74 FARMERS' UNION AND FEDERATION 



ever and still advancing ; therefore, farm products must be 

 advanced in price regardless of increased facilities for pro- 

 duction, not for spite or retaliation, but for economic neces- 

 sity to put farmers on equality with other producers to 

 enable them to buy their necessities. Only through union- 

 izing and adopting and enforcing the minimum price system 

 based on skilled union wages and overhead expenses can 

 that be done. 



To have equality with all other organized classes in 

 economic and political power and government influence the 

 wheat raisers must unionize and go into politics to demand 

 and work for their interests through their elected officers 

 and representatives as they do. Only through that plan 

 can they get their wages, and interest on investments in- 

 creased and guaranteed. And this course should be followed 

 at once by the producers of each farm product organizing 

 into separate unions and then all federating into the Ameri- 

 can Federation of Farmers to checkmate and offset the 

 economic and political power of other unionized and fed- 

 erated classes of labor and capital. 



The later news item concerning the 200,000-acre farm 

 shows the growing danger in this country of capitalists' com- 

 petition in the farming business that could and probably 

 will put the small farmers out of business unless they un- 

 ionize to prevent it by law. There is no time to lose in un- 

 ionizing and investigating the terms of Morgan's land leases 

 from the government, and have them annulled. 



Labor Wages Based on Cost of Living. 



It is a mistaken idea that farmers can live cheaper than 

 city people if they indulge in the same luxuries they do. 

 And why shouldn't they? This thing of expecting and com- 

 pelling farmers to live on less than city people is driving 

 them to the city. Through prices of their products they 

 must receive wages equal to skilled union wages in cities or 



