ADVOCATE A ND GUIDE. 157 



or death of horses, breeding and raising of work teams, accidents, 

 breaking up of implements and tools, repairing and oiling of harness, 

 new fly nets about every year, draining of water off wheat fields, hunt- 

 ing up help and going after and taking the same home. 



: 'The taxes upon your improvements, now that they are taxed, 

 must in part, fall upon the wheat crop. A part of your income tax 

 can be blamed to your wheat crop and charged in as an expense against 

 it. I will venture to guess that when all items of expense are accounted 

 for it will be found that wheat in this county has cost the farmers about 

 $30 per acre to sow in 1917 and harvest in 1918. 



( 'These items are based upon a crop of 140 acres sown in 1917 

 and harvested in 1918, averaging 30 bushels per acre, and followed by 

 a crop of 200 acres sown in 1918. The item of board and lodging has 

 entered into the figures of the different items/ " 



You will note that having 30 bushels to the acre it was 

 produced for $1 a bushel. But as a ten-year average, from 

 1906 to 1915 inclusive, the United States produced only 15 

 bushels per acre; that should be the basis of computation 

 minus a still lower yield to cover the uncut acreage sown but 

 lost, which would probably cut it down to 12 bushels per 

 acre, as the 15-bushel yield includes only the acreage har- 

 vested. That would make his wheat cost $2.50 a bushel in 

 labor and overhead expense. That is the price he should 

 have had. But when the government guaranteed price ex- 

 pires June 1st, 1920, and the board of trade gamblers sell 

 the price down to 75 cents or less, what will or can wheat 

 growers do about it? Well, of course, they can do nothing 

 except to take it for wheat that cost them $2.50, if they 

 refuse to unionize to adopt and enforce the minimum price 

 system. Now 



" There, there! I'm converted to the unionizing idea. 

 You needn't give any more proof of its necessity and desira- 

 bility. By heck, I'll join it at the first opportunity if it 

 costs a hundred dollars. But I have a few questions written 

 down that occurred, to me as you went along in your argu- 

 ment that I would like answered, but was afraid to ask them 

 because you were so cranky." 



