REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. O 



selling at ruinously low prices. This export movement has been 

 decreasing. European agriculture is gradually being restored and 

 necessit}' requires restricted buying by the consuming public. An- 

 other phase of this export movement is the postponement of European 

 buying. In times past the tendency was to come into our markets 

 promptly and lay up farm products in store. Now the tendency 

 overseas is to use up all available domestic supplies and import as 

 little as possible. This requires us to hold our own exportable crops 

 longer than before and adds to our credit and storage difficulties. 

 The condition of our agriculture would seem to justify a thorough 

 study of the international situation as it bears upon the outlet for 

 the products of our farms. 



Conflicts between employers and employed in necessary industries 

 directly injure the farmer in many ways. When men are out of 

 work food consumption is necessarily reduced, notwithstanding 

 strike benefits paid. When the dispute affects transportation, the 

 movement of farm products is seriously interfered with. During 

 the recent railroad strike, for example, many fruit and truck farmers 

 were unable to move their perishable products, and as a consequence 

 suffered very heavy losses, running into many millions of dollars. 

 Delays in transportation cause heavy shrinkage in live stock mov- 

 ing to market, as well as damage to many other farm products re- 

 sulting from deterioration because of delayed movement. As a re- 

 sult consumers in the cities are compelled to pay unreasonably high 

 prices, while producers on the farms must take lower prices. The 

 effect of the transportation strike will injuriously affect the farmers 

 long after the men are back at work, because of the impaired con- 

 dition of the equipment. So also farmers suffered severely from the 

 coal strike. In many sections thrashing was delayed, at heavy loss 

 through exposure of the grain to the weather. Farmers were com- 

 pelled to pay exorbitant prices for such coal as they were able to 

 buy, and the necessity of moving coal when finally the mines and the 

 railroads resumed operations interfered materially with the prompt 

 movement of farm products. 



Cost of distribution of farm products remains high, notwithstand- 

 ing frequent violent denunciations of profiteers in the cities. In 

 part, this high cost of distribution is caused by the multiplication 

 of distributing agencies during the past six years, in part by the 



