126 THE AGRICULTURAL BLOC 



turers were saying among themselves when agri- 

 cultural measures began to get the deserved 

 attention. 



Had any other single industry expeiienced a 

 similar decline in the value of its products while 

 it was still in the hands of the producers that 

 farmers experienced during 1921, there would 

 have undoubtedly been a panic of tremendous 

 proportions. When an $80,000,000,000 industry 

 which was supplying the nations over $20,000,- 

 000,000 of new wealth annually and 50 per cent 

 of its bank deposits was flat on its back asking 

 for help, conditions would seem to be ripe for 

 a general panic. "When one-fourth of the 

 6,000,000 farmers of the country were in a posi- 

 tion practically bankrupt, it is a serious matter. 

 Some said that because these were farm tenants 

 it didn't matter so much. But the farm tenant 

 is in no different position from the small mer- 

 chant who is renting the building in which he 

 operates his store and we know that had one- 

 fourth of our merchants been in bankrupt con- 

 dition panic would have been a mild term to 

 apply to the situation. 



Now that it is a matter of history, we hope, 

 the tremendous decline in farm values can be 

 accurately measured. The Department of Agri- 



