Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1913-12-06

peril the interests of peace, order anu
,olerabla life in the lands lmmeGl-
4tely to the south of US. Even II the
.usurper had succeeded in his purposes,
in despite Of the constitution OF the
republic and the rights Of its people
he would hare set up nothing but
precarious and hateful power, when
could have lasted but a little while
and whose eventful downfall would
have left the country III a more de-
Dlorabie condition than ever. But NJ
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 DY
little he has been completely isolated.
BY a little every day his power ana
prestige are Crumbling and the col
lapse is not far away. We shall not
I 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 a bill for the reform OF our
system Of banking and currency, for
which the country waits with impdu-
euce, as for something fundamental
sary to set credit free from arDltrar!
and artificial restraints. ! need not say
how earnestly I hope for its early en-
actmeut into law. l take leave to Deg
that the whole energy and attention
| Of the senate be concentrated upon II
till the matter is successfully disposed
of. And yet l feel that the request Is
not needed-that the members OF that
great house need no urging IN thls
| service to the country.
I present to you, in addition, the
| urgent necessity that special provision
be made also for facilitating the cred
| its needed by the farmers Of the coun-
try. The pending currency bill does
| the farmers a great service. 1t puts
| them upon an equal footing with oth-
! er business men and masters OF en-
! terprise. as it should; and upon It's
! passage they will find themselves quit
of many Of the difficulties which now
hamper them in the field of credlt,
| The farmers, of course, ask ana
| should be given no special privilege
| such as extending to them the credll
of the government itself. What they
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. II is to this we should now ad
dress ourselves.
Allowed to Lag.
It has. singularly enough, come tc
pass that we have, allowed the indus
try of our farms to lag behind the
other activities of the country in us
DEVELOPMENT | need not stop TO tel
YOU how fundamental to the life o
the Nation is the production of It's
food. Our thoughts may ordinarii!
be concentrated upon the cities anC
the hives of industry, upon the cries
of the crowded market place and th'
clangor of the factory, but 1t is iron
the quiet interspaces OF the open val
levs and the free hillsides that W.
draw the sources of life and OF pros
nerity. 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 We
the farmer does not stand upon tn
same footing with the forester and tn
miner in the market of credit. lie l
the servant of the seasons. Natur
determines how long he must wait TO
his crops, and will not be hurried /
her processes. He may give his note
| but the season of it's maturity depend
: upon the season when his crop ma
lures, lies at the gates OF the marKe
: where his products are sold. And tn
? security he gives is of a character nc
: known in the brokers' office or as II
miliarly as it might be on the counte
l Of the banker.
S Efficiency in Farming.
T The Agricultural department Of tn
l government is seeking to assist q
r never before to make farming an Ell
l cient business, of wide cooperative e
d fort. in quick touch with the market
n for foodstuffs. The farmers and IN
/ government will hencefOrth work I
e gether as real partners in this hel
where we now begin to see our wa
very clearly and where many INTEL
y gent plans are already being put I'M
q execution. The treasury of the Ur
, ted States has. by timely and we
# considered distribution of its depo
a it's. facilitated the moving of the crol
V in the present season and preVente
n the scarcity of available funds too OF
4 en- experienced at such times. b
4 we must not allow ourselves to q
e pend upon extraordinary expedient
% We must add the means by which Il
n farmer may make bis credit constar
"a ly and easily available and commai
70 when he will the capital by which
n support and expand his business. v
IN lag behind many other great countri
X of the modern world in attempting
e do this. Systems of rural credit ha
n been studied and developed on t
10 other side of the water while we lt
IN our farmers to shift for themselves
m the ordinary money market.
70 have but to look about you in a