The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 25, 1919, Page 14

ADVERTISEMENTS When the Farmer 'Has to Plow HERE comes a time on every farm when work must be done at once if it is to be done at all. It may be plowing, cultivating, harvesting or hous- ing of the crops. When conditions are right the work must be started and" pushed with all possible speed if the farm 1s to pay maximum return that season. Under such conditions the man on the job has no time to go to town, even to get necessary supplies, and no one on the place can be spared for that purpose. Some times it is necessary to send in for food, seed, or machinery, but for his re- quirements of petroleum products, the farmer knows that he will be supplied by the dark, green tank wagon of the Standard Oil Company (Indiana) which calls at his home as regularly, though not as$ often, as does the man who brings his mail. He has learned that he can depend upon ‘ this delivery service, and that the Standard Oil man will deliver his kero- sene, gasoline and lubricating oil not only to his door, but, if needs be, to the tractor in the field—there are 150,000 tractors in the Middle West. This is the reason for the harmonious, - close, friendly relations which always has existed between the Standard Oil Company (Indiana) and the farmers of the Middle West. Also this is another reason why ‘the Standard Oil Company . (Indiana) takes pride in its position as a public servant, doing an exacting job as well as it knows how, to the distinct advantage of the man who raises the crops and the millions who eat them. Standard Oil -Company (Indiana) 910 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IlL So lea Mo»r'e Pasfiii‘e Land Is'()ffféredfi,-‘ Help Is Offered by Readers of Leader to Farmers of ' Montana, Hit by Drouth ' ETTERS from readers of the Nonpartisan Leader, offering pastures for Montana cattle, continue to come to the office of the Leader. We are “printing some more below, in the hope that they may help to relieve the drouth-stricken farmers of Montana. Any person wishing to avail them- selves of the opportunity to pasture their cattle through these offers should write directly to the writers of these letters, whose addresses appear with them. Pella, Wis, Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I am in a position to care for five or six head of cattle of some drouth- stricken Montana farmer. If it is possible ‘I should like to get a bull with them. I will be able to pasture these cattle until snow comes, but the owner will have to pay the freight and, of course, be responsible for any accident, such as death by lightning. RUDOLPH GULTSCHOW. Hinckley, Minn. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I see that some of the cattle and sheep men in the drouth-stricken regions of Montana are- looking for pasture. I have 715 acres of cutover land in Itasca county, at Crooked lake, 18 miles north of Grand Rapids. This land has a lot of clover on it, and any Montana farmer can have .this land for pasture free of charge. There is another tract of 160 acres which any one can have and some other adjoin- ing land which I believe can be had. S. KERN. Poplar, Minn. ‘ ' Editor Nonpartisan Leader: In reference to your call for aid to Montana farmers, I can offer winter . care for about 20 head of cattle. I have barn room for that many and if they will put up their own hay I could take care of them at very small cost. There is plenty of hay in this region: that could be mowed with a scythe. This hay is usually given away for the mowing. If the owners do not wish to keep the cattle through the winter, I could offer pasture for about two months for the same number of cattle at $1 a head a month. There is running water on the place. I live 24 miles north of Staples, Minn., and will meet the men as they come through with their cattle if they wish. H. R. FREDRICKSON. 5 Bathgate, N. D. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: There is pasture and plenty of wa- ter in this section for several hundred head of ‘cattle free, if the owners can afford to pay for a boy and a pony to - herd them. Farmers in this section are in the market for a few cars of grade Herefords and shorthorn fe- - males at living prices. 1. J. FOSTER. Market-Man Rule Boosts Living Costs (Continued from page 5) ~manipulators could take advantage of a shortage in ships to bring hides from Australia, Brazil and Argentina. Their hides cost them less than before, but they ask 27 to 30 per cent more for their products. The shoe combine in turn asks nearly double prices for its products, with the 80 per cent increase in leather costs as the excuse.. Thus the market men have discouraged the farmers in producing hides and reaped enormous profits, not from production but from a public misfortune. Such is the basis of the problem, the evil in “business as usual,” the pet phrase of the market-politician type of business man who ought to be gotten rid of. But how are we going to get rid of him and put production in the control of real producers? The Nonpartisan league farm- ers offered a program te do this very thing before we entered the war and it still stands as solid as a rock. All the American 'people _will come to it when they have lost their patience with the domi- nation of the market-politician— the man who follows the stock market ticker or the man who does the bidding of the ticker shark in- public office. s While it is carrying out the League program, which, of course, would take a little time, the government could, for instance, say to the coal mining - companies: B “All the coal you mine will be taken by the government at the mouth of ° -the mine. You will be paid what it costs you to produce coal and enough more per ton to give you a return of 4 or b per cent on investment if you produce only your usual amount. You can make more if you produce more or learn how to opéerate cheaper.” The government could then pool all the coal it buys thus and set a price to the. public to cover its operations. Being -able to secure profits only through' greater production, the coal companies® would then begin:to ‘dig-. 28 e er before. Miners would. have work for-six days of the week instead of three or four. New mines would be opened. We would soon have an adequate supply of coal. City and : co-operative buying from the govern- ment at the fixed price would cut out local dealer profiteering. When we come to secondary manu- facture, such as refining of oil, pack- ing of meats and making of agricul- tural machinery, a different procedure is needed in_the interest of the public. Here there is no business justification for encouraging what economists call the marginal producers, as in the case of raw materials. With these the gov- ernment should find what it costs a little more than half of the factories in a certain line to produce and set the price enough over this to give the effi- cient a profit and the hope of greater : profit only through increasing produc- tion. Thus if most of the flour mills can produce flour at a small profit for $10.80. a barrel from $2.60 wheat, we are foolish to pay all $12 to $13 a - barrel because some mills need almost that to make a profit. By full-time operation and by additions the efficient mills could mill all our flour for us. We are justified in eliminating ineffi- cient secondary manufacturers for the same reason that an employer dis- - charges a man who does not_earn his wage. The public can not run an almshouse for inefficient business. This comparison, however, falls short of the actual fact, for when we pay a price which enables the ineffi- cients to live, we give vast, undeserv- ed profits to the others. Let profits in necessaries come only . through greater production. Let pro- ‘ducing experts rule and let market manipulation and salesmanship be- come a lost art in the field of neces- saries. We can thus pull down the high cost of living without causing a panic. - Anything less ig 'the bluffing _ of politicians. 1n our windy: viéfld,— R What's up is faith, what's down is.