El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-07-22
WILEY

Farming, for one thing must be made
attractive. It should be made more pro
itable. This will be done as our farmers
learn more thoroughly the principles Of
intensive cultivation and get knowledge
of the methods of feeding the soil and
of rotation of crops.
@To this end have been preaching for
the past thirty years the gospel Of the
sugar beet. The production of the sugar
beet requires the highest style of inten-
sive culture that science has been able
to suggest. In the case of the sugar
beet the crops which are grown in rota-
ton with It yield very much larger
returns than when the old-fashioned
system Of agriculture prevailed. The
culture of sugar producing plants thus
creates a center of influence which
teaches its benehcent lessons to all sur
rounding agriculture. The reflex action
Of this influence becomes a benefit to
American agriculture the value of which
1t would be difficult to measure In dollars
and cents.
Zone Of the best things about sugar
beet culture from the point Of view of
agricultural improvement is that It fits
in as perfectly with dairying and stock
growing. It IS Of course one of the
elementary facts of practical dairying
that the rearing and keeping of live
stock affords the easiest, cheapest and
most natural means. of improving the
fertility of the soil
"The residual pulp from the sugar
beet, after the factory has extracted the
saccharine matter, IS a valuable and
wholesome food for cattle and other
farm animals, and the by-product of
molasses, when mixed with other foods,
fattens and improves the appearance and
value of the cattle. The farmer Incl
dentally finds himself getting larger
quantities of manure, in better condition
than ever before. He learns to be more
careful about preserving this natural
fertilizer. go
%The sugar beet IS a great factor in
making farm life more attractive. But
farming Is at best a struggling occupa-
ton. The farmer should have a fair
chance in the markets, governed b.
supply and demand as to rise and fall,
and not have everything he grows and
everything he buys manipulated as to
price by people who have nobodys
interest at heart but their own. The
farmer cannot sell a steer to-day or a
bushel Of wheat or bushel of corn at a
price governed by supply and demand.
And if there IS to be tariff protection,
the farmer should get It first of ali. do
not wish to discuss whether the tariff is a
good thing, or q bad thing, but if we
are to have a tariff IN this country the
farmer should get some benefit from It
If our present tariff schedules are TO be
adjusted, and I would not say for
moment that such adjustments are not
necessary, let as much as possible be
saved to the farmer. eSz.
Regardless of the abstract merits of
the question, it IS evident from what |
have already explained that the effect
of the free sugar bill now before Con-
gress would be only partly felt by those
directly engaged IN the culture and man
ufacture of this product It would deal
a blow to all branches of agriculture
and leave the farmer to struggle along
for decades yet to come with problems
which without the aid of sugar beet
culture he has been unable to solve. Its
and numbing influence would
pervade all branches of agriculture and
put back the era of development for
years TO come. In my opinion this
should be the last rather than the first
point at which TO remove the customs
duty.