Evening Star Newspaper, November 26, 1922, Page 43

EDITORIAL PAGE NATIONAL PROBLEMS SPECIAL ARTICLES EDITORIAL SECTION. he Sunthy $ x. 3 P Society I{lews Part 2—16 Pages QUESTION OF TO SHIPS AND OTHERWISE SUBSIDIES, Records Show Farmers Have Been Chief| Beneficiaries of in the Past. BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. HE government of the United States has polired out billions of dollars in aid of various meritorious projects in the ast—projects for the aid of the farmer, the manufacturer and labor— and no one has thought to call these billions “subsidy. But now that the government—the Ylarding administration, for that is the government today—proposes that 2'd shall be given the American mer- vhant marine, d that will permit it 1o compete with the merchant marine «f other nations, immediately its op- ponents dub it 1bsidy. They real- ize there is something 2 name, par- ticularly when the name gives rise to ~uspicion of benefits to eclal in- crests.” It is idle to say that the istration merchant marine aid 1 would not smell sweeter if it were termed an “‘adjusted compensa- tion” measure instead of a subsidy. Subsidies of the P: President Harding in his recent ad- 1 dress to Congress pointed out that government ald has been extended to many sections and to many classes— rightfully extended—and that the present proposal of government aid as embodled in the shipping bill is no different from the others, in that it will result in benefit to the whole people—to the farmer of the middle west as well as to the manufacturer and ship owner of the seaboard. Let's sec how this government aid has been bestowed in the past--sub- ¥ it might be called as readily as the proposed aid for shipping. The federal government, between the years 1850 and 1870 gave 155,293,- 84 acres of land aid In the devel- opment of the rallroads. The mini- \um value placed on the lands so given was in 1850 § an acre. it is Idle to argue that this govern- ment aid was not in the interests of the farmers of thé great middle west. the west and the people of every part of the country eventually. Varlous cstimates have been put upon the value of the lands granted the rail- roads. estimates running from $2,000, 000,000 as a minimum to $10.000.060,- 006, Billlon For Waterways. The fede government in the last Jub years expended in round num- bers, $1,060,000,000 for river and harbor umprovement and related works This government aid also was in the interest of the farmers of the middle west, par- ticularly, aiding them to get their produce to the ocean ports via the Mis- sissippi and other great rivers. The federal government since 1916 has appropriated and authorized to be appropriated a total of $540,000,000 for zood roads—roads to carry the produce of the farmer to the market. e federal government in the last tventy vears has expended about £110,000,000 for the reclamation and irrigation of the lands of the zreat west. Who would say that this was not, after all, in the nature of a subsidy to the men who desired to build homes and make a living out of thie crops they raised? But some of the legislators who now denounce the shipping bill as a “subsidy” have been and are ardent supporters of the expenditure of millions by the gov- ernment in Teclamation projects. Subsidy to Motherhood. Furthermore, the government has spent and Is spending millions to aid the mothers of the country through thie maternity Jaw; to ald the farmers through the research work of the De- partment of Agriculture; to aid the people seeking education through the land-grand colleges, established in many of the states and catering par- icularly to the education of the farmers, and through the vocational education law, operating also through the Department of Agriculture. The protective tariff laws of the Te- publicans—and also the tariff for revenue laws of the democrats—have resulted in government aid to labor, to the farmer, to the manufacturer on a stupendous scale. Indirect, it is true, but aid which made it possible for American labor to obtain better wages and better standards of liv- ing: which made it possible for the manufacturers of the country to build _Lup great industries, and which, in the Government Aid ! most recent tariff law of all, made it possible for the farmers of America to obtain greater prices for their! produce. Arousing Farmer Prejudice. I Every effort has been made by the| opponents of government aid to the | merchant marine to make the farmers of the country believe that such leg- islation would be inimical to them. Yet the farmers are dependent prob- ably more than any other class of producers in the country upon means of disposing of their surplus prod-! ucts. Unless they can ship their sur- plus wheat, cotton, corn and other crops to foreign nations, the Lere is flooded and prices fall. !Amerhu’nl merchant marine more to them—to all people in this} country who have something to sell abroad—far more than to the men who will make a living out of oper- ating American ships. The shippers. among them the farmers, learned dur- ing the war what a merchant marine means to the United States. In the event of another great war—even though the United States may not be involved—and the shipping of the jworld is taken in large part from the use of the American shippers, the farmers and other producers will be tremendously hard hit. During the last war the government poured out $3.000,000,000 to build a merchant ma- rine to carry troops and supplies to | I Europe. How will the country look upon another such expenditure in case | the need should arise through the fail- ! ! i oo WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 26, 1922. es Involved in Harding Ship Plan Reduced to a Dollars-and-Cents Basis| BY N. 0. MESSENGER. ETWEEN now and next Wednesday evening, when the vote is to be taken, you won’t hear much of any- thing else in the House of Repre- resentatives but talk about disposition of white elephant, which “wished on him” by the world war, and is now eating its head off at the rate of $50,000,000 a year. This simile has reference to the merchant marine fleet, owned and op- erated by the ‘government, and which the pending bill would turn over to private ownership and management, with govern- ment aid to the operators to enable them to maintain their undertaking until it be- B Uncle Sam's comes self-supporting. In the mid: “what it is all about.” * ok ok ok cussion, the question at issue der the German flag. scrap heap. ure to maintain at all Zimes an Amer- fcan merchant marine? Opposition to Land Gramts. When the great states of the middle west and the west were clamoring for government ald to construct rail- roads through their territory—rail- roads that meant everything to them —it must be admitted that sectional- ism played a part in delaying this government aid, or subsidy, or what- ever it is desired to call it. Votes in the Senate and House showed that the men from these states favored grants of land belonging to the na- tion to the railroads, while men from the older states, developed far more and with means of transportation, were found opposing these grants. It was & short-sighted policy on the part of the opponents of the grants, as is now admitted. The develop- ment of the railroads of the country meant everything. not only to the states of the west, but to the entire nation. The short-sighted policy of some of the legislators at that time | delayed for a number of years the de- velopment of the rallroads. But even- tually consent and assistance of the settled portions of the country was gained, and 133 separate land grants were made to railroad companies. There resulted from these grants the construction of 21,510 miles of rall- road, of which 14,184 miles were com- | pleted within the time prescribed by !the acts granting the land to the | roads. The area of the land granted as gov- ernment aid or subsidy to the rail- roads is equal to the entire territory of the thirteen original states; it is greater than the area of Germany and Italy combined, or of France, Belglum and Great Britain. This gives an idea of the government aid extended to the rallroads which linked up the great producing areas of the country with the consuming-and shipping sections. Halt Billfon for Roads. Goverpment aid has not been con- fined only to the railroads when it comes to the matter of transporta- tion. As has been sald, some $540 000,000 has been appropriated and au- thorized for the construction of good roads in the country in the last six| years. Last year the Congress put through the federal highway act, car- rying $75,000,000, and the current post | office appropriation bill provided $50,- | 000,000 for the first year and author- ized $65,000,000 for the second and $75,- 000,000 for the third year. The appro- | priations for good roads are made on | the half-and-half plan, the states be- | Ing compelled to match dollar for | dollar with the federal government | for the conetruction of roads within | their borders, o in reality the ald to | good roads in the last six years runs lover $1,000,000,000. Who benefits the I | | Special Power Site Legislation Scored by Federal Commission Passage of special legislation deal- ing with “certain sites” was con- demned by the federal power com- mission in its annual report made public yesterday as tending to discrimi- nate against the average power pro- ducer and to repeal the country's basic policy. The report did not indicate any spe- cific power site in this connection, but unofficlally it was sald the comment was directed against efforts to have the Muscle Shoals, Al plants con- sidered as outside the federal power act ‘There are movements on foot in several quarters.” the report said, “to sccure for certain rights or streams special legislation, which, if ap- proved. would eventually result in the brogressive disintegration of our present water power policy. If these nroposals be examined it will be found that some or all of the es- tial features of the act, partic- itarly those that protect the public sinterest, have been omitted, even wheén provisions in direct conflict have not been substitated. “Results already accomplished -efe fora convincing evidence that grarits | of speclal privileges are not neces- sary in order to secure development of all the electric energy that the market can absorb.” While the number of applications for permits under the act failed last year to reach the high record set in the first twelve months of the com- mission's business, the report showed a net total of 5,000,000 horsepower of proposed Installation during 1922 and a grand total of more than 20,000,000 horsepower listed with the commission. Nearly half the aggregate power covered by the applications would be drawn from the St. Lawrence, Co- |lumbia and Colorado rivers, where, | the report pointed out, construction could not be authoried at this time because of deterring factors. The St. Lawrence sites may require an international treaty, it said; the Co- lumbia has been under investigation by a special board and the Colorado is being studied by s congressional ¢ommission to determine its relation to_irrigaticn. snd nvll:mn. e e dental repairs and insurance. the gross freights earned by the ships, 5 per cent of which are returned to the operator on outgoing voyages and 2)% per cent on o In of the debate in the House it might be oi interest ta those who have not followed the subject in detail to tell As pertinently pointed out in the dis- creation of a merchant marine anew. nation, which is to say, all the taxpayers, possesses a merchant marine, and the ques- tion is, What shall become of it? The government owns 1442 steamships, oi which 338 are in actual operation; the remainder are at anchor or tied up at dock. Of those being operated twenty-eight are passenger ships, five of them formerly un- More than a third of them will have deteriorated in a few vears until they will be fit only for the The ships which are in commission are being operated now by private tompanies to which they were allocated by the Ship- ping Board under contract. The government pays all the expenses.of running the ships, exclusive of overhead office charges of the operator; it pays for fuel, wages, subsist- ence of the crew, terminal charges, inci- was is not the The the measure. It receives homeward-bound. In addition, the operator gets a fee of $350 for each voyage. In the year 1920 the government, or, in other words, the taxpayers, lost at the rate of $200,000,000 a year on this plan. At pres- ent, by strict economy, the los has been re- duced to $50,000,000 a year. * ok K K To all intents and purposes, we are now paying a subsidy. The freight earnings are not sufficient to meet the 5 per cent and 2% per cent, and the balance comes out of the Treasury of the United States, to the extent, as stated, of $50,000,000 a year. As explained by one of the advocates of ‘the pending bill, the aim is “to reduce this subsidy, end this -improvident expenditure, which merely enables us to operate our ships today with no thought of tomorrow. wish to substitute a reduced subsidy, devised in accordance with a radical plan, which will enable the operation of an American mer- chant marine not only today and tomorrow, but ten and twenty years from now.” * % % % 1t should be noted that the pending bill ior the disposition of the merchant marine fleet was prepared by the United States Shipping Board, which is composed of demo- crats and republicans. mously on the measure. The opposition to the bill in the House comes mainly from democrats, but includes republicans as well. So while a faction of republicans continues to fight the bill, the democrats declare that the country-“must not not shake thy gory locks at us” in deprecation of resistance to * ¥ % X The weakness of the opposition to’the bill lies in the fact that the opponernts'do.not present any practical pla which has been worked out by this bi-parti- san Shipping Board, conceived as a business proposition for the solving of a problem of dollars and cents, and cessation of waste of the taxpayers’ money. All they can suggest now is to continue - the existing policy, in the vague hope that buil g up of goods.in normal, it We when. they at the hour ry sets in. loss. The h ‘They agreed unani- the deficit, Many. t world conditions will improve, and when business picks up private enterprise without government aid will furnish the solution of the problem. * ok Kk “Fifie; that is the proper course”; echo the martitme nations of the world, which are their marine until such time as the United States is again without one, when they will control not only the carrying trade of the world, but. will have an immense ad- \'an{:ig'e over American producers and sellers carrying their own products un- der their own €@ags. When the ‘world conditions are back to is admitted by all that a keen rivalry for trade and commerce will be car- ried on by all the nations. One of the phases of the present issue in the disposition of our merchant fleet is the disadvantage which American producers and traders will face find themselves without a fleet that great competition and rival- * Xk ¥ ¥ Experience has proven that under world and domestic conditions the government can- not operate a merchant marine except at a earings in Congress have brought out that private owners and operators will not attempt operation without assurance of inevitable through these inex- orable conditions, being made up. * * ¥ X% houghtful men in Congress, real- izing all these considerations, hold that the taxpayers.are bound to meet either a down- right loss without possibility of recouping. or face af in lieu of the one itself.. expense in an enterprise which has the elements of bringing back some re- -tdrn some time, and being less than the loss . But above and over this question of dol- lars and-cents, these same men assert that there is' the greater question of importance to the country at large—Is the United States to be drivesn, from the carrying trade of the seas and in of the rest a few years be left to the mercy of the martime world? most from the construction of good roads, the man who walks or rides over the roads or the man who ships his goods over the roads? It is un- deniable that, as in the case of the railroads, the benefits derived from government aid in the various proj- ects, while in the end benefiting the entire country, benefit certain groups more than the rest of the population. Years ago the federal government made land grants to aid in the con- struction of good wagon roads, grants amounting to 3,245,431.25 acres. These grants were made in the years 1823 to 1869. There were government grants for alding the construction of canals also, totaling 4,597.668 acres, and river improvement land grants amounting to 2,245,252 acres. Senmen to Reap Benmefit. The proposed government aid for American merchant shipping is in effect ‘“adjusted compensation” for the seamen and officers who man the vessels. It is to enable maintenance of the superior working conditions demanded by the La Follette sea- men’s act and the payment of wages higher than are paid by the other maritime nations. Much of the oppo- sigion to a ship subsidy has lain In the bellef that the benefits from the subsidy would go to favorites. But the present bill has been so framed as to play no favorites; it is to go to all who qualify properly. When a reasonable return is made by the ship operator on the money Invested by him, he is tequired to turn over to the government 50 per cent of all over that return until the full sub- sidy is replaced in the government fund for the aid of merchant ship- ping. Government aid for the reclama- tion of the swamp lands of the south and the arid lands of the west is being earnestly proposed by members of Congress from those sections of the country. A bill was reported to the Senate at the last session of Con- gress proposing an outlay of $350,000 for this purpose. Yet the proponents of this measure, some of whom are denouncing the shipping bill, have not suggested yet that this money is a “subsidy.” They insist that it is a proper government ald. Whether government money expended for the development of the country is called “subsidy” or “government aid” large- ly depends, it appears, upon who is getting the aid and who is discuss- ing it PRESIDENT SILENT ON IMMIGRATION Modification of the act limiting im- migration to this country will not be touched upon by President Harding in the annual message he will sub- mit to Congress next month, acs cording to White House officials who arée in-a position to know. Almost simultaneously with the White House statement announce- ment was made in the House by Chairman Johnson of the House im- migration committee that hearings would be started by his committee early in December with a view to correcting the quotas of immigra- tion permitted under the present law. Mr. Johnson indicated that a plan was under consideration for amend- ing the law ‘to restrict the admission of undesirables and deny permarent residence to allens . not eiigible. to citizenship. The announcement was made in connection with discussion . of the shipping bill and with particular zeferoncs to its immigration features. e e bR R e 8 . 1 Note—In publishing this ar- ticle by the brilliant editor of the Emporia Gasette The Star does not necessarily indorse the views he expresses. But Mr. ‘White brings to the discussion of current events a fertile mind and an entertaining style, and a discriminating public will place its own valuation upon the opinions he advances. ITH Senator La Follette or- ganizing what might be called the red cedar block in the Senate, ccmposed of the merry lads who don't give a damn, viz., Shipstead, Frazier, Brookhart and Ladd, with Capper and Norris with services to come up when needed, and the triumphant agricultural bloo add- ing a militant labor bloo to its per- sonnel, and possibly a dry bdloo to its cortege, we are approaching -in our Senate something ltke European po- 1jtical conditions. There parilaments and assemblles are made up of small groups that unite to form either pes- tiferous minorities or ruthless ma- Jorities. Over this group of American radi- cals in the BSenate is another and larger group of ultra liberals or pro- gressives, ‘men of the Borah and Johnson type. Howell of Nebraska, ex-bullmooser, who comes to the ‘Sen- ate with a republican nomination and Non-Partisan League support, will likely follow Borah rather than La Follette, and, as his next election day draws near, Senator McCormick, who once bolted the republican party with Roosevelt, may revert to type and get behind Johnson and Borah. Senator Cummins is veering leftward again, and in all & baker's dosen of liberal republicans may be found who will make it hard for the republi- can majority to keep from flushing a becoming pink. Among the new democrats, Senators Ferris and Ralston of Michigan and Indiana will get about as far forward as Borah and Johnson! Semators ‘Wheeler of Montans, Stephens of Mis- sissippi and Neely of West Virginia will bg/ just democrats, as Fess and Jones of Washington are just repub- licans. Edwards of New Jersey will be reactionary and Bruce of Maryland will be conservative. - Bavard is un- known, but is more than likely to be nondescript. So there is the new group in the Senate. But this fact must not be forgotten—that thirty of the thirty-six in the new Senate, republicans or democrats, are there because they de- nounced Newberrylsm and relinquished all its works. That will.put:a.hectlp, tint upon the Senate that makes thé most radical body ever :elected in America. Watch it sisgle. z B A Vanishing Race., ¥ HE negro yearbook is out -for this year, and a most interestin document it 18 An hour's considera- tion of the *yearbook” . will convinoe any fair-minded - reader “that -the negro 18 a 'peculair - problem” for America. Hers we have established within our ofn. civilization another civilization, one which some of us insist is an inferior civilization and which-all of us séens falirly willing te: dominate. “The that. the Resxa ia- functigning aa.% “yearbook” shows “AS I SEE IT.” By William Allen W hite. | race civilisation and that it is acquir- ing what the negro would never have acquired in any other civilisation. a talent—perhaps imitative, but strong —for organization. Here in this “yearbook™ is found a list of purely negro organizations—s Degro association, league or bureau for every activity of man. The law- yers, teachers. preachers. editors, dentists. doctors, clubwomen, repub- licans. democrats. authors. artists. manual workers, farmers, bankers, real estate men—every profession and calMng of civilized man is or- ganized in America along vocational lines. Here in the ‘vearbook” we also find accounts of negro towns The direct influence of women upon public affairs is bound to charge things. For centuries woman has had great influence. But together with influence she has had to con- ¥ince her man of her wisdom. Now she acts straightaivay;no man stands between her and her convictions. Her man can take it or leave it. In a decade this direct power of women in American politics has revolution- ized the relation of woman as to her property, to her child, to her inheri- tance, to her American citizenship, to her wages, to her place in soclety. She has legal rights where she once had privileges. and all because she has the ballot and can go directly to the reward or punishment of those who disagree with her. In this connection it is interesting to note that Lady Astor, who was solely opposed by the men of her dis- trict, was triumphantly elected. The women supported Lady Astor when she talked prohibition. The women stood back of the men and cheered. So long as womanhocd picks out the and townships organised for self- government by ard for negroes. Here is the catalogue of books by negro aythors, poets, novelists, es- sayists, dramatists, philosophers—the whole range of literary activity is represented in the list. And there are tables and graphs and maps, and all the formidable ‘weapons that sociologists weave. The maps and tables seem to prove that the negro.is slowly moving north with certain backwashes ‘almost as strong as the northbound current And the graphs indicate that as he moves north, decade by decade, he is getting a little whiter than he was| “befoh de wah.” The statistics show | that he lives for a shorter term of | years than the white man, that his infant mortality is terrible, and re- cent statistics, quite outside the year- book, from northern states, prove that the negroes’ birth rate—not counting the enormous infant mortality, is fall- ing below his death rate. This is partly due to the fact that the white man's vices are sterilising the negro, and partly due to the fact that he is controlling his birth rate as the middle class white man controls it. type of woman that Lady Astor is women may feel that they are justi- fying their . enfranchisement. Her American visit disclosed a woman of g00d taste and much tact and social grace. She handled an exceedingly difficult situation with great common sense and made her American sisters tremendously proud of her. With women like her taking the lead In politics something worth while 1s surely about to happen to the world. Kansss Is Bafied. HE other day when reports from 11 over the country were coming in about a national drive against cancer the country was shocked to learn that | Kansas had made no progress in fight- ing cancer during the last twenty years. Not that any other state had made progress; but Kansas was ex- pected to make it. The federal sta- tistics recently indicated that Kansas men and women live nearly two years longer then folkd live in other states, and five yvears longer than in most states. Kansas has had the lowest per caplta consumption of booze for years and years. Kansas sends a | | CHAMPIONS OF FARMERS DIVIDED AS TO NEEDS President Harding Ready to Push for Financial Relief at the Coming Session of Congress. BY WILL P. KENNEDY. RESIDENT HARDING placed second ‘in importance only to a constructive shipping program the need for farm credits legislation. He told Con- gress that he will vite their atten- tion” particularly to this subject in the coming short session which opens December 4. Farm credits was the jonly subject othér than ship subsidy which the President discussed in his address to Congress. He said: “At the present moment the Ameri- the cruel readjustments which follow war's Inflations, and befitting gov- ernment aid to our farmers is highly essentfal In our natlonal welfare. No people may safely boast a good for- tune which the farmer does not share. Iready this Congress and the ad- ministrative branch of the govern- ment have given willing ear to the agricultural plea for post-war relief, and much has been done which has proven helpful. Admittedly it is not enough. Our credit system under government provision and control must be promptly and safely broad- ened to relieve our agricultural d tress."” Not Agreed on Program. President Harding is now consider- !ing the recommendations he will make to Congress. He is being ad- vised not to be too definite and spe- cific, because there is a strong dif- ference of opinion, because whatever he may recommend will be vigorous- ly debated, and he has nothing to gain by coming out flat-footed for any particular scheme. The nub of the whole proposition— Wwhat the farmer most needs—is in- termediate loans, as distinguished trom short-time loans and from long- time loans, and these Intermediate loans must be at a low rate of inter- est. The trouble with agencies—such, even, as the War Finance Corpora- tion, created to méet an emergency— is that by the very necessity of the case a higher rate of interest is charged than the farmer is able to pay. There is no dental in Congress that this is what the farmer needs, but the entire wrangle comes over the machinery by which it is to be given. Different and divergent views among those who stand forth as “friends of the farmers® and spokesmen for the agricultural in- terests are what is really blocking the passage of this needed legisla- tion, the President's advisers are pointing out. Views of Different Groups. One group is urging that the pro- posed relief be covered into the fed- eral reserve system. Eugene Meyer, jr. of the War Finance Corporation, for example, is Impressed with the need for financing cattle raisers and for providing loans on farm com- modities susceptible of warehousing. but he does not go far enough on the matter of immediate credits. There is the group that thinks the federal reserve system offers suf- ficlent assistance, with some slight modification of the law. Then there is a second group that would set up an entirely new agency. A third group wants to put the ad- ministration of the rellef through the farm land banks, which institu- tions administer mortgage credit. To get effective legislation—and prompt relief for the farmer—those “friends of the farmers” must get together. The President is ready to emphasize the need. i Urged by President's Advisers. Here is what the President's ad- visers are agreed ought to be done: First — Increase the maximum amount that the federal land banks may loan, which is $10,000 now and should be increased to £25,000. o Second—Make such changes in the federal reserve law as may be neces- sary to make paper based on ware- house certificates eligible for redis- count up to a period of six months, or, in some cases, up to nine months. Third—Devise some plan by which short-term bonds can be issued based on loans for producton and improve- ment purposes, running from one to | | Of course, the negro is not fading |third more young people to colleges|three years, and bearing not more out'as the Indlan or the buffalo isjand universities than any other statethan the going commercial rate of in- fading, but he .is gradually bleach- ing, gradually moving into an en- vironment where he cannot or will not live as long as he used to live, and as he moves northward he moves upward. in the economic scale, and so controls the number of babies in his family without decreasing infant mor- tality. ‘The hand of death is reaching for the ‘blick man. Its reach is slow; but un- less he changes his ways, the hand of death will grab him as it grabbed the their. grandfathers could they: would: -~ But some way, ‘somewhere, deep in his nature, there is a lack. fation on this continent is A New Thing In (he' Werld. Englisu elections. “The women I ¥oted.In the ratloof three g one with | and twice as many in proportion to population as most states send. Kan- first abolished the common drink- ing cup and the roller towel, and has reduced communicable disease to a national minimum. But Kansas stands beaten before cancer. Prohibition does no good there; the high percent- age of American born avails noth- ing. College students do not reduce cancer. A high peg capita of taxable property and an ideal distribution of the property, with no millionaires and Indian. In'the wrestlo with civilisation | practically no paupers, is no check the negro is facile enough in adopting|to cancer. its outward forms. As individuals, the | against this demon. And when Kan- negroes are improving vastly more than | sas. canrot make medicine against Kansas has no magic d have dreamed ) ap evil, jt. is incorrigible. Nothing s 80 Hopeléss about a cancer is the fact ‘that Kdnsas 13 stalled. The Fermentation of Sweet ‘Alice. NSIDERING women in politics _@nd the. ‘major blessings they bring o a wicked world, it may be the, men. 'In. America wotpen and men | well here and now to put in the rec- veote in about thp proportion‘of edch sex | ord a ‘warning. They 0 the ‘population. ~In_ some places thegitake their medicine. ‘s, and{blessed in politics as a good loser. $he Vote 1s) Polith man's: yote éxcdeds ‘the’ woman' vice versa. But.generall should learn to Nothing is so ' 18 no place for the “only t- balanced. - The-result a8 1o -par-1 child* " Upon the shores of the vitriol ties and candidates is about the.same. | gea of politics floats the scum of de- No drastio-change has oocurred-in the | bris, not the defeated, but the refect- organisation. of .the world.- And. yet|ed; men.who see why Greece decayed '» hew_thing Ras come {nto the world land ‘why Rome fell, so much more which inevitably will bring_change. [¢ terest, Senator Norris bas already intro- duced a farm credits bill in the Sen- ate, and the Senate agricultural bloc is to meet this week to discuss the subject. Representative Sydney Anderson of Minnesota, chairman of the joint con- gresslonal committee on agricultural inquiry and leader of the agricul- has | can farmer is the chief sufferer from | 1 | i ! i { | l | mortgage credit, dividual. That is enough for the smull farmer or for the farmer in regions where land is cheap, but it i= not enough for farmers in the great sur- plus producing states of the corn belt. “Second, to provide what may be called intermediate credits for farm improvements. such as drainage. buildings, silos and for the growing of livestock, and which will give the farmer time to market his crops regu- larly. Our banking system under normal conditions provides very gatis- factory ninety-day credit, and with the amendment in the farm loan act long-time farm mortgage credit can be provided. Need of Intermediate Credit “What is needed s this intermediate credit between short-time credit and which will permi: the farmer to borrow at reasonable interest rates for a length of time. varying from a year to three years, depending upon his needs. We need provision for agricultural credit which will make unnecessary th- hasty creation of new organizations to meet emergencies such as confro: ed us last year and the year before.” In explaining what President Hard ing had in mind when he told Con- gress that “no people may safely boast a good fortune which the farmer docs not share.” Secretary Wallace says: “A thoroughly sound and prosperou < agriculture is necessary to our con- tinued existence. The largest respon sibility rests upon the farmers theni- selves, but there are some things which must be done by legislation and some other things which must be done by administrative action, if the farm- ers are to have that free hand whici is absolutely necessary for them i produce efficiently and continuousls and feed our people at reasonable cos'. Free Markets Essential. “They must be assured of free, opct and competitive markets for their products. There must be made avail able to them not only long-time mor:- gage credits, but the various devices which our banking system long since” made available to our commerce and industry. In the administration of our large credit machinery there must Le full recognition of the needs ot agriculture and of the effect credit policies have ‘en agriculture. In s tar as it is pogsible the effort shouli be to so admifister credit as to re- store and maintain the normal reia tionship between the prices of farn products and farm wages and the prices of other commodities and 1 wages in industry.” Secretary Wallace has pointed oul to prominent financiers and President Harding has been giving close con- sideration to the conclusion that careful examination of the credit fu- cllities of the country leads to th conviction that they have been vised almost entirel the inter ests of industry and commerce, The Secretary emphasizes that he doet not mean to suggest that there has been a conscious purpose to develoy a credit system to the injury of the farmer, but rather that Industry commerce and business in general have been able to work out and use various credit devices espectally adapted to their particular needs, and which the farmer, because of his iso- lation, of the individualistic charac- ter of his business, and of his longer period of turnover, has not been able to use for himself. Long-time and short-time and intermediate money ought to be made as casily and at cheaply available to the farmer as to industry and commerce, Secretar) Wallace contend: Elght-Bi Peretofore Dollar Debt. speaking of when credit needs of the farmew, he sayvs we have been disposed to classity them as long-term, or mortgage credit, resting upon real estate as se- curity, and short-term, or persona and collateral credit. With the ad- vent of the federal farm loan systen a new and broader conception of farn mortgage credit has been developed 1t is estimated that the total farm mortgage debt in the United States is about eight billion dollars. This debi is owing to tommercial banks tc the amount of approximately $1,500, 000,000, to insurance companies to the amount of perhaps $1,250,000,000 anc the remainder to farm mortgage com- panies, federal and joint stock lanc banks, various state funds ard credii agencies and individual investors. In well developed farming section: the interest rate on farm mortgaget has been fairly reasonable, aithougi not 8o low as on other classes of se- curities no higher in character. It the more recently settled reglons the interest rate has been higher thar would seem to be justified by the character of the security offered. A: a rule farm mortgage lvaus run fo a period of five years and are gen tural forces In the House, is now con- | erally made repayable in a lump sun sidering the draft of a bill which car- ries all the most desirable features of 1 at maturity, although companie which give especial attention to thi: class of business not infrequently all the bills that have thus far beenprovide for optional yearly payment: 1 introduced. ‘Wallace Expects Favorable Action. cretary Wallace in discussing the question of farm credits says: number of bills were before Congre: at the time of adjournment. There is every reason to belleve that the de- sirable features of all of these bills will be brought together into one bill, and that it will be acted upon favor- ably this winter. Delay In enacting this legislation was not due to any unwillingness on the part of Con- gress, but rather because time was needed #o work out a safe and sane act, which would do the business de- eired. “The purpose is. first, to ralse the maximum amount which may be loaned oit mortgages by the federal land banks. At the present time this maximum is $10,000 to any one in- before maturity. Problem Not a New Onme. This problem is not a new omne ol «p | giving the’ farmer adequate credi facilities. It has been discussed fo: at least twenty-five or thirty years Myron Merrick wrote a book on th subject that shows the method: worked out in other countries, an this book is being studied these day: by members of Congress. Every onc in a while when the pinch comes any the farmers have to dump their sur. plus products on the unrcady marke for whatever they will bring—ther the need for legislation confronti those in charge of the governmeu ‘works. It is the hope of the administratiot and of Congress that before the enc of the present Congress a scheme wil be worked out and ehacted into law for providing adequate relief for al time, thus preventing periodic panic among the farmers, on whom the en tire country depends for Its sus: fenance.