bernard F. Doherty, deceased. Some Aspects of the Farmers' Problems By BERNARD M. BARUCH (Reprinted from The whole rural world Is In a fer ment of unrest, and there Is an un paralleled volume and Intensity of de termined, tf not angry, protest, and an ominous swarming of occupational con ferences, Interest groupings, political movements and propaganda. Such a turmoil cannot but arrest our atten tion. Indeed, It demands our careful study and examination. It Is not 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 sufficient cause. Investigation of the subject conclu sively proves that, while there Is much overstatement of grievances and mis conception of remedies, the farmers 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 na tional annual wealth production and is the means of livelihood of about 49 per cent of the population, It Is 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 hulf de pends upon them. So lung as we have nations, a wise polltclat economy will aim at a large degree of national self-sufficiency and self-containment. Home fell when the food supply was too far removed from the belly. Like her, we shall destroy our own agriculture and extend our sources of food distuntly and precari ously, if we do not see to it that our farmers are well and fulrly paid for their services. The fHrm gives the nation men as well as food. Cities derive their vitality and are forever renewed from the country, but an Im poverished countryside exports Intelli gence and retains unlntelligence. Only the lower grades of mentality and character will remain on, or seek, the farm, unless agriculture is capable of being pursued with contentment and udequate compensation. Hence, to em bitter 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 herculeun efforts, agricultural 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 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, and so forth, as sinews of na tional strength. Our growing 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 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 hns been so no longer means that it Is righteous, or always shall be so. More, perhaps, than ever before, there Is a widespread feeling Hint all human relations can be Im proved by taking thought, and that It Is not becoming for the reasoning ani mal to leave his destlnj largely to hance and natural Incidence. Prudent and orderly adjustment of production and distribution in accord- nncA tvlih nonsumntinn la rncoirniTori as wise management In every business but that of farming. Vet, I venture lo say, there is no other Industry In which It Is so Important to the pub licto the city-dweller thai produc tion should be sure, steady, and In creasing, and that distribution should be In proportion to the need. The un organized farmers naturally act blind ly and Impulsively and, in conse quence, surfeit and dearth, nccnnipn- nled by disconcerting prlce-varlatlons, harass the consumer. One year pota toes rot In the fields because of excess production, and there Is n scarcity of the things that have been displaced to make way fir the expansion of the potato acreage; next year the punish ed farmers mass their fields on some other crop, nnd potatoes enter the clnss of luxuries; and so on. Agriculture Is Hie greatest and fun dumentally the most Important of our American Industries. The cities are; but the brnnches of the tree of na- tlonal life, the roots of which go deep-1 ly Into the land. We all flourish or decline with the farmer. So, when wej of the cities read of the present unl-' versal distress of the farmers, of a slump of six billion dollars In the fnrtn I 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 the charge of being seekers of special privilege. Kather, 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 ua want to get back permanently tp "normalcy;" buMf It Atlantic Monthly) reasonable 'to "hope fur that condition unless our greatest and most basic In dustry can be put on a sound and solid permanent foundation? The farmers are not entitled to special privileges; but are they not rlyht lu demanding that they be placed on an equal foot ing with the buyers of their products and with other Industries? II Let os, 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 ubuse, the subject should not be ap prouehed with any general Imputation to existing distributive agencies of 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 prod ucts, with the result that what the farmers sell as of one quality Is re sold as of a higher. That this sort of chicanery should persist on any Im portant scale In these days of busi ness Integrity would seem almost 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 ex porting to Germany as No. 2 wheat a whole shipload of grossly Inferior wheal 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 pres ent the Held 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 differ ence Between wnat the farmer re ceives and what the consumer pays often exceeds all possibility of Justi fication. To cite a single illustration. Last year, according to figures attest 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 carry ing It to Baltimore and the consumer paid one dollar, leaving 70 8 cents for the service of marketing and Its risks, as against 20.2 cents for growing and transporting. The bard annals of farm-life are replete with such com mentaries on the crudeness of 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 same time. As a rule, other Industries are in a continuous process of finish ing goods for the markets; they dls tribute as they produce, and they can curtail production without too great injury to themselves or the commu nity ;. but If the farmer restricts his output, it Is with disastrous conse quences, both to himself and to the community. Ihe 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 at once. Because of lack of stor age facilities and of financial support, the farmer cannot carry his goods through the year and dispose of them as they are currently needed. In the great majority of cases, farmers have to entrust storage In warehouses and elevators and the financial carrying or their products to others. Farm products are generally mar keted at a time wiien there Is a con gestion of both transportation and nuance wneu cars ana money are 8carce- ,The, omme. In many In- stances, Is that the farmers not onlv sell under pressure, and therefore at a disadvantage, but are compelled to thke further reductions In net returns, In order to meet the charges for the service of storing, transporting, financ ing, and ultimate marketing which charges they claim, are often exces sive, bear heavily on both consumer and producer, and are under the con trol of those performing the services It Is true that they are relieved of the risks of a changing market by selling at once; but they are quite will Ing to take Ihe unfavorable chnnce. If the favorable one nlso Is theirs and they can retain for themselves a part of the service charges that are uni form, In good years and bad, with high prices and low. While, In the main, the fanner must sell, regnrdless of market conditions, at the time of the maturity of crops, be cannot suspend production in toto. He must go on producing If he Is to go on living, and If the world Is to exist. The most he can do Is to curtail pro auction a little or niter Its form, and that because he Is In the dnrk as to the probable demand for his goods- may be only to jump from the frying pan Into the fire, taking the consumer with him. Even Ihe dairy farmers, whose out put 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 bear, III- Now that the farmers are stirring, thinking, nnd uniting as never before to eradicate these Inequalities, they are subjected to stern economic lec tures, and are met with the accusation that te are demanding, and are Jh re ".pi, Tits . f, si.iiil pKw.i l.-t us see what privileges the government has conferred on the fanners. Much hss been made of Section 8 of the j Clayton Anil Trust Act, which pur ported to permit them to combine with i Immunity, under certain conditions. Admitting that, nominally, this ex emption was In the nature of a special privilege, though 1 think It was so In appearance rather than in fact, we find that the courts have nullified It by Judicial Interpretation. Why should not the farmers be permitted to ac complish by co-operative methods what other businesses are already doing by co-operation In the form of Incorpora tlon? 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 proper for a group of fanners to unite for the marketing of their common products, either In one or In several selling agencies? Why should It be right for a hundred thousand corporate shareholders to direct 25 or 30 or 40 per cent of an Industry, and wrong for a hundred thousand co-operative farmers to control a no larger propor tion of the wheat crop, or cotton, or any other product? The Department of Agriculture Is often spoken of as a special concession to the farmers, but In Its commercial results, it Is of as much benefit to the buyers and consumers of agricultural products as to the producers, or even more. I do not suppose that anyone opposes the benefits that the farmers derive from the educational and re search work of the department, or the help that It gives them In working out Improved cultural methods and prac tices, In developing better yielding va rieties through breeding and selection, In Introducing new varieties from re mote parts of the world and adapting them to oor climate and economic con dition, and In devising 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 production, and their general beneficial effects are obvious. It Is complained that, whereas the law restricts Federal Reserve banks to three months' time for commercial paper, the 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 business with country people. The crop farmer has only one turn over a year, while the merchant and manufacturer have many. Incidental ly, I note that the Federal Reserve Board has Just authorized the Fed eral Reserve banks to discount export paper for a period of six months, to conform to the nature of the busi ness. The Farm Loan banks are pointed to as an Instance of special govern ment favor for fanners. Are they not rather the outcome of laudable efforts to equalize rural and urban condi tions? And about all the government does there Is to help set up an ad ministrative organization and lend a little credit at the start. Eventually the farmers will provide all the capi tal and carry all the liabilities them selves. It li true that Farm Loan bonds are tax exempt; but so are bonds of municipal light and traction plants, and new housing Is to be ex empt from taxation, In New York, for ten years. On the other hand, the farmer reads of plans for municipal housing proj ects that run Into the billions, of hun dreds of millions annually spent on the merchant marine; he reads that the railways are being favored with Increased rates and virtual guaranties of earnings by the government, with the result to him of an 'ncreased toll on all that he sells and all that he buys. He hears of many manifesta tions of governmental concern for par ticular industries and interests. Res cuing the railways from insolvency is undoubtedly for the benefit of the country ns a whole, but what can be of more general benefit than encour agement of ample production of the principal necessaries of life and their eveu flow from contented producers to satisfied consumers? While It may be conceded that special governmental aid may be nec essary in the general Interest, we must all agree that It Is difficult to see why agriculture and the production and dis tribution of farm products are nut ac corded the same opportunities that are provided for other businesses; espe cially as the enjoyment by the farmer of such opportunities would appear to be even more contributory to the gen eral good than 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 op 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 au essential function of democratic gov ernment to equalize opportunity so far as It Is within its power to do so, whether by the repeal of archaic statutes or the enactment of modern ones. If the anti-trust laws keep the fnrmers from endeavoring scientifically to Integrate their Industry while other Industries find a way to meet modem conditions without violating such stat utes, then It would seem reasonable to find a way for the fanners to meet them under the same conditions. The law should operate equally In fact. Re pairing 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 equalis ing 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 ns a means of promoting the general good through a particular approach ; and the statute books are filled with acts for the benefit of shipping, commerce, and labor. rv Now, what Is the farmer asking? Without trying to catalogue tho re medial measures that have been sug gested In his behalf, the principal pro posals that bear directly on the Im provement of his distributing and niar- k'ting fl.itions m.ij be turn marl zed sa ' f Hows : First: srorare warehouses tnr cot j ton, wool, and tobacco, and elevators : for grain, of suffl-ient capacity to meet ; the maxltinm demand on them at the peak of v.: marketing period. The . fanner thinks that either private capl i 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 thereof, to be done by impartial and disinterested public Inspectors (this la already accomplished to some extent by the federal licensing of weighers snd graders), to eliminate underpay ing, overcharging, and unfair grading, and to facilitate the utilization of the stored products as the basis of credit Third : a certainty of credit sufficient to enable the marketing of product In an orderly manner. Fourth : the Department of Agricul ture should collect, tabulate, rnmma rlze, and regularly and frequently pub lish 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 aa buyers now are of their buying posi tion. Fifth : freedom to Integrate the busi ness of agriculture by means of con solidated selling agencies, co-ordinating and co-operating In auch way as to put the farmer on an equal footing with the large buyers of his products, and with commercial relations In other Industries. 1 When a business requires 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, tf he wishes, the 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 justice, should they be forbidden to the farmer and permitted to others? The corporate form of association can not now be wholly adapted to his ob jects and conditions. The looser co operative fornj seems more generally suitable. Therefore, he wishes to be free, If he finds It desirable and feas ible, to resort to co-operation with his fellows and neighbors, 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, to concede that any business integration should hare legislative sanction to exercise monop olistic power. The American people are as firmly opposed to Industrial as to political autocracy, whether at tempted by rural or by urban Industry. For lack of united effort the farmers aa a whole are still marketing their crops by antiquated methods, or by no methods at all, but they are surrounded by a business world that has been modernized to the last minute and Is tirelessly striving for efficiency. This efficiency la due In large measure to big business, to united business, to In tegrated business. The farmers now seek the benefits of such largeness, un. Ion and Integration. The American fanner Is a modern of the moderns in the use of labor saving machinery, and he has made vast strides in recent years' In scientific tillage and efficient farm management, but as a business In contact with other businesses agirculture Is a "one horse shay" In competition with high power automobiles. The American farmer Is the greatest and most intractable of Individualists. While Industrial pro duction and all phases of the huge com mercial mechanism and Its myriad ac cessories have articulated and co-ordinated themselves all the way from nat ural raw materials to retail sales, the business of agriculture has gone on In much the one man fashion of the back woods of the first part of the nine teenth century, when the fanner was self sufficient and did not depend upon, or care very much, what the great world was doing. The result is that the agricultural group is almost as much at a disadvantage in dealing with other economic groups as the jay farm er of the funny pages In the hands of sleek urban confidence men, who sell him acreage In Central Park or the Chicago city hall. The leaders of the farmers thoroughly understand this, and they are intelligently striving to Integrate their industry so that it will be on an equal footing with other busi nesses. As an example of Integration, take the steel Industry, In which the model Is the United States Steel Corporation, with Its Iron mines. Its eoal mines, Its lake nnd rail transportation, Its ocean vessels, Its by-product coke ovens, Its blast furnaces. Its open hearth and Bessemer furnaces, its rolling mills, Its tube mills and other manufacturing processes that are carried to the high est degree of finished production com patible with the large trade It has built up. All this Is generally conced ed to be to the advantage of the con sumer. Nor does the steel corporation Inconsiderately d'inip its products on the market. On the contrary, It so acts that it Is frequently a stabilizing Influence, as Is often the case with oth er large organizations. It Is master of Its distribution as well as of lis pro duction. If prices are not satisfactory the products are held hack or produc tion Is reduced or suspended. It Is not compelled to send a year's work to the market at one time and take whatever It can get under such circumstances. It has one selling policy and Its own export department. Neither are the grades and qualities of steel determin ed at the caprice of the buyer, nor does the latter hold the scales. In this sin gle Integration of the steel corporation Is represented about 40 per cent of the steel production of Americn. The rest is mostly In the hands of a few large companies. In ordinary times the steel corporation, by example, stabilizes all steel prices. If this Is permissible (it is even desirable, because stable and fair prices are essential to solid and continued prosperity) why would It be wrong for the farmers to utilize central agencies that would have simi lar effects on agricultural product! Something like that Is what they aiming at. Some fnrmers favored by regional compactness and contiguity, such as the cltrus-frult-ralsers of California, al ready have found a way legally to merge and sell their products inte grally and In accordance with seasonal snd local demand, thiis Improving i their posltloi ami rendering the con sumer a reliable service of ensured i quality, certain supply, and reasonsMe I and relatively steady prbva. They i have not found It necessary to resort I to any special privilege, or to claim any eiemptl n undr the sntl trnst legislation of the state or nation. With. j out removing local control, they have built up very efficient marketing agency. The grain, cotton, and to bacco farmers, and the producers of hides and wool, because f their num bers and the vastness of their regions, and for other reasons, have found Integration more difficult task; though there are now tome thousands of farmer's co-operative elevators, warehouses, creameries, and other en terprises of one sort and another, with turn-over of a billion dollers year. They are giving the fanners business experience and training, and. so for as tbey go, they meet the need ef honest weighing and fair grading : but they do not meet the requirements of rationally adjusted marketing In any large and fundamental way. The next step, which will be a pat tern for other groups. Is now being prepared by the grain-raise rs through the establishment of sales media which shall handle grain sermratety or col lectively, aa the Individual farmer may elect It la this atep the plan of the Committee of Seventeen which bsa created so much opposition and la thought by some to be In conflict with the anti-trust laws. Though there Is now before congress measure de signed to clear up doubt on this point, the grain-prod ace rs are not relying on any Immunity from anti-trust legisla tion. They desire, and they are en titled, to co-ordinate their efforts Just . aa effectively as the large business In terests of the country have done. In connection with the selling organiza tions the United States Grain Growers Incorporated Is drafting scheme of financing Instrumentalities and auxili ary agencies which are Indispensable to the successful utilization of modern business methods. It Is essential that the farmer should proceed gradually with these plans, and aim to avoid the error of scrapping the existing marketing ma chinery, which ha been so laboriously built up by long experience, before they have tried and proved substi tute or supplementary mechanism. They muet be careful not to become enmeivScd In their own reforms and lose '.he Tvrspectlve of their place In the bati.. al system. They must guard against fanatical devotion to new doc trines, and should seek articulation with the general economic system rather than Its reckless destruction as It relate to them. To take a tolerant and aympathetle view of the farmers' strivings for bet ter things Is not to give a blanket endorsement to any specific plan, and still less to applaud the vagaries of some of their leader and groups. Neither should we, on the other hand, allow the froth of bitter agitation, false economics, and mistaken radical ism to conceal the facts of the farm ers' disadvantage, and the practicabil ity of eliminating them by well-considered measures. It may be that the fanners will not show the business sagacity and develop the wise leader ship to carry through ound plans ; but that possibility does not justify the obstruction of their upward efforts. We, as city, people, sre In high and speculatively manipulated prices, spoilage, waste, scarcity, the results of defective distribution of farm prod ucts. Should It not occur to us that we have a common Interest with the farmer In his attempts to attain a de gree of efficiency in distribution cor responding to his efficiency In produc tion? Do not the recent fluctuations In the May wheat option, apparently unrelated to normal Interaction of supply and demand, offer a timely proof of the need of some such stabil izing agency as the grain growers have In contemplation? It Is contended that. If their pro posed organizations be perfected and operated, the farmers will have In their hands an instrument that will be capable of dangerous abuse. We are tnld that It will be possible to pervert It to arbitrary and oppressive price- fixing from Its legitimate use of order- Ing and stabilizing the flow of farm products to the market, to the mutuiil benefit of producer and consumer. I have no apprehensions on this point. In the first place, a lo. se organiza tion, such as any union of fanner must be at best, cannot be so arbi trarily and promptly controlled as a great corporation. The one is a lum bering democracy and the other an agile autocracy. In the second place, with all possible power of org .nizatlon, the farmers cannot succeed to any great extent, or for any considerable length of time, In fixing prices. The great law of supply and demand works In various and surprising ways, to the undoing of the best laid plans that attempt to foil It. In the third place, their power will avail the farmers nothing If It be abused. In our time and country power is of value to Its possessor only so long as it Is not abused. It is fair to say that I have seen no signs In responsible quarters of a disposition to dictate prices. There seems, on the contrary, to be a commonly beneficial purpose to realize a stability that will giv an orderly and abundant flow of farm products to the consumer and ensure reasonable awl dependable returns to the pro ejueer. In view of the supreme Importance to the national well-being of a pros perous and contented agricultural pop. ulatlon, we should be prepared to go a long way In assisting the farmers to get an equitable share of the wealth they produce, through the Inaugura tion of reforms that will procure a continuous and increasing sireuiu of farm products. They are far fr in get ting a fair share now. Considering his capital and the long hours of labor put in by the average funner and his family, he Is remunerated less than any other occupational class, with the possible exception of teachers, reli gious and lay. Though we know lli.it the present general distress of I he fanners Is exceptional nnd Is linked with the Inevitable economic readjust ment following the war, It niut he remembered that, although represent- (Continued on I'age Four)