The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-04-29
CONGRESSMAN LEVER
WORKS FOR FARMERS

The moment had arrived for the
first gun to be fired in defense Of the
Farmers Money Bill. The House
doors were closed, the pages ran
hither and thither to round up the
members, and the clerk called the
roll. There was a quorum present.
"The House is in Committee of the
Whole House on the State OF the
Union for the purpose Of further con-
sideration of the bill H. R. 13679,'
announced the chairman.
The clerq read the bill. A w1ry
little man jumped up and was recog-
pized. The fighting representative
from South Carolina, the man behind
the Farmers Money Bill, had the
floor.
'Mr. Chairman" Representative
Lever began, "at breakfast this morn
ing 1 happened to overhear remark
made by one Of those two-by-four
know-it-alls that set me thinking. 1t
was this: NO class of people in this
country except the farmer and the
criminal can get any money from the
Federal government for any purpose.
Do you know that there is approprlat-
ed s5O,00O,000 year for the farm
ers of this coutry?'
"He had a good face, was well
dressed, and seemed to be a man Oh
intelligence, but his asinine display
of ignorance, uttered with the arro-
gance of apparent information, made
me PROFOUND to myself the query: 1t
is possible that such gross ignorance
is prevalent generally among the peo-
pie with reference to what the Fed
eral governmnt is doing for agricul-
ture?'
"Mr. Chairman, instead of eXpend-
ing s50,000,000 year for the agri-
culture of this nation, the fact that
the expenditures of the department
OF Agriculture that go in direct aid
to the farmer, and to him alone,
amount to only s9,690,000 annually!
"The bill that We are about to con-
slider appropriates in round numbers
SIS, 100000, including permanent ap-
preparation for the department is US
ed in it's regulatory, police and quar-
antine work, while only thirty-eight
per cent. is used in aid of the great
est occupation of the people of this
county.
"In the face of such facts, and with
an understanding Of what the re-
search and demonstration work OF
this department mean to the people
of the country, is there one bold
enough to repeat the charge that this
committee has been unduly liberal in
it's attitude toward this work? For
myself 1 have no apologies to make;
l am prepared to defend every item in
this bill as wisainvestment Of pub
lie funds
"The appropriation provided in
this bill is a mere bagatelle, incon-
sequential in comparison with our
appropriations for other purposes.
What vii a COMPARISON show? You
will appropriate for the support of
the AIRY this year s94,O00,C00 in
round numbers. This means that ev-
cry time you appropriate one dollar
to aid in the development and en-
couragement of the oldest orcupation
OF mankind you are appropriating
ten dollars for the maintenance and
support of the army"
Looking Into the Future.
"You are spending more this year
to maintain this little square Of ten
miles in the District of Columbia
than you are appropriatng for the
agriculture OF the entire country. You
are spending more for the mainten-
aace of the wards of this nation, the
Indians, than you are appropriating
this year for the encouragement Of
the agriculture of the country. You
will very likely appropriate S14O,-
100000, in round numbers, for the
support of the navy this year. This
means that every time dollar is ex-
pended to help the farmers 10 keep
their corncribs and smokehouses and
to feed the people of this nation you
are spending fifteen dollars for your
navy.
"You will spend s1S0,OO0,000 for
pensions this year. I shall not con-
:inue; but let me call your attention
to the fact that the total appropria-
tions for all purposes for the pres
ent fiscal year amount to S1,105,-
600, 900. of W i amount the paltry
sum of S9,690,000, or nine-tenths of
one per cent of the total, goes to the
development of the basic business of
the country.
rs the criticism of this committee
that it is over-liberal to the De-
partment Of Agriculture of this coun-
try-to be continued in the face Of
such facts? I should life to COM
mend to such critics the facts that
the total agricultural capitalization
of this country is more than s42,-
900. 100000. The farmers are pro-
ducing annually more than s9,000,-
100000.
"But I do not ask that the appro-
priation recommended in this bill
shall stand upon invidious compar-
icons. I am content to have each
item rest solely upon its own merit
and the character and Importance of
the work contemplated under it.
Unless I a N prepared to show
that every dollar recommended for
the work of the Department of Agri-
culture will bring returns to the peo-
pie in the way of improved and more
profitable methods of agriculture,