The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 13, 1918, Page 4

i ' How 'F armers Are Robbed 6f Millions RERTRIR R houses and cold storage plants for perishable farm products. : fellow names a price that price is the law and has the protection of the law. . PAGE. FOUR depend upon the size of their mail lists and I would not add to their earnings. C. T. NELSON. : Consumers 1n the Cities Also Are Held Up by the Autocratic Price Fixing of the Organized Plundering Middlemen & . -JHERE is a superstition still that 3—Transportation facilities such as railroads and The system finds it necessary also to control the & w. supply and demand has some- steamship lines. press and the “education” of the people. The prin- thing to do with prices. The 4—Credit. The system must have credit to re- cipal item of this “education” is to make a good - average farmer steadily re- place the capital “tied up” in cornered and stored PRODUCER of the farmer and to sadly neglect fuses to accept the fact that provisions and to “tide it over” those hard times his education as a MARKETER or seller. The farm the exchange of produce has during which the system is waiting for the people papers, dailies and agricultural colleges are strong been given wholly over to a to make up their minds to accept its prices or on teaching the farmer to PRODUCE more. The b G species of brigandage calcu- starve. . entire wealth and power of the system rests upon lated to cause a highway rob- WHY THEY OWN the fact that the farmer is the biggest producer - 2% ber to blush. THE POLITICIANS and the poorest marketer in the world. ¢ The average farmer will never suspect until he JUST WHAT PREVENTS o is thoroughly convinced that a gigantic SYSTEM But the closed market system must control more OUR PROSPERITY has been built up in a generation wholly bent on” than these things; it must have a big say in gov- perfecting the process of price-fixing, and that ernment in order to hold the producer down while The closed .market system presupposes that there 1. when this SYSTEM gets its work in the law of it holds the consumer up. The system could not once existed an OPEN market where the producer <A supply and demand has about as much chance to engage in either of these pleasant pastimes with- could sell direct to the consumer. There did. The operate as the Golden Rule in the Chicago wheat out a stranglehold on government. Knock the po- little the farmer then had to exchange was traded w -~ pit. litical props out from under this system and it for an honest equivalent. Prices were then kept » This system is a compact organization of non- will fall. This explains why the system spends up because everything was scarce; the farmer was L producers firmly intrenched in not then able to produce much. the process of finishing and ;Vhen we; haw;.'l ?12 opeg m:r- (i marketing farm produce and l l et supply an mand actu- { stubbornly engaged in PRE- THE NEGLECTED BROTHER ally operates and prices rest o S8 VENTING the producer from : on scarcity. selling direct to the consumer B When the farmer introduced - > and also extracting from each machinery and began to pro- ; all that it is possible to ex- duce abundantly this 'SCAR- 4 tract. It is known as the CITY was threatened and CLOSED MARKET. hence PRICES were threaten- i The closed market is a cun- ed. Now, in steps a new fac- 3 ning device for relieving the tor to save prices. Machinery s 13 farmer each year of his entire has separated the finishing and overburden of wealth by con- marketing facilities from the. LAl . trolling supply and demand farmers and given them over f B and preventing the farmer GHEN { GET to the middlemen. These mid- 1~ from selling to any other You EATTENED dlemen organized to control buyer than itself. This en- UPUMKE YOUR supply so as ‘to maintain ables it to fix prices to pro- BROTHER. OVER SCARCITY so they could keep g ducers and consumers. It “THERE ,WE WONT up the prices. They did this e makes the process of distribu- GE AFRAID OF by buying the farmers’ prod- tion as long and complicated -7 ? ANYBoDY uce in the fall when the mar- » b and costly as possible and @-« ket was glutted and the farmer charges the whole account up 5% had to sell, -and then storing to the consumer. Out of these - this produce until the consum- 4 enormous “winnings” it hands @ ers began to feel the pinch of "} the producer enough to keep e ) scarcity and yield to it in the ¥ his farm from becoming non- shape of high prices. productive. Hence the closed market R B According to government es- system was organized for the timates the farmer gets only express purpose of producing- L e $9 out of every $29 the con- scarcity where abundance was sumer pays for farm products. possible. It is based on the R If he got less his farm would maintenance of general pov- T run down and the closed mar- erty. Universal prosperity - ket system would lose money. would destroy it. If it could 1 not keep the farmer so poor (i 'Irg %gtogggégIZATION that he could not store and sell P . e b 14 his own produce it could not P In order to “put over” this stand. If it could not keep the °~ * J ~* big job the system has to be consumer poor enough syste- e well organized and well found- matically to starve him into an & ed on “understandings” and acceptance of the high cost of i “gentleman’s agreements.” living it would pass away. It i} Hence we find these groups of is the Original Society for the ‘«’ * nonproducers and middlemen Prevention of Prosperity. It } organized into “protective” as- exists solely by keeping the ;LI sociations “understanding” producer and consumer apart « A * each other perfectly. These and keeping them both poor. B ‘“understandings” and “gentle- 5 There i emei i E b man’s agreements” usually re- : J o —Drawn expressly for the' Leader by W. C. Morris conditi:nl:tazx-rtehl:;d{h:o;u:)l;;z 1- late to established prices and Uncle Sam has spent millions of dollars and has .bmlt.‘ up a sPlendld army to defend democ- control of finishing, marketing 17 the prevention of producers Iacy. Now that he has seen what he can do, he is going to give the same tonic to Economic and price-fixing hnder e | and consumers from trading Democracy. A common sense rearrangement of marketing conditions will be the first step. lic control- the .pr odincas. il R with each other. A system of The profiteers are against an exathination of home conditions. That is why the Nonpar- consumer could co-operate to- i 4 laws and licenses is used to tisans will have to fight so hard for progress. |, gether through the government & -? », prevent the farmer or others and fix prices in the interest 5 ' outside the system from peddling direct to con- millions of dollars each campaign in selecting and of all. If we apply this. remedy we will yet be able 3 sumers. The monopoly of supplies is so well man- electing candidates. to realize the splendid possibilities of farm machine aged that retailers and others engaged in selling Before the farmers can start to get out of the production and all will enjoy abundance. In order i i can be “closed out” of business whenever they at-. trap of the closed market they will have to organ- to do this, as a first step, the farmer and consumer i ‘L tempt to buy directly from the farmers. - ize, vote together, and “clean up the gang” in all must organize and restore the government to (’ ; To control supply and demand and monopolize the states and in Washington. The fight of the the people. - : ; 'Y 5 @ buying and selling the closed market system must farmers for independence and for the right to sell gl |- own and control the following facilities: directly to the consumers is a political fight before CUT OUT UNFAIR PAPERS ) P 1—The facilities for finishing farm products for it is anything else. \ Brocket, N. D. ¥ B consumption, such as flour mills, packing plants, The farmer has to play in a game where the Editor Nonpartisan Leader: : § creameries, canning factories, sugar factories, re- other fellow makes all the rules. When he sells It makes me sore (which is putting it very mild), § fineries. - wheat it is the other fellow who does all the weigh- ~ yes, indignant, to read some of the newspapers B R 2—Storage facilities for “taking care” of the ing, docking and grading and the other fellow’s around here pretending to be truthful, neutral and farmer’s produce and “holding” it until the people word is law. When he tries to sell his produce di- the farmers’ friends. I urge every member of the g S are ready to pay “the right kind of a price” for it. = rect to the consumer or the retailer, he is up League to have his name taken from the subscrip- g Among such facilities are railroad elevators, ware- against a license law or a fine. When the other tien list. The advertising earnings of these sheets ¢