Mower County transcript., 1907-10-09
FARMER BEN'S
COLUMN

COLUMN
The rottenness of lots of this high ii
nance biz smells unto heaven. The
lid is off the big New York city rail-
way deal and if that amt tough prop
then I amt sage. They went to
work while ago and corraled the diff
ferent seperate companies into one big
combine, then they capitalized for mil
lions on millions more than it was
worth, then they sold this stock and
undertook to make the roads pay divi-
dends and interest on bonds on this
bloat of fictitious capital, then the busi-
ness wouldn't begin to stand for it, and
now the whole bunch is in the courts
tryin' to find out where they're at and
they allege they're ten millions behind
already and goin' in the hole. 1t looks
so nice on paper and the schemers are
dubbed Napo]eons Of finance and it
looks like they could make million
dollars by a scratch of the pen but
when you sift down the real strength
and holdin' up ability of lots Of these
high finance projects they're found to
be windbags and balloons. Its better
to stick to the old fashioned and honest
way OF earnin' it straight than to envy
those who are jumpin' jack 1inancers.
. o O
I'm glad that our big Taft spent last
week over with the Japs right in their
stronghold. The little island tipped
up when he struck it. He told 'em
straight from the shoulder that the
quicker they got fight out of their heads
the better for all concerned. A war be-
tween Uncle Sam and the Japs would
be war agenst civilization. The little
cloud of trouble over the San Francisco
local matters will blow over and the
sun will shine and all will be lovely.
This is the right way to take hold of
this matter. Meanwhile We'll keep
buildin' big warships and get plenty of
'em on our Pacific coast so We'll hav
peace with Japan if We hav to fight for
it. There's no earthly reason for Japan
gettin' chesty and rolled and important.
They ought to know where they're at
and Taft has told 'em without equivo-
cation or mental reservation. He
shows his hand open. Japan is pretty
near bump now on account of the war
expense saddled by the Russian war
and creditors would hav to foreclose
on the isle and clean out the whole
batch if another war expense was in
CURED.
Jim Tawney had the braZen audacity
to stand up at the county fair and tell
the farmers that he was glad he lived
in this agricultural deestrick where the
people were so we'll fixed that he could
do nothln' for 'em becaus they didn't
need anythin' and so hecould dev ote his
whole attention to national matters.
Maybe he thought that settled it but it
don't. Every farmer in this deestrick
is up agenst the worst kind of problems
which Tawney has ignored. How does
Mr.. Farmer feel about that tariff on
lumber that Tawney never lifted his
finger to relieve and bust? The lumber
trusts, protected by Tawney's tariff
which keeps out competition, simply
shuts out lots of farmers from putin
up buildin's they need and would like.
When they 80 to buy few boards and
hav to pay their weight in gold for EN-
they begin to think they ought to hav
relief and the lumber tariff ought to be
knocked out but Tawney says they
need no legislation. The same with
the steel trust and the farm machinery
trust and regulation Of the railroads
and whole lot of other ills that are
foolishly and needless]y and outrage
ously and abominably protected by
tariff and statute, that Tawney won't
do thing to ease the awful burden.
And he says the farmer don't need any
legislation.
p o 9
alwus hate to see young one with
a off name that the other chaps make
fun of. It's cruelty to children to load
'em up with outlandish cognomens
which amt modern and reasonable
and good soundin'. Down in old Jeffer-
son county they used to Civ all kinds
of old time names but we ought to out
grow that. We used to hav Benoni
Whipple and Hezekiah Olney and
Mercy Angel and Xenophon Demos
themes Barnes and Patience and Mehit-
abel and Azariah and all such. 1t was
bad enuf in those old days but to load
q child up now with such is crime
agenst feelin's. No wonder some of