The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 20, 1920, Page 10

.000 last year. Farmers Run Behind s nta WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENC - Huge Farm Deficit Six and a Half Billions Lost by Tillers in Year, Study Reveals ‘Washington Bureau, Nonpartisan Leader. F FARMERS had allowed a decent liv- ing wage for_themselves, their wives and ‘their children who worked on the farm, they would bhave realized that they ran behind about $6,500,000,000 . on their farm’ work last year, accord- ing td*a study made by the Farmers’ National coun- cil, which: has been investigating the total costs of farm production, including the labor of farmers and their wives and children, seasonal and hired help, interest on farm values, freight paid for car- rying farm products, taxes (local and state); fer- tilizers, seeds, feeds, interest on farm indebtedness (in excess of 6 per cent), and depregiation of build- ings, implements and machinery. The department of agriculture estimates the total value 'of farm products in 1919, based on prices at the farm, at $16,025,000,000 for crops, and $8,957,000,000 for an- ° imal and animal. products—a total of $24,982,000,- 000. - The total of the.chief costs of production enumerated above was $31,463,787,- 000, showing that the farmers ran behind, in round figures, $6,481,787;- tion given by the Farmers’ National in reaching the total costs of farm and children, $13,000,000,000; sea- REN cent, $4,674,000,000; freight paid for 000; feértilizers, $250,000,000; seeds, l'ii_i'," cess of 6 per cent, $120,000,000; de- implements and machinery at 10 per WIVES AND CHILDREN ARE tional council admits are estimates, servatism in making them. ; The out- paid labor at that. Farmers who ness ability and are entitled to a re- portant business, as well as to a fair ting such a return many farmers re- men, women and children, 10 years of age or over, of whom about three-quarters were male. Assum- ing only the same number for 1919 their average wage and keep certainly was equal to $833 a year, a total of $5,000,000,000. In 1910, the last year for which census figures : are available, the total value of farm properties, including - land, equipment, buildings, implements and machinery, domesti¢ animals, poultry and bees, was about $41,000;000,000, an increase of 100 per .cent during the decade preceding. The estimated value increased at least 90 per cent during the nine years from 1910 to 1919, so that it totaled at least $77,900,000,000 last year. A 6 per cent return upon this value of farm property is $4,674,000,000. FEAR FARMERS WILL CUT PRODUCTION . TO MINIMUM The other items in the above table are carefully estimated, though the allowance for state and local taxes is very low, and the depreciation allowed—10 per cent—on the estimated increase in the value of implements and machinery 'since 1910 is also prob- ably too low. = S Fp “We have reached a crisis in agriculture,” the council states, “and unless it is made profitable and put on a-business basis farmers will.raise enough A : " THE WOLVES LOCKED OUT | / / 7 —— —— Alaska About to Be Looted i ) A Plotting Alaskan L.oot John Barton Payne’s Plans to Cut Natural _ Resources Melon : “Washington Bureau, : - “Nonpartisan Leader. == |OHN BARTON PAYNE, corporation lawyer, of Chicago, is secretary of the interior. How he got to be a member of the Wilson cabinet along with Bur- leson, Housfon and Palmer is a story which possibly one of those distin- guished statesmen may some time disclose. Or possibly the big Chicago meat packers, or the oleo king, Jelke, who Payne saved from the -peniten- tiary, may reveal it. Jelke was under a two-year sentence, but remained out while Payne as his law- ‘yer fought for one legal point after another until Payne became a member of the president’s official family. Then the president issued a pardon to . Jelke. It is true that several poor devils who worked for Jelke—as wagon drivers and such— had to serve time in prison for the crime which Jelke caused ‘them to.commit. But that was be- cause they couldn’t pay lawyers forever. Anyhow, Payne is in charge of the department of the interior, as successor to Franklin K. Lane, who now gets $50,000 a year or more from an il concern that is controlled by Standard Oil. And as secretary, Payne has issued a state- ment of his plans for the development of Alaska’s natural resources. This is important because congress passed an act, some years ago, safeguarding the coal and oil and other mineral depos- its of Alaska against the Sort of land grabbers whose plans Mr. Ballinger and Mr. Lane and Mr. John Barton Payne approve. 3 “Plans are now being worked out,” says Payne’s statement, “for the greater development of Alaskan re- sources through policies which will at- tract new capital and improve trans- portation connections with the United States. = Recommendations made in the report of a special committee ap- pointed to study the Alaskan situation have been approved and I have in- structed the committee to put them into effect'as soon as possible.” SCHEME TO FORM STEAMER. COMBINE IS ON PROGRAM -Two of the most important steps he will take are an attempt to consoli- N eSS “\\“ e o < ing the territory (thereby creating a private monopoly of steamship trans- portation), “with a view to greater economy and efficiency,” and consoli- dation of federal supervision of Alas- kan affairs to secure prompt action.” This: scheme for consolidation of federal powers over Alaskan affairs is the old Lane scheme of taking away from the forestry bureau of the de- partment of agriculture the control of the great national forests in' Alaska, . and from the department of commerce the control of fisheries in Alaskan wa- date the private steamship lines serv- . The following are costs of produc- council as the minimum actual charges which should be considered production: 3 Labor of farmers, farmers’ wives sonal and hired labor, $5,000,000,000; - || EETTITL] interest on farm values at 6 per || " carrying farm products, $600,000,- ) , 000; taxes, local and state, $400,000,- : | l $723,000,000; feeds, $6,216,000,000; 1 interest on farm indebtedness in ex- preciation of buildings at 21 per cent, $269,062,000; depreciation of cent, $211,725,000—a total of $31,- 463,787,000. ENTITLED TO FAIR WAGE These figures the Farmers’ Na- but most careful estimates, and they have purposely leaned toward con- standing fact is that American agri- culture is primarily labor, and poorly manage farms and take the risks of agriculture, need and use large busi- - turn for their labor equal to that of men.engaged in other similarly im- return upon the value of their farms and farm equipment. Instead of get- ceive less for their work than un- skilled workers in -other industries who are themselves paid less than a” living wage. : —Drawn expressly for the Leader by W. C. Morris. Farmer Brown is sleeping more peacefully now. The Nonpartisan league has put a lock on his granary door in North Dakota, and soon will do the same in other states, and th_e’ profiteer and food gaml?ler‘ wolves can’t steal his grain. ters, and from various other depart- ments their own authority, thereby .creating a sort of Roman provincial government' for the territory, to be " census reports that there were that year 5,926,816 The farmers’ wives and children : who do farm work—and everybody’s doing it on the farm—are entitled to a labor wage of at least. $1,000 a year for any adult who spends eight hours a day in farming. They certainly are entitled to time and a half for overtime. There are about 6,500,000 farms in America and the council esti- mates that an average of two adults of the farmer’s family do the equivalent of a full day’s work each, daily, on thefarm, which means that they are enti- tled to a labor income of $13,000,000,000.” The 1910 farmers, of which 257,706 were women. ' The great majority of farmers are married and the work of farm women and children is fully €ntitled to pay. In 1910 there were mnearly 6,000,000 farm laborers, ° capitalists—fully three times as large. to feed themselves and will. not worry about feed- ing: other people. Unless feeding the world yields fair wages, expenses and interest on investment, farmers won't do it. - 2 - “The figures show that the labor interest of farm- ers as such is vastly greater than their interest as- ¢ Even on the low figure of $2,000 on the average for labor for every farmer’s family, directly engaged in farm- ing, the labor wvalue of farmers is nearly three -times as large as a 6 per cent return on the total “value of farm property. 3 : “We have reached the stage where we m‘ust't:m‘d ~special privilege and monopoly which are: exacting such tremendous tribute from the farmers.” : run by Some political or business henchman of the secretary of the interior. As a means of paying off business or social or political ~obligations, this would be rich pickings for any cabinet officer. While the plan for-a private monop- oly of steamship approach to Alaska is sufficiently brazen in its Ballingerism, this consolidation plan makes the Seattle lawyer who disgraced the Taft cabinet look like a peanut snatcher by contrast. Payne promises to investigate the feasibility of smelting Alaska copper ores on'a commercial basis within the territory. . Ail the known copper ores in Alaska are held by the Ryan and other big copper interests. He also proposes a rapid development of ;_h:s pulp-wood industry, presumably for some other