The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-05
Bryan Delivers NOn-POIitca| Address to Farmers At
 Lincoln
NEEDS OF FARMERS TOD
 OFTEN SADLY NEGLECTED
Bryan Points Out the SIowness of tho Government In Recognizing Place of the Farmer In Building
 Up This Country.

Lincoln, Neb., September 4.-William J. f Bryan, democratic candidate for the presi- dency, today made two avowedly non- ] political speeches to his home folks. The | first was at the State Fair grounds, where he participated in the dedication of 1 the new auditorium, and the second was at the Tabatha home, near Fairview, l where a new building was dedicated as a 1 hospital for the aged. In his fair grounds speech he was introduced by Governor Sheldon, who has just been renominated J by the republicans for governor. and who pras captain in MT. Bryan's regiment
 the Spanish-American war. MT. Bryan
 ,ferred somewhat hunorously to his own experiences as a soldier, and said thai ] among the candidates for President this year he was the only man with war record. He said that underlying partisan feelings in this country was patriotism deeper and stronger than all else, as in- 5dicated by the ready response to the call or volunteers in the Spanish-American , war. His personal experience typified this. And less than two years after his defeat by MT. Mckinley he had volun- teered his services at Washington for the war. This offer, however, was not &C., eepted, and he turned to his own state, which gave him a commission. and he
 aised regiment of Nebraskans. Most
 the officers in the regiment, like Gov
 ynor Sheldon, he said. were republicans. .hough the majority of the enlisted men , were democrats.
 Address to Farmers.
 Addressing himself to the farmers, he said:
 My friends, we are more stingy in making the appropriations for the farmer than for any other class of our people. Why it was a century after our govern ment was organized. or about that before we succeeded in getting a department of agriculture established We are the great est agricultural country in the world, and agriculture is the greatest industry in our country, and yet almost 100 years elapsed before the farmer got sea- around the Presidents council chamber. \ How backward we have been in recog Agiizing the farmers place in our govern 4 nent and among our institutions! In the time that has elapsed since the creation of this department Of agriculture a great deal has been done, and yet that depart ment is in its infancy.
 What will you think when I tell you i. that for every dollar we spend on that fldepartment we spend more than $25 on (the army and navy? More than $25 spent La'n getting ready for wars we ought never yefo have, than we spend on agriculture 2s [ f!he agricultural school is developing; it's Advancement is one of the great marked characteristics of this generation. l think I am safe in saying that in no other de- partment of learning has there been so much progress as in that department which relates to agriculture. I am glad to encourage the agricultural college. sWhy, for years 1t has been deemed d part of the duty of the state to train lawyers through law schools established by the government. And we have trained doctors through schools connected with our state institations but, my friends we are just beginning to learn that the training of the farmer is just as import ant as the training of the doctor or the lawyer.
 Benefit of Colleges.
 q expect great things from our agri- cultural colleges. I believe these col leges will lift the average of general in telligence of the farmer I expect these colleges to equip an increasing number of young men for public life. We will read the roll of United States senators and we will find but two farmers among them. Run down the list of congressman and you will find but few farmers among them. Considering the people engaged in farming, the farmer has very made quate representation in the national con gress And what is the result? The re- suit is that the farmer has been neglected more than any other man and his interest disregarded more than the interest of any other class; and with this larger train ing of our farmer boys and farmer girls I expect to see the farmer associate him. self more with and gain a larger repre- sentation in the making of our laws and the shaping of the nations policies.
 Dangerous Symptom.
 '"The discrimination that has been go- ing on against the farmer has tended to drive the people from the farms to the towns, and I believe that that symptom is dangerous I am going simply to point out two or three ways in which it mani fests itself. Our federal taxation is al- most all collected through methods that bear upon consumption and when we tax consumption instead of possession we make the poor man pay more than his share, and there has heretofore been q constant drain of the farms in the matter of collecting taxes, and when the taxes hare appropriated and expended the money is nearly all spent in the cities and very \ little of it upon the farms. The farmer, therefore, has not only suffered in pay ling more than his share to the tax col Hector, but he has been the least benefited K directly by the expenditure of the money. + that is raised. Read the enormous \ amounts spent on ships and then figure i If you can what proportion of that gets No the farmer.
 H Farmers In Congress.
 Take up the other large appropriations Xiand, with the exception of pensions, do not know of any large appropriation in which the farmer has anything like bis