126 THE THIRD POWER 



borer. He loses again in the encounter with the or- 

 ganized miners who mine the steel — or, rather, the 

 iron from which the steel is made — which enters into 

 his implements. He loses when he meets the wood- 

 workers, the wagonmakers, the furniture makers, the 

 implement makers, the horseshoers, the threshermen, 

 the milk handlers, the carpenters, the masons who 

 build his buildings, the armies who manufacture the 

 household articles, the clothing, the army of leather 

 workers, and behind them the army of tanners, the 

 armies which run the railroads, and the armies which 

 run the trains over the roads to haul to market the 

 products of the farmer. The fanner does not drive 

 a nail, use a pin, lift a hoe or spade, coil a rope, or 

 turn a furrow but he pays tribute to some one of the 

 numerous armies arrayed against him. Day and 

 night, night and day, he is being taxed for the sup- 

 port of these armies, all because he is meeting them 

 single-handed, can not resist their encroachments, 

 nor pass the tax along. Plainly he needs help to en- 

 able him to buy advantageously, which will be, large- 

 ly again, in the interest of the consumer. 



And this it is hoped to give him. Considering 

 the great number of farmers who will be members 

 of the American Society of Equity, and the fact that 

 they will soon have a good cash balance as the result 

 of selling at profitable prices, there can be no doubt 

 that they will be able to purchase for cash and at the 

 lowest prevailing prices. Even if the farmer buys 

 his supplies with his own produce, his ability to put 



