The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1913-08-08

Georgia. It VIII facilitate exchange
of products between the merchants
and their customers. but especially it
will facilitate the sale of his smaller
products by the farmer. / feel sure
that it will grow in value as it grows
in use and, am gratified to have had
an opportunity to help properly start
the parcel post"
In connection with the parcels post
Senator Smith referred to the import
ance of properly sustaining the rural
carriers. He has bill pending to
increase their pay to compensate them
In a measure for the increased work
due to the parcels post. He said:
AN important question which has
been considered by the senate has
been that of national aid to good road
building. This question is now before
the postoffice and post roads commit
tee OF the senate. l favor national aid
to road building"
His Committee Assignments.
Senator Smith continued:
In the reorganization last March
where l had the opportunity to select
somewhat for myself the committees
upon which ] would serve, / deter
minded to remain upon the postoffice
and post roads committee of the Sen
ate and upon the committee on agri-
culture, rather than to 60 instead up
on committees perhaps more snowy,
because | believe that these two COM
mittees furnish especial opportunity
to care in a practical way for those
questions that would affect directly the
majority of the people of the state,
and | retained my positions upon them
as means Of watching your inter-
ests.
Agricultural. Extension Work.
The importance of agriculture to
our entire country is more thoroughly
appreciated at present than at any
past time. With us in Georgia it fur
nishes the chief source of prosperity.
When the farmer prospers every occu-
patton and every line Of industry in
Georgia prospers. When the farmer
falls to make a profit from his crop
money Is scarce in the state and the
complaint of hard times is heard on
ell Sides"
He explained his agricultural ex-
tension work bill which he introduced
last year and which came within one
vote Of passing. He expects to pass
1t at the next session. He said:
Under its provisions, in a short
time, we will have trained expert
in every county in the state showing,
BY demonstration, all that is worked
out at the state college of agriculture
and experiment station"
Marketing Crops.
Early last year, after a conference
with the president and other officers
or the Farmers Union, introduced
q bill to create a market division in
the department of agriculture. The
work OF this division was to inVesti-
gate systems of marketing farm prod
ucts, cooperative and otherwise, in
practice in various sections of the
United States, to collect data with
reference to them and to distribute
the data thus collected to farmers and
farm organizations.
Investigation has disclosed the fact
that an alarming waste takes place be-
tween the producer and consumer of
farm products. Where the farmer re-
ceives a dollar the average consumer
pays two dollars for the farm product.
To learn how to stop this waste. and
to divide the saving between the farm
err and the consumer is the great
problem of the market bureau of the
agricultural department.
Il succeeded in having attached to
the agricultural appropriation bill a
provision under which this division
has already been started in the agri-
cultural department, and | believe it
will grow to be of great service to the
farmers and to the people generally"
Tariff Revision.
Senator Smith spoke of the reor-
ganization of the Senate last March
under plan that has made the com.
mittees more responsive to the senti-
ments of the country and as a conse-
quence the tariff bill is more Demo
cratic than when it passed the House.
He said:
The finance committee organized
under this new practice has reported
to the Senate the House tariff bill
with a number of amendments. For
the first time in fifty years legislation
intended to take the burdens off the
masses of the people has found no
resistance in the Democratic Senate. It
must be conceded by all that the Sen
ate Democrats have made the tariff
bill more Democratic than it was
when it reached the Senate. | will
say for my associate Democrats on
the finance committee of the Senate,
after working with them an average of
ten hours day for more than two
months, l have never known nine men
to show more entire freedom from i'm
proper influence or more devoted pur-
pose in everything they did to serve
the great body of their fellow.citizens.
Nearly all the time for half q cen
fury the Republican party has main
tanned a protective tariff so high that
foreign competition in many lines of
industries was prevented. Then under
q system which it fosteped combina-
tiens destroyed domestic competition.
The consumers of the country were
forced to pay largely more for what
they used than would have been charg-
ed them under fair competition among
sellers. The Republican party has
gone further. 1t has made favorites
out of particular classes. It has re.
eeived from them the funds with which
to carry on their campaigns and in
return has paid them back ten fold
by the money which it has aided them
to untustly take from the pockets of