QUESTIONS, AND ANSWERS 265 



storage, and they come out at two or three times the price be- 

 tween seasons. The farmers can attend to all this when or- 

 ganized. 



52. Q. Could the government help the farmers by loaning 

 them money at a" low rate of interest? 



A. No, not permanently. Besides the farmers don't need 

 help in that way. It would be the most degrading thing that 

 could be offered them to make them the special objects of the 

 country's charity. The farmer's position is the strongest of 

 all. If they will only rise to their true position, they will 

 never need to look to the government or outside sources for 

 help. 



53. Q. Are not farmers taxed too heavily? 



A. Yes ; but here again if they will cooperate and get profit- 

 able prices they won't need to care how much they are taxed. 

 They can simply add it on the price of their goods. 



54. Q. When the farmers are organized they will likely be- 

 come a power in politics ? 



A. They could if they would. But why will they want to 

 bother with politics ? They won't need anything in the way of 

 profits that they can't take when they price their goods. We 

 expect them, however, to dictate to political parties, for the in- 

 terests of consumers and equity to all. 



55. Q. Is the ground as productive now as formerly? 



A. No. Our farms have been robbed of their original fertil- 

 ity and the crops sold at prices that did not afford renewing it. 

 It would bankrupt many farmers to restore the fertility to 

 their farms, and it will bankrupt them if they continue farm- 

 ing under the present system if they don't. So here you have 

 a dilemma that absolutely demands better prices for farm 

 products. Many farmers have already sold their birthright 

 (the accumulated plant food of centuries) for a mess of pot- 

 tage, and others will do it under the old system. 



56. Q. You speak of intensive farming. What do you mean? 

 A. I mean raising the average of all our crops to two or 



three times the present yield. This can only be done by sci- 

 entific farming, building up the soil with plant food and irriga- 

 tion. All these wait on profitable prices for farm crops. 



57. Q. Could not good prices be made for farmers if your 

 society had a large capital with which to buy the crops? 



A. Never. If all the money in the United States treasury 

 was employed for this purpose the scheme would fail. Farm- 

 ers must individually be responsible for their production as 

 well as prices. If a company would agree to take all they 

 raise at profitable prices there would be no check on their pro- 

 duction, while the company or society must find some other 



