ADVOCATE AND GUIDE. 143 



As the farmers of other nations unionize, delegates from 

 their National Crop Survey Boards would meet to form an 

 International Crop Survey Board, and thus to a large extent 

 direct the farming of the entire world, as it should be done, 

 from one central overseeing body. This is necessary to pre- 

 vent acute famine in some parts of the world in some prod- 

 ucts and overproduction of them in other parts, or a pos- 

 sible world shortage of some crops. 



Crop Optimist Should be Canned. 



Another good result, to the Central Western States at 

 least, through unionizing would be the canning of the crop 

 optimists, who have cost these States many billions of dol- 

 lars in the aggregate. The wind-jamming and tin horn 

 blowing about the size and expectation of bumper crops have 

 for decades been the bane of Kansas and other wheat-pro- 

 ducing States. This propensity developed abnormally in 

 the years from 1870 to 1890 from railroad and real estate ad- 

 vertising to induce people to come west and settle up the 

 country. It became epidemic and remained chronic over 

 all the West. All newspapers gladly gave it any amount of 

 free space. All classes were clamoring for a greater immi- 

 gration, and the knocker was tabooed everywhere. No pes- 

 simistic news or conditions were given a hearing anywhere, 

 as it might injure the real estate business and discourage 

 people and capital coming to the locality. 



People bore their poverty, crop failures and disappoint- 

 ments in silence, but when luck and weather conditions com- 

 bined to favor them with even the prospect of a good crop 

 their joyous hopes of a bumper crop were heard 'round the 

 world. Option gamblers made a note of it, and next day 

 sold it down on the boards of trade all over the world. Every 

 dealer in blue sky get-rich-quick schemes rushed their 

 agents to the favored country. Trusts voted a 25 per cent 

 raise on all goods going into this new-rich country. Goods 



