The Springfield herald., 1913-12-12

fhreatens, If long continued, to i'm.
peril the interests of peace, order and
'olerable life in the lands immedi-
ltely to the south of us. Even II the
usirper had succeeded in his purposes
in despite of the constitution OF the
republic and the rights of It's people,
he would have set up nothing but a
precarious and hateful power, which
could have lasted but little while
and whose eventful downfall would
have left the country in more de-
plorable condition than ever But he
has not succeeded. He has forfeited
the respect and the moral support
even of those who were at one time
willing to see him succeed. Little by
little he has been completely isolated
BY little every day his power and
prestige are crumbling and the col
lapse is not far away. We shall not
| believe. be obliged to alter our pol
icy of watchful waiting. And then,
when the end comes, We shall hope to
see constitutional order restored in
distressed Mexico by the concert and
energy of such of her leaders as pre-
fer the liberty of their people to their
own ambitions.
Currency Reform.
| turn to matters OF domestic con-
cern. You already have under con-
sideration bill for the reform of our
system of banking and currency, for
which the country waits with impati-
ence, as for. something fundamental
to its whole business life and neces-
sary to set credit free from arbitrary
and artificial restraints. need not say
how earnestly l hope for its early en-
actment into law. take leave to beg
that the whole energy and attention
of the senate be concentrated upon 1t
till the matter is successfully disposed
of. And yet feel that the request is
not needed-that the members Of that
great house need no urging in this
service to the country.
l present to you, in addition, the
urgent necessity that special provision
be made also for facilitating the cred
it's needed by the farmers of the coun-
try The pending currency bill does
the farmers great service. 1t puts
them upon an equal footing with 9TH
er business men and masters of en-
terprise, as it should and upon its
passage they will find themselves quilt
of many of the difficulties which now
hamper them in the field of credit.
The farmers, Of course, ask and
should be given no special privilege,
such as extending to them the credit
of the government itself. What they
need and should obtain is legislation
which will make thoir own abundant
and substantial credit resources avail
able as foundation for joint, con
certed local action in their own be
half in getting The capital they must
use It is to this we should now ad
dress ourselves.
Allowed to Lag.
1t has, singularly enough, come to
pass that we have allowed the indus
try of our farms to lag behind the
other activities of the country in its
development. need not stop to tell
you how fundamental to the life OF
the Nation is the production of its
food. Our thoughts may ordinarily
be concentrated upon the cities and
the hives of industry. upon the cries
of the crowded market place and the
clangor of the factory, but 1t is from,
the quiet interspaces of the open val
leys and the free hillsides that We
draw the sources of life and of pros
perity, from the farm and the ranch
from the forest and the mine. With
out these every street would be 81
lent, every office deserted, every fac
tory fallen into disrepair. And yet
the farmer does not stand upon the
same footing with the forester and the
miner in the market of credit. He Is
the servant of the seasons. Nature
determines how long he must wait for
his crops, and will not be hurried in
her processes. He may give his note
but the season of its maturity depends
upon the season when his cron ma
lures. lies at the gates of the market
where his products are sold. And the
security he gives is of character not
known in the brokers' office or as IA
miliarly as 1t might be on the counter
OF the banker.
Efficiency In Farming.
The agricultural department Of the
! government is seeking to assist as
never before TO make farming an etii'
cient business, of wide cooperative eff
fort. in quick touch with the markets
| for foodstuffs. The farmers and the
government will henceforth work to-
| gether as real partners in this field
where we now begin to see our way
very clearly and where many intelli'
| gent plans are already being put into
| execution. The treasury of the Uni
ted States has, by a timely and we'll
/ considered distribution of its depos
/ its. facilitated the moving OF the crops
in the present season and prevented
the scarcity of available funds too oft
en- experienced at such times. But
| we must not allow ourselves to de-
pend upon extraordinary expedients
/ We must add the means by which the
/ farmer may make his credit constant
I ly and easily available and command
when he will the capital by which to
support and expand his business we
lag behind many other great countries
of the modern world in attempting to
do this. Systems of rural credit have
been studied and developed on the
other side of the water while we left
our farmers to shift for themselves In
the ordinary money market. YOU
have but to look about you In any
4,