Fort Mill times. (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, January 28, 1915, Image 4
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wmm of
i civilization met
. by farmer
Cv;' I
WANTS NO "DEADHEADS" ON
LIST OF EMPLOYES.
A CALL UPON THE LAW MAKERS
TO PREVCNT USELE8S TAX
UPON AGRICULTURE.
1 ' I
By Pater Radford
Lecturer National Farmers' Union
The farmer is the paymaster of :
Industry and as such he must meet
th* nation's payroll. When Industry j
pars Its bill it must make a sight
draft upon agriculture for the amount, ;
uhirh thp farntpr in onmnalloH *n '
honor without protest TIiIb check j
drawn upon agriculture may travel to ;
and fro over the highways of com- j
mnrce; may build cities; girdle the
globe with bauds of steel; may search ,
hidden treasures la the earth or I
traverse tile skies, but in the end it i
will rest upon the soil. No dollar
will remain suspended in midair; It is
as certain to seek the earth's surface
as an apple that falls from a tree.
When a farmer buys a plow he pays
the man who mined the metal, the
woodman who felled the tree, the
manufacturer who assembled the raw
e material and aliaped it infct an article
of usefulness, the railroad that
transported it and the dealer who
sold hltn the goods He pays the
wages of labor uud capital employed
in the transaction as \jell as pays
for the tools, machinery, buildings,
IIP
.m %i>v wiioii UCIIOII \Jl I IIO
commodity and the same applies to
all articles of use and diet of himself
and those engaged In the subsidiary
lines of Industry.
There Is no payroll In civilization
tbat does not rest upon the back
of the fanner. He must pay the bills
-?all of them.
The total value of the nation's
annual agricultural products is around
$12,000,000,000, and it is safe to estimate
that 90 cents on every dollar
goes to meeting the expenses of subsidiary
industries. The farmer does
not work more than thirty minutes
per day for himself; the remaining
thirteen hours of ths day's toil he ;
devotes to meeting- the payroll of the ;
hired hands of agriculture, such as !
the manufacturer, railroad, commer
?.1 ..ii ?
iihii buu um?rr ?c!~Tanif.
Tha Farmer'# Payroll and How Ha
Meet# It.
The annual payroll of agriculture
approximate# 912,000,000,000. A portion
of the amount is' shifted to foreign
countries in export#, bnt the
lotal payroll of industries working for
the farmer divides substantially a# |
follows: Hailroads, $ 1,252,000.000;
manufacturers, 94,365.000.000; mining,
$655,000,000; banks, 9200.900,000;
mercantile 9;>.500,000.000, and a heavy
miscellaneous payroll constitutes the
remainder.
It takeH the corn crop, the most i
valuable in agriculture, which sold I
laHl year for $1,692,000,000, to pay off (
the employes of the railroads; the
inouey derived from our annua, sales
of livestock of approximately $2,000.000,000,
the yearly cotton crop, valued
at $920,000,000; the wheat crop,
which is worth $610,000,000, and the
oat crop, that is worth $440,000,000.
axe required to meet the annual payroll
of the manufacturers. The
money derived from the remaining (
staple crops is used in meeting the
payroll of the bankers, merchants, j
etc. After these obligations sre paid,
the farmer hus only a few bunches of '
vegetables, some fruit and poultry
which he can sell and call the proceeds
his own.
When the farmer pays off his help
he has very littls left and to meet
these tremendous payrolls he has
been "forced to mortgage homes, work
women in the held and increase the
hours of his labor. We are. therefore,
compelled to call upon all Industries
dependent upon the farmers '
(or subsistence to retrench in their
expenditures and to cut off al) on- >
necessary expenses This course is
absolutely necessary In order to avoid
a reduction in wages, and we want, i
if possible, to retain the present wage
acale paid railroad and all other industrial
employes
We will devote this article to a
discussion of unnecessary expenses
and whether required by law or permitted
by the managements of the
concerns, is wholly immaterial. We j
want all waste labor and exlravai
tuca nl <? /.toMot.i. ? ??
.. ..M?v ?V. VIIMI avigii vu% WUI.
Wa will mention the full crew bill as ,
Illustrating the character of unnecessary
expenses to wbicli we refer.
Union Opposes "Full Crew" Bill.
The Texas Farmers' Union registered
its opposition to this character
of legislation at the last annual meeting
held In Fort Wofth, Tex., Angust
4. 1tl4, by resolution, which we quote,
an follows:
"The matter of prime Importance
to the farmers of this state is an ade
quale *nd efficient marketing system:
aad we recogataa uhat such a system I
4s ia|MsikU sitksst adewsaew isfl
^ J';;,.,:; : ,- | $
vr" 1 - ' ' 1 Ja
mount of aerTice at the laast posa.ble
cost. We further recognize that :
tie farmers and producers In the end '
jay approximately 95 per cent of the j
expenses of operating the railroads. |
and it is therefore to the interest of
toe producers that the expenses of
the common carriers be as small as
la possible, consistent with good ser- j
rice and safety. We, therefore, call j
upon our law-makers, courts and
juries to bear the foregoing facts in
mind when dealing with the common j
carriers of this state, and we do especially
reaffirm the declarations of i
the last annual convention of our
State Union, opposing the passage of
the so-called 'full-crew' bill before
the thirty-third legislature of Texas."
The farmers of Missouri in the last
election, by an overwhelming majority,
swept this law off the statute
book of that state, and it should
come off of all statute books where
it appears and no legislature of this
nation should pass such a law or
similar legislation which requires un- i
necessary expenditures.
The same rule applies to all regulatory
measures which Increase the
expenses of industry without giving
corresponding benefits to the public.
There is ofttimes a body of men assembled
at leeidlnMirew?ami Il?#?
have a right to be there?who, in
their zeal for rendering their' fellowassociates
a service, sometimes favor
an increase in the expenses of industry
wlfiiout due regard for the men
who bow their backs to the summer's
sun to meet the payroll, but these
committees, while making a record
fnr themselves, rub the skin off the
shoulders of the farmer by urging the
legislature to lay another burden I
upon his heavy load and under- the
lash of "be it enacted" goad him on <
to pull and surge at the traces of civilization,
no matter how ,lie may sweat. ,
foam and gall at the task. When '
legislatures "cut a melon" for labor ;
they hand the farmer a lemon.
The farmers of the United Slates
are not financially able to carry "dead
heads" on their payrolls. Our own \
hired hands are not paid unless wo j
have something for them to. do and I
we are not billing to carry the hired 1
help of dependent industries unless
there is work for them. We must
therefore insist upon the most rigid
economy.
Legislative House-Cleaning Needed.
While the war is on and there In a
lull in business, we want all legiBla- !
ttve bodies to take an inventory of '
the statute books and wipe off all
extravagant and useless laws. A good
house-cleaning Is ueeded and economies
can be instituted .here and there
that will patch the clothes of indigent
children, rest tired mothers and lift
mortgages from despondent homes.
Unnecessary workmen taken off and
useless expenses chopped down all
along the line will add to the prosperity
of the farmer and eucourage
him in his mighty effort to feed and
clothe the world.
It any of these industries have sur
plus employes we can use them on
the (arm. We have no regular
Schedule of wages, but we pay gcod
farm hands on an average of $1.50
per day of thirteen hours when they
board themselves; work usually runs
about nine months of the year and the
three months dead time, they can do
the chores for their board. It they
prefer to farm jn their own account,
there are more than 14,000.000,000
acres of idle land on the earth's surface
awaiting the magic touch of the
plow. The compensation is easily obtainable
from Federal Agricultural
Pepartment statistics. Thu total
average annual sales of a farm in
the continental United States amounts
to ?.>ik.ou; tlie coat or operation is
$"40.00; leaving the farmer $176 per
annum to live on and educate his <
family.
There la no occasion for the legls- '
lntures making a position for surplus <
employes of industry.' I^et them come
"back to the soil" and 3hare with us
the prosperity of the farm.
; ,
When honesty is merely a good ]
policy it is a poor virtue. I
; ,
Lasy farmers are just as useless as <
dead ones and take up more room. <
, I i
When the soul communes with the 1
spirit of nature the back to the farm '
movement prevails
There are two kinds of farmer*.
One tries to take ajl the advice he
hears and the other won't take any
at all
WASN'T HIS ALACRITY j
J
Hodge?There's nun who
doesn't let the grass grow under his
feet.
Dodge--He looks slow enough.
I lodge?He is, but he works mi ?
quurrjr. I
*- t r~
RATE INCREASE
UCPCCCIDV
IlLULUUnill
.
FARMERS' UNION OFFICIALS ! '
THINK RAILROADS A*E EN- j ]
TITLED TO MOftE REVENUE. ' 1
' - "
>
' I '
Product? of Plow and Farmer Who
Lives at Home Should * ' M
Exempt From Increase. I 1
| 1
By Peter Radford. <
Lecturer National Farmers' Union.
The recent action of the Interstate
Commerce Commission in granting an |
increase in freight rates in the eastern j
classification of territory; the appllca- '
tion of the roads to state and inter- j s
state coixjiiiisaioiis "or "an increase is ; |
rates, and the utterances of President (
Wilson on the subject bring the farmers
of this nation face to face with the '
problem of an increase in freight l
rates. It is the policy of the Farmers'
Union to meet the issues affecting the
tt'plf-: '? nf tlia c nv*A
" w..M. v 1UU IHIIIICIO pijuainj <iuu
we will do bo In this Instance.
The transportation facilities of the '
United States are Inadequate to ef- I
fectlvely meet the demands of com- j
merce and particularly in the South
and West additional railway mlleags '
is needed to accommodate the move- 1
ment of farm products. If in the wi#
lorn of our Railroad Commissions an |
Increase in freight rates is neceasary
to bring about an improvement in our ,
transportation service, and an extension
of out mileage, then an increase
should be granted, and the farmer is
willing to share such proportion of
the increase as justly belongs to him,
hut we have some suggestions to make s
as to the manner in which this in- [ (
crease shall be levied. (
Rates Follow Lines of Least Resist- 1
ance. ; }
The freight rates of the nation have 1
been built up along lines of least re- i
slstance. The merchant, the manufacturer,
the miner, the miller, the ,
lumberman and tlie cattleman have
had their tralTlc bureaus thorouehlv
organized and in many instances they I
have pursued the railroad without t
mercy and with the power of organ- j ,
ized tonnage they have hammered the .
life out of the rates and with unre- *
strained greed they have eaten the J
vitals out of our transportation syatetn t
and since we have had railroad com- J ?
missions, these interests, with skill
and cunning, are represented at every
hearing in which their business is I
involved. i
The farmer is seldom represented <
at rate hearings, as his organizations ' _
have never had tho finances to employ
counsel to develop his side of ;
the case and, as a result, the products >
of the plow hear an unequal burden .
of the freight expense. A glance at
the freight tariffs abundantly proves ,
this assertion. Cotton, the leading
agricultural product c the South, al- .
readv bears the hiahest freight rut* of
any necessary commodity in com
merce, and the rate on agricultural
products as a whole is out of proportion
with that of the products of
the factory and the mine.
We offer no schedule of rates, but
hope the commission will be able to
give the railroad such an increase in
rates as is necessary without levying
a further toll upon the products of
the plow. The instance seems to pre- I
sent an opportunity to the Railroad
Commissions to equalize the rates as
between agricultural and other classes
nf freight without disturbing the rates
[>n staple farm products.
What Is a Fair Rate?
We do not know what constitutes a
>asis for rate making and have never
teard of anyone who did claim to
tnow much about it. but if the prosperity
of the farm is a factor to be
considered and the railroad commis- 1
non continues tnat an tut-rease in
-atps is necessary we would prefer
hat it come to us through articles of
lonsumption on their Journey from
he factory to the farm. We would. I
'or example, prefer that the rate on I
logs remain as at present and the
ate on meat bear the increase, for
my farmer can then avoid the burden
>y raising his own meat, and a farm;r
who will not -try to raise his own .
neat* ought to be penalized. We
hink the rate on coal and brick can
nuch better bear an increase than
he rate on cotton and flour. We
vnuId prefer that the rate on plows
'pmaiu the same, and machinery,
llanos and such articles as the poorer
farmer cannot hope to possess hear
he burden of increase.
The increase in rates should he so
irranged that the farmer who lives
it home will hear no part of the burlen,
but let the farmer who boardr
n other states and countries and i
who feeds his stock in foreign lands, j
l?ey the price ol his folly.
J- "
ODD.
"Funny tiling xlxwt nwtrimony."
"Continue."
"It's onlv in the case of n poor
mutch tlmt the spark* fly,"
WHAT| IN A NAME?
I
* We've named onr motor l?oat
True Lore."
"MTmt'j the ide?r
"Afovftr nuu UKMtk."
CASTE BARS MEDICAL AID
Lowly Social Rank Prevents Hospital
Succor for East Indian Coolie
When Wounded.
Many people, unless actually famil
in r with the ways and customs of
the native of India, have little idea
is to how superstitious many of these
[>eople are, especially with regard to
their "caste"' system.
Not ren' long ago a coolie, while
passing tnrough the jungle, was severely
mauled by a bear. His comrades.
however, although they knew
that a few miles distant there was a
well-equipped hospital, conveyed him
to a village where he was kept without
medical assistance and in a blazing
sun for three days.
When eventually brought into the
Hospital the man's plight may ho better
imagined than described. The
mrgeon and his assistants managed
to keep him alive, but his face is so
lisfigured that he is known in the
listwet as the "reaehe wallah" (bear
nan).
The most extraordinary thing
ihout this ease is that the unfortunate
person was, during the time
lie lay in the hospital, considered
>v tlie fraternity to be unclean, with
lie result that his own wife was,
through attending to his requireucnta,
thrown out of "caste."
COMPARES HEAT OF STARS
Scientist Says Stellar Bodies Are
From 2.000 to 27,000 Degrees
in Temperature.
During two years Hoscul>erg has j
itudicd photographically the spectra
>f the 70 most brilliant stars in the
lorthern hemisphere, from the first
0 the third order of magnitude. Bv
1 comparison of their spectra it is j
possible to deduce their temperaares.
The results obtained agree well
ritb those of Wilsing and Scheinor; j
tars of the helium type are the hotost.
and the red stars are the cool st.
As a s|>ecimen, the following
temperatures are quoted: Sinus.
>7,000 degrees; Vega, 22,000 ^ decrees;
Algol, 12,000 degrees; ^Areurus,
0,000 degrees; Aldebaran,
>,000 degrees.
From the aspect and relative dis laecnient
of the sj?ectral lines an
dea may be formed of the pressure
-onditions in the atmosphere of the
iturs studied. Thus Adams has
ound that in the li^ht-cinittinj* atnosphere
of Siring the pressure is 12
tA
sphere, which confirms the hypothesis
that Sirius is a simple mass of
Ka8 without a defined surface of condensation.
EXTREMELY THIN.
"I met Slimwit on the street yesterday
and he told me he was enveloped
in a veil of thought."
"Just so."
"But compared to" a veil of Slimwit's
thought, the veil a Salome
daueer uses is as thick and tough as
steel armor plate."
AN UNEXPECTED PERFORMER.
"I understand that Mr. Blowster
took a prominent part in the amateur
theatricals given at his house
last night."
"So he did. The old gentleman
came home full of highballs and
j broke up the show."
1
RETRIBUTION.
"Did the plav have a happy ending
" '
"You bet it did. Some one in the
gallery hit the villain square in the
face with a tomato."?Houston Post.
X
THIS HECTIC LIFE.
m t
"Well, I must say that is an appropriate
combination."
- jo wnar no you refer?"
"1 3ee a dish-faced girl dancing
(ho 'kitchen sink.'/'
HIS SPECIES.
"The Massachusetts broker who
booms things so, follows Miss Pettie
around like a dog."
"I guess he's her Boston bull."
NATURAL PLACE.
"What is U'fore the club at this
meeting "
"1 believe the question' of furniture
is on the carpet."
SOMETHING LIKE IT.
"Jones never opens his mouth
I without putting his foot in it."
"I see. He's caught the foot-aud1
mouth disease."
UTOPI^
| "It's a good thing for this world
that all our dreams don't come true."
"Yes?"
"I fear that work would be elimij
nated."
=r- imniyyjuilfflffll
irillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllM
At
^ White
Jovial Englishman Confronted With *?
"Two Balls" on Tee WherT^^WM
Starting Game.
Golfing stories threaten to Ueconn#
as notorious in their lack of veracity
as fishing storvs. The truth of the
following narrative, which is prea-^ j
entlv going fhe roWld at Moffat. T '
will not swear to. says the nnrrafef ^
in the Glasgow News. A p"Aniculif?
ly jovial party visited one of the tb-'
eal hotels, one evening recently, sayi
ing that they would sample-the-links
On the followiny tthV ' Thirti-itr
O 7?J~ .""."'16 ." ,eveniifg
thev lived sumptuously,
looking long upon the wine when it
was red.* In the morning, feeling
rather poorly, they resolved that they
would merely walk round the course,
and engage in a game in the afternoon.
Thev returned from their
promenade feeling rather refreshed,
hut. alter dinner, again partook too 4
heartily of the ''barley hree." They,
however, sallied out afterwards to
engage in the gatne. The leader of
the party had his ball teed for him
at the first tee, and was just addressing
himself to strike, when suddenly
he drew hack with a look of utmost
consternation 011 his face. 4,Bv
,T6ve!" said he; "T never saw sic a
thing as this before?stymied on the
tee."
POPULATION SHIFTING.
There has been a constant and interesting
shifting, since the two recent
Balkan wars, of the population
of the various territories affected. .
Most of European Turkey having
been partitioned among several dif
ferent Balkan states and new boundaries
made, the nationals of the various
affected countries hastened?
some of their own free will and oth- 1
era through forced circumstances?
to shelter within the confines of the
newly annexed territory. For instance.
the Greeks are migrating
from Asia Minor and Thrace into
"New Greece," the Turks from what
was formerly European Turkey to
Constantinople and Asia Minor, and
the Bulgara to "New Bulgaria" from
contiguous Greek, Turkish or Servian
territories. .
Education is a developing of the
mind, not a stuffing of the memory.
Digest what you read.
Old men have visions, young men
nave dreams. Successful farmer*
plow deep while sluggards sleep.
i .
X si
xi ^
^ J
?m