The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1903-10-22
BRYAN ON GOOD R0ACS.
Extracts from His Speech al the Good
Roads Convention in St. Louis
Last Spring.


portatiOn as ! have studied it.
They tell US about the wonder
full improvement in shipping. |
was interested this morning
when heard of the launching of
great boat that would carry
more than any other boat ever
built Thus we get some idea
of the magnitude of our foreign
commerce. In this country we
have an amazing railroad devcl-
opment. But nothing to which
| have turned my attention in
the last few years has seemed to
come nearer to the the people
than this question of good roads.
Applause. | find there is a new
field here, and ! have got so far
along that ! have made up my
mind to build Il little sample
road ont on my farm; and not
only that, but to do what can
to get my county and my state
to do something in the matter of
roads. Applause,
The expenditure of money for
the permanent improvement of
the common roads can be de.
Tended Cd as a matter of justice
to the people who live in the
country: ~ as a matter of ad.
vantage to the people who do not
| live in the country, and CD on the
ground that the welfare of the
nation demands that the com
forts Of country life shall, as far
as possible, keep pace with the
comforts of city life.
People in the city pay not only
less than their share, as a rule,
but get Independently all of the
benefits that come from the eX-
pcnditure of the peoples money.
Let me show you what | mean
when | say that the farmer pays
more than his share. The farmer
has visible property, and under
Iany form of liberalization visible
property pays more than its
share. Why? Because the man
with visible property always
pays. ii he has an acre of land
| the assessor can find it. He can
count the horses and cattle. If
the farmer has pigs they begin
to squcal when the assessor
comes around IaughterI; he can
not hide them. The farmer has
nothing that escapes taxation;
and, in all direct taxation, he not
only pays on all he has, but the
farmer who has visible property
has to pay a large part of the
taxes that ought to be paid by
the owners Of invisible property,
who escape taxation. Applause.
| I repeat, therefore, that the
farmer not only pays more than
his share of all direct taxation,
but that when you come to cX.
end public moneys you do not
spend them on the farms as a
rule. You spend them in the
cities, and give the incidental
benefits to the people who live in
the cities.
When we come to Indirect tax
alton the farmers share is even
more. because when you come to
collect taxes through indirection
and on consumption you make
people pay not in proportion to
what they have but in proper
tion to what they need. And
God has SO made us that the
farmer needs as much as any.
body else, even though he has
not as much with which to sup.
ply his needs as other people.
In our indirect taxation, there
fore, for the support of the Fed
eral government the farmers pay
even more out Of proportion tC
their wealth and numbers. We
should remember also that when
we collect taxes through con
sumption we make the farmer
pay not only on that which is
is imported, but upon much OF
that which is produced at home
Thus the farmers burden is not
measured by what the treasury
receives. Thus under indirect
taxation the burden upon the
farmer is greater than it ought
to be; yet when you trace the
expenditure of public moneys
distributed by the Federal gov
ernment you find that even in d
larger measure special benefits
go to the great cities and not tC
the rural communities.
The improvement of the coun
try roads can be justified also or
the ground that the farmer, the
first and most important of the
producers of wealth, ought to be
in position to hold his crop and
market it at the most favorable
opportunity, whereas at present
he is virtually under compulsior
to sell it as soon as it is matured,
because the roads may become
impossible ut any time during
the fall, winter or spring. In
stead of being his own ware
houseman the farmer is com.
PEELED to employ middlemen and
share with them the profits upon
his labor.
l believe, as a matter of JUS
tice to the farmer, he ought tC
have roads that will enable him
to keep his crop and take it tt
the market at the best time, and
not place him in position where
they can run down the price OF
what he has to sell during the
months he must sell, and then
when he has disposed of it, rur