'Education, cooperation, legislation
(D Education- to Develop rower, (2)C6oparatio to Multiply It, and (3 Legislation and Good Government
to Prod Rqual Eights ndITamaa.ProsTet--Plln Talk About Men MeaaureY and Movements inrolTed '
-By CLARENCE POS
i -
A still wiser plan, however and the "wisest of
all war tax plans yet presentedis that of getting
, ' " f " ftr Pgir HelrrS , nd. progressive taxation of all large incomes, con-
110 - . ' v- - -scripting during the war period all of any man's
SPEAKING of community, fair did you- nptice - inCbrae urexcess of $100,000 k iyear. Such con:
what Miss Carrie Wilsony o Abilene; Texay '.'scriptlbn ii certainty' not ta be thought in a class
wrote a oar Educational Edition. . about - with tne ; conscription of life UseU still
what an inspiratioa thr comnrtmity taw n oeea ;- think the mCmTe tax in both House and Senate
ia her section? -:-. . V"V. ' " .bills is i ar below wha$ it ought; to be.
the best crops ta ba.ve.vtbe- best - aflwreuTHf
Hvestock; to show' the-', healthiest, dimple- ,
darling baby; to exhibit the mast tempting, .
inoetizing canned .fruits and vegetables rtr
Slay the mostperfect -stitch, the smoothest
embroidery, the daintiest tatting, and fmensr. .
to write the be3t "essay, ta draw the- most per- -.
feet examination-paper, to, wort . up t&e best
note-book, "to read the most library books; to
olav the bej bal to run the fastest, to be the s
strongest. Prices are giveir, and boirors-an-
Wouldn't it be worth vihile. for every neighbor
hood in the South ta have such a contest this fall?
Don't Put a Tax: d Knodkdgfc
FOR weeks now Congress has Been looking for
sources from which., to raise, revenue " to
finance the war.' The .House passed a bill
which would seriously cripple, many , industries,
and impose an undue share? of &e bnxrdetr upon
nrwertv and industry. V
Especially vicious,, it seems to- tts; isany plan for -
the taxation of intelligence and rts dissemmatron:
or anything which- hampers conTmunfcatian, be-:
twecn people. Increasing .the price o postage
We Should Reform the Cotton Tare Evil '
rl CONNECTION with last week's discussion.of
Ottr unscientific system' of marketing cotton,,
the enormous waste through the cotton tare
evil .should also have attention. . : .- -
The situation, of course, has been frequently ex--plained
to fanners. Europe takes most of our cot- .
ton crop, and is hence the dominant factor in fix
ing the price of cotton. Now Europe buys cotton
on the basis of 6 per cent tare. That is to say,, on
each 500-pound bale of cotton she assumes that r
the bagging and ties will weigh 6 per cent, or. io.
pounds. . In other words, Europe buys a 500"-pouttd - .
bale of cotton on the assumption that it will con- -
tain only 470 pounds of lint. But as a matter of
fact,-' the bouthern farmer does not put on 3')
war taxer from war profit. In other words, make pounds jof bagging and ties, and -so k give btijvra
the peopfe wha benefit by - the war oav the ex
penses of the war through an exceis profits tax
a tax on the excess profits these -companies are"
now making as compared with the profits they
were; making prior to the war. outbreak.- And it is.
just as -practicable as 'it is everlastingly just to
rarse a tremendous proportion of our. war- reve
nues in just this fashion. For example, a table has"
been pTepared showing how . tremendously 1Q4
great corporations of a class to profit by war ex
penditures have been enriched, and how. fittingly
an "excess profit tax" might be applied to them
These' companies made profits in 1916 aggregating
' $!,273i992,854 as compared with $253453,892 in 1914,
or - more than a billion dollars, execs profits ia
1919 or compared with 1314. ' We. Iiave not room.
, for the entire list, but here isa list of those companies-
earning over $10,000,000 last year, together
with a comparative statement showing, what were
their earnings in 1914 and 1915 :. '
more lint cotton than they pay far.
The Progressive Farmer has been saying, this
for years, but. our positron has been frequently
combated. : We are - glad now therefore to quote
the authoritative opinion of the United States
Government.- Every farmer in the South ought to
get a copy of Farmers' Bulletin No. 764, "Cotton
Ginning Information, for Farmers" (see list of
valuable marketing bulletins on page 11 last week)
and any farmer, who does so will find the follow
ing statement on page ldr
- Company
American Brass Co.
American Locomotive Co.
Bethlehem Steel Corp. .
Bites (E. Vf.y Co.
Cambria-Steel Ua
1911
General Chemical Co.
General Electric Cos
i Hercules' Powder Co. ,
Lackawanna Steel Co.
Midvala Steel ft OwL Co.
Anaconda Cap- Min. Co
.ttrmattt & Co. ' .. . . . ; , . ...........
Central Leather Co. .............
Chtnat Copper Co. ......... i .... .
General Motora- Ce-
Repvblio Steel & Iroa Co.
. j rrt i 1 t.J- HCOViueMig..w)
Stamps ana posiai caxus wm liwyjumiy iwk uu u. steei carp
- ' . . f ' t Am. SmelUng & Eef. Co.
ettect. lhen, too ait.tne overneaa expenses, or. Am. .suger uesnm eo
1 Anacmda. Can. Min. Ci
the Postoffice Department": must be, -continued
anyhow, and the net result wilt be "a -serious crip
pling of the service' rendered the people, wttb no, gjggaaajMji
material increase in revenues. Canadaa experi
ence proves this. s ; - f
Or take the increased oostaee rate on newspa-
pers. In our own case, the, increase-recormnenaea. Taxaa Co. ......
. , ... . , , . , . . - . Hotted Fruit Cu
by the Wavs and Means Committee would amount u a. aabber Co.
Utah- Copper Co.
" jv...w,iv,.w6.v.,.-. .ralumet Sr Art Mlh. Ch.
I.
Nevada Con. CoDuet: Co
Standard Oil Con of Cat ...2.
Standard) Oil Co. ' ct kid.
Standard Oil Co. of N. T.
$ld,99l,669
? 10.565,321
23,431,0731
liJ.Z2i.B55
82,M9.020
I2.286.82ti
ia-,589,528
1,6573
12,218.234
31.480.213
- 14.789.163
I3.4e,44
271.531.730
28.232; 248
11.455.107
5T.94I.534
20,100,000
. 15.489.201
I2.S21.948
28.789.560
" 11,748,279!
' 27.861.718
15.008 051
" 2X.074,263
12.084.166
17.004,304
29,043,616
39,688.495
20.405.000
13.898.801
11,94a, 151
IL.226,208
S9.73S.4T5
13,561,830
11,150,835
ISIS
9i
$6,128.4541
r,t,8u
1T.72,81
. 6.532.101
, 0,403,538
8,073,750
Sr.ZST.Wi
5.95S.I40J
11.737.909
,88,102J
- 2.409.108
I.44T.886!
. 8.515.819
5,tr4,32l
7333.8331
14,492,73
5,394,415
18:695.807
U.OOOvOeO
: 6,626,897
'8,658,7 W
,J.4,45f,804l
5;59,072
' e,587,052J
,i6,59iI16
a 9,720,475
- 4,589.143
- 91529.94fli
15,998,376
lSi761,663
14.08700
6,393.327
5,200,522
8,696,208
rr.913.481
1 10,167.592
" 5,458,129
- "It is the usual custom to compress cotton at
concentration points,: where the bale is 'patch- -ed
that is, extra piecea of bagging are put on,
- ostensribly to cover sample holes, but really ta
add weight- On arrival at the compress a bale
of cotton usually does not have the full amount - -
;. of. 'tare' (weight of bagging and ties) permit
ted by the practices of the cotton trade, and 1 .
this factor is considered in determining the ; ,
price The patches are of snmcrent weight to ;
bring the weight up to the maximum limit.
' Heavier bagrsn? mikf be wsetl at the gin, and '
the extra weight thw gained would benefit the
'producer' " v- ' ' .
"Of course, it is true, as the bulletin goes on to
say, that . "a more economical way however would
be to- reduce the limit of tare to approximately 25
pounds per bale, and. then a better price, base d on
the actual wefehtm '
ersu." The only way to reduce the tare is by inter- -national
agreement, and we are. at a loss to under-
4 nilfs standfwhy;v Sbiithertegres'stten and Senator,'-; ,
"i'miii . ad our Southern-born. Secretary ;-of. Agriculture,1 ' j
,e664;8M..have not brought: this about l Farmers" organiza-
laffiasi Uon. ind indrvfduaf farmers should keep agitating
6,590.924 fu:. rnrm ' .
JM50,347
2,078,127 -
"i,V6V,990
1,015,83ft
4,831,799
- 2,857 JJB2.
11.28T,82r:
1,247,255
; 1.652.444
' 1.028J48
46.995
23,496,768
9,271,865
' 4,455,490
8,789,58
7,509.908
4.876,924.
2,992,299
7.735,919
9,450.000
6,183,974
2,264,911
8,091.538
a6TS,491
5.871,395
3,215.624
Comnanv ha Kppti inatrin'rir in tllr vmti wh trmn a ;. '
m.. i j , . r ' " Total profiU of nly 3r leading, companies 1914,
we are already having ta pay 66 per cent more for tMimi, ,015. tiaifiOlfifi.. 1916. $SS1JJ93QSL Ex-
ydper man a year ago. What would be tne result
of such an increase : Hundreds ot papers would,:
of course, be forced into bankruptcy,, while ; the :
survivors would have to Jnaugurate' whoiesale' in- v
creases in subscription'rates.'t''
AH talk about low postage -rates ;berng a, "sub
sidy to publishers" is utterly incorrect and absurd.'
The processes of competition fix fl, that, the ben-
efits being wholly passed on to:th! subscribers.; in
the form of lower subscription rates; v j Higher: pos- !
tage rates would mean ' higher subscription rates ;
and that would mean a decreaW: 11 mawspapei:
reading amonf the veiry clase of ppU W4o nenl :
it mostour poorest clasarnc is imt?:
Possible to have a 'general ') aifftnion of cunxnt
knowledge except by, low-priced pubUcatioas..
Moreover, we. $ubmit jtMa question to' bur Sena- ;
ors and Representatives r-iWe have a democratic '
government and in ucti: a goyermnent tne safety
f all worthy institutions depends npbn the intelli- -Wnce
of the people: Is it, not; therefore just a5:
tern dUty f thC -na'ional government to fos- .
e disseminatiart of knowledge among grown '
People by providing low pQstaie ra'tea on paSlfca--Ions,
as it is the duty of a state-government to."
courage the diwemination of knowledge among
youth bymeaii of public sctools? Wc believe
this reform.
And meanwhile if Europe allows 30 pounds for
tare and fixes cotton prices accordingly, the farm
er as well as the exporter should be allowed to'
put on the extra weight. . ' : ,
Why Put Cotton in the Food Control
- f
vee oi 1916, profit over 1914, $7S4,Q19,14S;
I We believe this is manifestly, the; right place to
; put the:var;:ta:aiid we are glad; that the Senate rfHE writer has addressed the following self- '
a BiMu,viutrscu ;uurit. Kf - exolanatorv letter to. a ctouo of the most
influential members, of the United States
But it
should be made still heavier in order to relieve
the burden poverty and small industries.
r;
Je Rigtt Place t( Put i&e Wi
KUT now.a word as to ther rignt pladrfor.CoB-,
VCSS t(?' the mny t finance the wan
first C' cevc : pay-as-you-go war ' and we
favored the general plan suggested by the
Cncan Committee oa War Finance. "for heavy
CO-OPERATIVE ASSOGIATIOHS ; MAY
MAKE A RgUTATIOH WORTH MONEY
EVEIf Jn tne case ; of those commodities
where uniform grading standards are ,
largely impossible, much can be done by
individual1 growersor associations of grower,
by developing botlx honesty of pact; and uni
formity in qraafityr in other wordi, individual
'; standards of quality may be established which
will result in a reputation for the shipper or
shippers, which in turn results In higher prices
to producers and a lower cost of marketing
: all along the line.: ; 1 ' :. .--v.,
; ; There , are no - welI-rcognize J , standard
' grades for Barttett pears, at least among east
ern grower, but there are instances where in
dividual growers have . standardized " their
pack to such an extent that city buyer will,
pay the fop of the market to such individuals
without ves bothering to inspect their offer
iags In spile of a lacV of uniform; standards
of potato grades, the. Eastern Shore of Vir
ginia Prodoce Exchange has vo standardized
its oEenag of '' potatoes and . made them
:" known in the trade under its. own brand, the
. wholesalers ordr by wire wlthofit teeing, the
good. v .;r ' ;". ' . ' ' "
V Numerous othr instances of this sort might
beWen illujsr one of the principal ben-
efit that may be derived from cooperative
marketing. From Weld's "Marketing of Farm
. Product." r -".. ' '.
.Senate: '' ' 'V -' ' - '- '' ";t' .-
Dear Senators r ' : : -,. . .:.;"
. ."I earnestly hope you wilt use your utmost en- :
deavors to hare cotton exempted 'from the provis-
Jons of the -food "control bilL
"What are the outstandmg facts m this matter?
The facts aire these: - ,.
Ml. That it has only been three years since tens
of thousands of Southern farmers were forced
. into utter bankruptcy by "the stupendous: collapse
-.in cotton values. ;';' .. i ""y.i,-'.: ; :':s,
"2 That no other crop in fact, no other impor
tan't American product of , any kind has suffered .. .
; so seriously from the war as cotton suffered then. ;
And if it had then to suiter losses as it did be
cause it was not a food product, it ougfht not now :.
to be curbed as if it were a food product.
; M3i. Congress positively refused at that time to
do anything to help the Southern farmer out of
the losses created by war; and if it declared for a .
strictly 'hand oi' policy then when the Southern . 'i
: farmer was drowning, it at feast might be fair ",
enough to pursue a like neutral policy now and. :
not beat back the cotton grower when he is about :.
ta get on shore again.
'M4. Finally, this policy is made the more just and -.. ,j
v imperative, because of the fact that while cotton , f
alone suffered ruinous losses in -the beginning of
the war, its prices have not yet advanced so much
as prices of some other products that suffered no
war loss at all - ' " 7 ' . .v
. "Earnestly hoping, gentlemen, that you .will "
present these facts to your colleagues,' and .that
ybu'will succeed in making them see the justice -of
your position, I am,.
"Yours sincerely,- :"'.'. . :
- . , "CLARENCE P0E,'Edit9r.v
' . , ' "
., , .. , .- " '