Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-10-09

/ intelligent prejudice. No other man
can read so calmly and dispassionate-
IIy about political or economic affairs
as can the farmers in the quiet of the
| farm home. The farmer is not infiu-
/ enced by street rabbles. In the quiet
| of the fields and of his home he can
and does think deeply, fairly, honest
| ly about political social and economic
| problems. 1t is significant that a very
large majority of our most honored
| statesmen, men that time has proved
| to have been right in their prescience
of political and economic phenomena
| have come from the farm In educa-
| ton it may be well TO polish college
benches. but it has been proven that
any course of study is defective that
| does not polish plow handles. Today
our keenest men are looking. not to
the men that manage life insurance
companies. banks or other corpora
tons, but 10 the farmers OF this coun-
try for the final, happy and patriotic
| solution of the problems that confront
us in politics, society and economies.
Ask the men that today are most con-
ceFned about immigration, for exam
pie; or the participation of corpora
| lions in politics and the efforts TO be
made to govern corporations: or the
low, dishonest standards of so many
leaders in high finance or the
growth of socialism; or the perplex-
tiles and iniquities of taxation; or the
menace in the accumulation of capital
in few hands: or the better enmity to-
q
methods or means of its requirement;
or the contempt for law. and they will
tell you that they look to the farmers
of the United States to evolve and put
into effect the right policies, and by
their common sense-that most preci-
GUS Of commOdities-and patriotism to
preserve our liberties. Anyone that
will take the trouble to analyZe the
statistics of elections will see that for
some years the farmers have been, and
are today the thoughtful, independent
voters. Farmers may well be cOngra-
tulated on the interest of farmers in
economic and political affairs and on
their independent thinking and indie
pendent voting. I believe that for this
session this congress may well devote
as il has devoted in the past. no small
part of its thought and discussion TO
those things which concern farmers
not only as farmers, but as members
of society and factors in our national
production and the voters upon whom
rest, as upon none others, the prosper
ity. progress and happiness of the
American people.
Half IL Well Developed.
las students, realizing that there is
always much for us to learn, we are
indeed keenly alive to the importance
of discovering better methods and
means of producing more at less cost
and especially of securing the general
adoption by farmers of those methods
and means already discovered for in
creased production. But that half of
farming that relates to greater prOduc-
ton at less cost is. it would appear. re-
ceiving at least its full share of atten-
ton and is being well developed by
other agencies. Our national depart
ment of agriculture. doing a work more
varied in nature and more eXacting in
character than many appreciate; our
state boards of agriculture, our agricul-
tural fairs. and our farmers institutes,
almost without exception worthy of the
highest praise; and cur agricultural
colleges and experiment stations, now
almost entirely manned by able, earn
est investigators and teaChers-all these
are giving to the productive half of
farming such study and such investiga-
ton and are producing such results as
have never before been seen in this
field of activity in any country in the
history of the world. The distributive
half of farming, fully as important, has
had less consideration. 1t is q fact. by
no one seriously disputed, that our leg
islation has been influenced by our
great manufacturing and transporta-
ton interests rather than by the agri-
cultural interests. When one considers
the concentration of wealth and infiu-
ence in the comparatively few hands in
manufacture and transportation, it is
not surprising that these great inter
ests have been able to bring to bear
the greater influence on legislative bod
les The very liberal appropriations
of public funds for departments of ag-
riculture, fairs, institutes colleges and
experiment stations would not have
been made had the captains of manufac-
ture and transportation not perceived
that it was to their interest that the
productive side of farming shoulds be
well developed and to the comparative
neglect of the distributive side
DistrIbutive side Neglected.
"Of course, our transportation inter
ests are directly benefited by an in
crease in agricultural products to be
transported. But both the manufactur-
inc and troucnortation iutaractc aro