io THE THIRD POWER 



would be quite as justifiable for him to curtail his 

 output or marketing as it is for the manufacturer. 

 He should have it in his power, as the laborer has, 

 to say that he will not work except for fair remuner- 

 ation. As it is now he is hedged around by the 

 scheming of the shrewdest men in the world who 

 manipulate his markets in mysterious ways. Be- 

 sides this, his business is also subject to other un- 

 certain conditions, such as weather, insects, blight, 

 rust, etc. He can not escape from his thraldom 

 to the natural causes. But he ought, as a freeborn 

 American citizen, to vow that he will break the 

 chains of his slavery to the other masters. 



The question is simply one of the application of 

 power. The farmer has the power to get whatever 

 he wants, and to make his life what it should be. 

 He must learn how to use it. No power except 

 highly organized power is of any value in these 

 times. The individual man is industrially powerless 

 in the United States to-day. Two things, therefore, 

 seem to be clear. First, the farmer must use his 

 power to the end that he may be his own master, and 

 not the slave of others and the burden-bearer of the 

 nation. Second, he must learn that the only way in 

 which he can use the power which is his, is through 

 organization, an organization of his own, controlled 

 by himself, and in his own interest. By doing this 

 he will benefit, not only himself, but all classes of 

 society. It is not proposed that he should wage a 

 war of offense but simply one of defense. He is not 



