236 THE THIRD POWER 



on many farms. The owner is afraid to undertake improve- 

 ments for fear prices will be down and he can not pay for 

 them. 



The consumption of the various staple farm products is 

 quite uniform year after year, whether the producer receives 

 a fair return or not. The family who eat their loaf of bread, 

 a pie, a cake, etc., daily when wheat is worth sixty-five cents 

 a bushel, would eat the loaf of bread, the pie, the cake, etc., 

 just the same if wheat was worth one dollar per bushel. A 

 profitable — equitable — price will not curtail consumption. 



Profitable prices do not necessarily mean high prices. Some 

 farm products are high enough now, but this is the time to 

 act and keep them profitable. Don't be deceived by a false 

 feeling of security. Conditions may easily work around to 

 fifteen-cent oats, twenty-cent corn and fifty-cent wheat. A 

 fair, profitable price is what we want. No hardships imposed, 

 but benefits bestowed on every man, woman and child. 



We believe everybody will agree with us that land is the 

 primary source of all wealth. Therefore the owners of the 

 land have it in their power to direct the affairs of the world. 

 A great thing to contemplate. 



We believe there is one source of great danger to the pros- 

 perity of the country, and it lies in the uncertainties surround- 

 ing agriculture. No business may be considered healthy that 

 yields such great profits as to induce extravagance, or such 

 small profits as result in hardships ; and particularly an ele- 

 ment of uncertainty about any business is very deplorable. 



It may be claimed that a very large number of farmers and 

 producers can not be held in line to effectually control prices. 

 We believe there are enough intelligent and sensible agri- 

 culturists in the country who, seeing the enormous benefits 

 resulting from this plan, will not refuse to market conserva- 

 tively, and thus exert the desired influence to control prices. 

 The trouble, heretofore, has been that farmers have never yet 

 realized the power they hold, nor has there been a plan or 

 society through which they could cooperate for such great 

 financial benefits. 



To illustrate the relation of the farmer with the balance 

 of the people : Go into any home in Indianapolis or any 





