The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-26

any other one thing Give our farmers good roads and with the telephone and rural delivery bringing them in easy eoa- tact with the outside world, and with his daily intercourse with nature he wal prove the most prosperous and contented and patriotic citizen on the American continent.
 Plea for the Farmers.
 MT President, l am making d plea for the farmers, not because they are bet ter than any other class of our people, but because they are as good They do not ask for special faYors but demand a square deal and fair treatment.
 The distinguished senator from Maine (Alr. Hale), chairman of the naval com n1ittee and dn actual and influential mem- Der of the appropriations committed, de- clared few days ago in this chamber that TO per cent of the appropriations made at this session of Congress were Ill preparation for war or reparation of past wars. A most startling statement when we consider that the united States is at peace with all the world and no strained relations exist between this and any nation on the globe.
 l ask the Senate to pause long enough 10 consider the importance of agriculture and it's wealth producing power and com- pare the appropriations made by this Congress, in aid of agriculture, with those made in preparation for and reparation of war. The appropriations for. war amount to the round sum of $400. 0GO while for agriculture we grudgingly ap- propriate about $10000, 900. One is designed to kill and main, make widows and orphans, and fill the land with sorrow s.... 4t.. hungry and clothe the naked, bring joy and happiness to our people, the building Of peaceful homes and the encourage ment of patriotism and love of country
 The tolling millions engaged in agri- culture last year produced more than $7- 000 000,000 worth of products; they fed and clothed GOO people at home, and shipped abroad S1 S1000,000,000 worth of the productsf of their labor, or 561a per cent of the total exports of the country. These farmers, for whose benefit and encour- agement Congress will this year appro- priate only $1o,0006O0, as against s40O, ,0OOOOO for purposes l have just mentioned, are not receiving the consideration they de- serve.
 The internal commerce of the country last year was about $z0,0000 000,000, nearly all of which must first and last be hauled over the dirt roads at an average cost Ol -0 ttulS per lOIl per Illlt, or llOft than thirty times the cost of transporta- toin by rail, the average rail haul being less than mills per ton per mile.
 Burden of Dirt Roads.
 In order to show the immense burden imposed by the dirt roads l have selected five of the leading staple farm products to prove my contention-wheat, corn, cot ten, hay and tobacco.
 Corn crop, 19O5-6.
 Total tonnage marketed .......... 19, ,0S3, GOO Average weight of load pounds) 2,696 Total number of loads hauled .... 14,156, 5sS Average length of haul (miles).... "A Average cost of hauling per ton
 per mile (cents) .............. 10 Total cost of marketing crop by
 wagon . ..............S S26 S30 e9S Average cost over hard roads per
 ton per mile (cents) :. ...... .. 10 Saving due to hard roads ......- .$12, 9,zS
 The railroad charge for hauling 100 pounds of corn from St. Louis to New Orleans a distance of 647 miles, 16 cents To haul 100 pounds of corn over the Mis- souri dirt roads q distance of S.S miles costs the farmer 10 cents.
 Wheat crop, 1905-6
 Total tonnage marketed :. ........ 12,129,900 Average weight of load (pounds). 3,S23 Total number of loads hauled .... 7296,4lS Average length of haul (miles) .. 9.4 Average cost of hauling per ton
 per mile (centS) INDEPENDENTLY. .19 Total cost of marketing crop by
 wagon .......,.. .SH, 6ol,6lS Average cost over hard roads per
 ton per mile (cents) .. ...... e. 10 Saving due to hard roads .... .. .$10, ,256, ,05S
 The railroads charge for hauling 101 pounds of wheat from Chicago to Buffalo, a distance of 525 miles, is F cents. To haul 100 pounds of wheat a distance of five and seventeenth miles over the dirt roads of Illinois costs the farmer ' cents
 Cotton crop 1905-6.
 Total tonnage marketed :. ...... 2,530, 900 Average weight of load (pounds). 1,7O2 Total number of loads hauled.. 2,973, ,560 Average length of haul (miles) .. Ills Average cost of hauling per ton
 per mile (cents) ......... .27 Total cost of marketing crop by
 wagon ................$ S,062, 173 Average cost over hard roads per
 ton per mile (cents) .. .......... 10 Saving due to hard roads .. ....$ 5,076 1S3
 To send a bale of cotton by rail from Birmingham, Ala, to Norfolk, Va, a distance of 763 miles, costs g.. 55. To haul a bale of cotton a distance of il miles, over the dirt roads of Mississippi costs 95 cents If the railroad haul cost as much per mile as the dirt road, the cost of sending bale of cotton from Bir- mingham to Norfolk would amount to $SS.32 or about twice its value at the average price. It costs IS cents per hun dred pounds to haul cotton seed dis tance of 13 miles, on a dirt road in Ala bama, or one-third of it's market value.
 The railroad haul for tobacco from