The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1914-10-16

/ lowest and the service rendered ad.
mlttedly the best in the world. In
this connection, a statement coEtal I'D
in the last annual report of the great
Dcutschc Bank Of Berlin which ha, a
paid up capital and reserve fund rf
.SII,0OO,O 600 is interesting: "Amcrlruu
railroads need higher freight rate.
Their present rates are the lowest ln
the world-rcpresentlng, for instance,
but a fraction of the English railway
rates and this in the face of the fac:
that wages in the United States, on
the average are fully twice MS high
as in Europe Certainly this view
Of the privately owned lines of the
United States, coming from Germany
which has the most successful state
owned transportation system in the
world is worthy Of grave considara-
ton
Letting Well Enough Alone
In view Of these facts. the average
citizen may well ask himself whether
II is not best to let well enough alone
rather than invite other ills we know
not of whether it is not wiser to cure
such defects as may cucumber the
present system rather than run the
danger of plunging this mighty in
dustry into the whirlpool of party
politics for all time with its attendant
opportunity for evil of which the past
affords such rich variety of expert
cnce. The United States is still a
young country and in many sections
only partially developed. Many new
lines and extensions are needed here
and there to give a wider opportunity
to expanding agriculture and COM
merce and nothing could be more I'M
fortunate or disastrous than that
these favors could henceforth be OBJ
tanned only by leave of the dominant
political factions which will reign at
the National capital in the years to
come. Political parties are Intensely
human institutions and the average
cautious citizen will prefer to leave
the railroad expansion of the future
to the economic law Of supply md de-
mand Of communities rather than to
place such n temptation for power in
the hands of those who rise and fall
in the field of politics. Furthermore,
should the time ever come when the
government takes over the railroads il
means that the people will have to
forego the millions of taxes which
they now pay. Many other things
could be said upon this phase Of the
question, but space forbids For
sometime. the Government through
the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion has been engaged in making a
! physical valuation of all our railroads
as matter Of guidance for future
rate adjustments. Again, we rrpeat
since the people absolutely reg
ulate the railroads, is thai not
( enough? viii it not be better 20 let
well enough alone-to cling "a that
which is good and eliminate that
which is bad from this time forward
Increased Cost of Operation.
We now wish to refer briefly o an.
other phase Of the problem For q
number of years the cry of the 'higf
cost of living" has been everywhere
abroad in the land. Time was. rot SC
many years ago, when the farmer solo
ms corn at 25c per bushel. Vow il
brings from SOC to Toe. So. 100. h,
sold hogs at &c per pound, which now
readily bring from 7c to 10c-while q
good steer calf, which used to bring
from $40 to Sl2 now sells for from
$50 to S25. Nobody who knows any.
thing about present land values o,
the farmers cost of production will
contend that he is not entitled tc
these increased prices. AS n matter
Of fact, unless he is an exce,dingl,
good manager. and utilizes the best
Of modern agricultural thought he i.
by no means getting rich at present
prices-high as they may seem to the
people in the cities who do not un
derstand the cost attached TO present
day farming. To go back 20 the ole
prices he used to receive would bank
rupt, in little while, every rarniel
in the country-.and the tendency %
the future will be for the prices Of
farm products to go still higher rath
er than lower. Agriculture is the ma
tons greatest fundamental industr,
and society must mako tho farm, ,va "a,