The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1914-03-20


gress. However. the tariff law is do.
ing freak things and one OF them per.
haDs Ia not uninteresting as a human
interest document.
A man has Just come to Washing
ton from New Bedford. Mass, where
he is largely interested in cotton
goods manufacturing. He was asked
how business was. His answer was
this: Billiard balls came within one
OF putting us to the bad"
What in the name OF solid ivory
have billiard balls to do with the max
ing OF cotton cloth?"
Billiard Balls and Cotton Cleth.
We'll, they came pretty near hx-ine
everything to do with 1t In our CASE
and then this was the tale that he
told:
I'VE manufactured great quantities
Of cotton cloth which we sold to a
factor In New York city who shipped
1t to East Africa where 1t was ex
changed for tusk livery. Cotton cloth
over In that country was recognized
as a medium OF exchange and in many
cases as more desirable than money
The New York people who tool
our stuff and sold it for ivory started
seven factories, hired hundreds Of
workmen, took the tusks which they
brought from Africa and turned then
into billiard balls ind were doing
business with fair amount of profit
Now they Lave got to go out OF
business, discharge their workmen
stop buying oug goods. and all be
cause the Democrats put tariff or
raw ivory. Now you can see what
billiard balls. in this case at any rate
have to do with cotton cloth making
You see, the Democrats wanted tc
put duties on Injuries. There never
has been a duty on raw ivory, but be
cause billiard balls and some other
things which people with a little
money want to buy are made out OF
ivory, they tackled duty on the raw
material. The New York concern
which bought our stuff and sold it for
tusks could not pay The duty ant
make billiard balls to compete in the
selling market with the balls import
ed from France, Germany and Other
countries which have no duty on raw
ivory. II we had not succeeded In Sc
curing another output for our goods
we should have been harder hit thar
we were. AS it is the New York con
Germ makes no more billiard balls, has
closed down it's factories and dis
charged its men,"
Houston and Farm Credits.
The senate of the United States has
In its keeping a bill introduced by
Senator Fletcher OF Florida which IL
intended to give financial relief t.
farming communities. The same bill
has been introduced. IN the house by
Representative Moss Of Indiana. The
measure, 1t is said has the backing
of the administration.
Secretary of Agriculture Houston, II
is said, is Of mine to try to induce
the president to ask congress to post
pone action on rural credits for some
little time. If rural credits are taker
up this year congress may as well
say "goodby" to June adjournment
The secretary of agriculture, who is
supposed to know much more than the
president about rural conditions, IL
said to desire that the farmers shall
be given time to acquaint themselves
with certain things before the new
financial scheme is put into operation
For some months the secretary has
been directing the work of investiga
ton in the field of high prices fol-
things necessary to life. 1t is sale
he believes the farms can be made to
produce three or four times as much
as they are producing now, although
II Is understood some of the men who
have been looking into the matter fol-
him think doubling-up of product
iveness is about as much as can be
expected.
Several Systems Studied.
There are just as many views on ru
raj credit legislation as there were OF
currency legislation. The two things
are more than first cousins. A com
mission went abroad to study 8
scheme for giving the farmers what
may De Cdlieu ready money rellef,
Mr.. Houston has had investigators In
the home fields and a subcommittee OF
the banking and currency committee
has been looking about for facts.
When the American congressional
commission was in Europe Digging
into the rural credit subject it studied
several systems. There is a co-opera
tive plan which has its adherents
Through the farmers cooperative SO
cieties based upon a plan which has
been outlined in congress the indi
Sidual members could borrow money
through the organization to which
they belong. Some members of con
gress say that a system OF this kind
would run the danger of falling into
the hands of Wall street financiers.'
One of the plans suggested is that
the government itself shall accept the
farmers mortgages and on this secur
ity issue bonds the proceeds from the
sale of which could be furnished to
the mortgage givers at a maximum
interest rate of Az per cent"
Members of congress are confused
over this farmer credit svstau and