The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1911-07-07
FARMERS BITTER
AGAINST "GRAB"
COL. j. N. MERCNEY TELLS
WHAT ILLEGAL PAY WILL
COST THE PEOPLE.
To the Editor of The Herald:

To the Editor Of The Herald:
The farmers are busy as bees all
these bright warm days. Wheat
threshing is now Oh in full blast, the
whistle of the thresher engine can
now be heard in all directions, the
railroad yards are crowded with wag-
one loading the wheat into the cars
for shipment
Very few farmers are prepared to
safely store their wheat and although
the mills have combined on a low
price for wheat, yet most of the farm
ers will have to sell. The recent
rains have improved the corn crops
and pastures some, but the extreme
ly hot weather is drying out the
ground again very fast; more rain
is needed.
In mixing among the farmers at
the threshers and in the railroad
yards l find the principal topic of
conversation now to be heard is the
great Legislative grab of last week,
the big steal of the peoples money at
Nashville.
There has been an opportunity for
the politicians to do many things for
their own advancement and not for
the real good of the country without
the people generally knowing it. but
now with our improved mail facili-
ties, the rural free delivery of mails
to the farmers homes, the greatly
increased circulation of newspapers,
has helped to inform him of what is
going on, ard he is enabled to form
intelligent opinions quickly on af-
fairs that interest him. AS President
Lincoln said Part of the people can
be fooled part of the time, but all
the people cannot be fooled all the
time"
To say they are indignant is put
ting it very mildly, some of them are
fighting mad, and advocate holding
Indignation meetings, and giving eX-
preston to their feelings in tones not
to be misunderstood
The farmers are hard and steady
workers, the only producers C the
real necessaries of life; theirs is the
task to feed and clothe the world.
The farmers of Tennessee see their
taxes being piled up on them noun
tain high, and then to hear of such
a high-handed outrage as the big sal
airy grab and the altogether unwar-
ranted increase in the salaries of the
government employees is more than
they can quietly bear. They feel
that the peoples servants have be-
come their masters, as bad as the an
cient task masters of Egypt, more
brick is required and not even the
straw is furnished Many farmers
are hard run to pay their taxes and
are unable to educate their children
or furnish them many of the comforts
of life, and then to see the peoples
money squandered in this reckless
way is too much for them. With the
record of a unanimous vote in the
House and but few dissenting votes
in the Senate, and some of them per-
haps of questionable motives, how
can the legislators return home and
face their honest constituents? 1t
is sad to lose confidence in our fellow
man. The Psalmist many genera
tons ago wrote, 1--WE know that liars
and thieves are of the same class"
If the Psalmist lived in this genera
ton, he might take more leisure time
for his meditations and yet add an
other ugly word to express his con-
illusions. The wheat crop of Tennes-
see is estimated by the government
statistics at an average yield of elev-
en bushels to the acre. It requires
At least one bushel Of this to pay for
.hreshing and loading on the cars,
eaving in the growers hands an av-
erage Of ten bushels per acre. 1t
would require one hundred thousand !
bushels Of wheat, at the average |
Price this year, or the product of TO-