St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1914-11-25
HOW to Helm the Farmers.

How to Help the Farmers.
We have attempted to show our
readers that the farmers. of Vermont
get a small share of the money APP
propriated by the legislature to va
rious interests, that agriculture is
large enough and promising enough
to deserve more aid than it is get
ting and now we wish to suggest
ways in which it should be secured.
First the state should not appro-
pirate more money than it is already
doing because a further increase of
state expenses would impose too
heavy a burden on farmers as tax
payers. 1t seems reasonable to ex-
pect that the coming legislature may
materially reduce the cost of the jul
dietary department by requiring the
courts to make their decisions less
on technical points and more on the
Justice of the case, by abolishing the
Office of attorney general and re-
curing the supreme court to advise
the governor the same as it used to
do before the Office of attorney gen.
eral was established and by restrict
ing the employment of detectives.
The legislative expense can be ma
terialIy reduced if the members de-
sire it by making the pay of state
house employees during the session
reasonable and by referring every
proposed appropriation to one COM
mittee which can watch expenditures
and keep them within reasonable
bounds and by limiting the salary
a member of the legislature shall
draw from the treasury. The APP
preparations for agricultural fairs
that are simply money-making pro-
positions for private corporations
could be refused and that money APP
propriated to some purpose that
would directly benefit the farmers.
The executive department of the
government should be carefully
scanned to see if all the officials con-
nected with it are necessary and
giving service worth what it is cost
ing. There is considerable question
whether such a large expense is
necessary to give the people honest
weights and measures, whether a
purchasing agent can buy things
enough cheaper than the managers
of institutions to make his salary
and expenses a saving to the state
and finally whether the state board
OF agriculture is of as much value
as the money appropriated for its
use would be expended in practical
demonstrations to the farmers.
The most crying need Of the far
mer is more and better help but no
practical way OF getting help has
been suggested. The state may
properly be asked to aid in estab
fishing an agency that shall turn the
large supplies of labor in this coun-
try toward Vermont in numbers suf-
fcient to supply the demand. Can
ada is doing this why shouldn't YER
mont.
Farmers should educate them
selves and their children in success
full management of farms as a bust
ness. The special educational com
mission has made some very prac-
tical recommendations along this
line in the maintenance of a first
class state school of agriculture, in
creased demonstration work by the
state agricultural college and by
practical teaching in the public
schools. A reading of that commits
sion's report, pages S5 to AZ, in
elusive, will be more helpful than
any secondhand suggestions we
might make.
Another need is the opportunity
for a young man with limited CAPT
tai to become the proprietor of a
farm. The bonding of the state for
several millions and the loaning of
the money so secured at a low rate
of interest on longtime loans has
been suggested. 1t does not seem
advisable to us for the state to at
tempt a banking business because it
could not safely serve so large q
field as the whole state. There
would be too great an opportunity
to defraud the state because the
character OF all the borrowers could
not be accurately determined. We
would prefer law allowing the for
nation OF local rural credit associa-
lions under the control of local d.
rectors made up or men OF proven
business ability. This would enlist