Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-12-04

threatens, II long continued. TO I'M
peril the interests of peace order and
tolerable life in the lands immedi-
ately to the south of US. Even if the
usurper had succeeded in his purposes,
in despite of the constitution of the
republic and the rights Of its people,
he would have set up nothing but
pTecaTious and hateful power, which
could have lasted but a little while.
and whose eyentful downfall would
have left the country II. a more de-
plorable condition than ever But h<
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,
I believe, De 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-
HI Tic 14DCA ~ VI AllClA DSCplS " lISlI
own ambitions.
Currency Reform.
/ turn TO matters of domestic con-
Germ. 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 &c -h.T
sary to set credit free from arbitrary
and artificial restraints. / need not say
how earnestly l hope for it's early en-
actment into law. | take leave to beg
that the whole energy and attention
of the senate be concentrated upon it
till the matter is successfully disposed
Of And yet I feel that the request is
not needed-that the members of that
great house need no urging in this
service to the country.
I 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
tAACll upOu Oil CAudl lOOllllS WIN ChAA
er business men and masters of en-
terprise, as it should; and upon its
passage they will find themselves quit
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
q itCo1f Nhor thpV
need and should obtain is legislation
which will make their own abundant
and substantial credit resources avail
able as a Foundation for joint, con-
certed local action in their own be-
half in getting the capital they must
use. 1t is to this we should now adj
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. l 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 it is from
the quiet interspaces of the open val
I legs 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 crop 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 it might be on the counter
| of the banker.
EmcienCy IN = aFfnlng.
| The agricultural department of the
| government is seeking to assist as
never before to make farming an eff
| 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 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
/ 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 i'll
| the ordinary money market. You
| have but to look about you in any
rural district TO see the result. the
| handicap and embarrassment which
| have been put upon those who pro-
/ duce our food.
Study Rural Credit.
Conscious of this backwardness and
! neglect on our part, the congress re-
| Gently authorized the creation of a