Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1915-01-27

sible cost. We further recognize that
the farmers and producers in the end
pay approximately 95 per cent of the
expenses of operating the railroads.
and it is therefore to the interest of
the producers that the expenses of
the common carriers be as small as
is possible, consistent with good SER
vice and safety. We, therefore, call
upon our lawmakers, courts and
juries to bear the foregoing facts in
mind when dealing with the common
carriers of this state, and we do espe-
cia1ly reaffrm the declarations of
the last annual convention of our
State Union, opposing the passage of
the so-called 'full-crew' bill before
the thirty-third legislature of Texas"
The farmers of Missouri in the last
election, by an overwhelming ma
tOrity, swept this law off the statute
book of that state, and it should
come off of all statute books where
it appears and no legislature of this
nation should pass such a law or
similar legislation which requires I'M
necessary expenditures.
1S ScalAS u1C opp11Co W Oil ACtoO u
latory measures which increase the
expenses Of industry without giving
corresponding benefits to the pubic.
There is ofttimes body of men as
sembled at northumberland they
have a right to be there-Who, in
their zeal for rendering their fellow
associates a service, sometimes favor
n innrnac in tho of
dustry without due regard for the men
who bow their backs to the summers
sun to meet the payroll, but these
committees, while making a record
for themselves, rub the skin off the
shoulders Of the farmer by urging the
legislature to lay another burden
upon his heavy load and under the
lash of 'be it enacted" goad him on
to pull and surge at the traces of civil
ization, no matter how he may sweat,
foam and gall at the task When
legislatures "cut a melon" for labor
! they hand the farmer a lemon.
The farmers Of the United States
! are not financially able to carry dead
! heads" on their payrolls. Our own
! hired hands are not paid unless we
! have something for them to do and
! we are not willing to carry the hired
! help Of dependent industries unless
there is work for them. We must
| therefore insist upon the most rigid
| economy.
| Legislative House-cleaning Needed.
While the war is on and there is a
! lull in business, we want all legisla-
| tive bodies to take an inventory Of
the statute books and wipe off all
| eXtravagant and useless laws A good
| housekeeping is needed and econo-
mics can be instituted here and there
! that will patch the clothes of INDECENT
children, rest tired mothers and lift
! Unnecessary Workmen taken off and
useless expenses chopped down all
along the line will add to the pros
perity OF the farmer and encourage
him in his mighty effort to feed and
clothe the world
If any Of these industries have sur
plus employees we can use them on
the farm. We have no regular
schedule OF wages, but we pay good
farm hands on an average of $1.50
Fer day Of thirteen hours when they
board themselves; work usually runs
about nine months Of the year and the
three months dead time, they can do
the chores for their board. 1t they
prefer to farm on their own account,
there are more than 100000, 1000
acres Of idle land on the earth's sur
face awaiting the magic touch of the
plow. The compensation is easily OBJ
tainable from Federal Agricultural
Department statistics. The total
average annual sales of a farm in
the continental United States amounts
to $516.00; the cost Of operation is
$4,000; leaving the farmer $176 per
annum to live on and educate his
family.
There is no occasion for the 1egis-
1atures making a position for surplus
employees Of industry. Let them come
back to the soil' and share with us
the prosperity of the farm.