No. 4.] RIGHTS OF THE PRODUCER. 97 



found at once operative and effective. There are robbers in 

 the fiehl outside of those who rob the soil, and if they work 

 under tlie sanction of law they surely creep close to the 

 border. Give us a rest from this wearisome cry of the 

 farmer's obligations, no matter what its source, and help 

 boost him where he may realize 65 instead of 35 cents of the 

 $1 paid. Instead of expending thousands of dollars to furnish 

 an object lesson in crop production, let the railroads make as 

 fair a rate on farm products going to market as on manu- 

 factured i^roducts shipped in or out of the State. All the 

 incentive necessary for increase will come naturally when 

 this injustice is removed, yet it is but a single factor in the 

 case. 



A leading scientific authority in a recent address in Xew 

 York, on " High farming and low prices," set forth a scheme 

 for raising twice as much corn per acre as is now produced. 

 Thus Iowa in a banner year gave 340,000,000 bushels which 

 sold for 38 cents. The next year the crops dropped to 270,- 

 000,000 bushels and the price was 55 cents. Now if this 

 authority could lift the volume to 500,000,000 bushels the 

 price would drop to 20 cents or less. The bigger the crop 

 the less the growers realize. Important as is increased pro- 

 duction per acre we must always bear in mind that high 

 farming is not a remedy for low prices. The tariff board 

 in its valuable report, in commenting on a $23 suit of clothes, 

 says, " The farmer received 68 cents profit on the wool 

 required (a per cent to be cut one-half in actual practice), 

 the manufacturer 28 cents, the wholesaler $2.18 and the 

 retailer $6.50." In the face of these facts what incentive 

 is there for the farmer to increase his flocks ? 



When by any method the rights of the producer are recog- 

 nized, and he is insured a fair net return for what he pro- 

 duces, the Xew England farmer will at once respond, and 

 the maximum production per acre or per animal will be the 

 objective point with every worker. What he needs most 

 to-day is not object lessons in cropping, but equalization of 

 burdens in disposal of surplus farm products. He wants 

 only his rightful share of the consumer's dollar. 



Improvement comes always through enthusiasm, not force, 



