Williams news., 1915-02-04

valuable in agriculture, which sold last year for $1,692, 100000, to pay off the employees of the railroads; the money derived from our annua. sales of livestock of approximately $2,0O0.- OOO,OOO, the yearly cotton crop. valued at $92O,OOO,OOO; the wheat crop, which is worth $61O,OO0,OO0, and the oat crop, that is worth $44O,OOO,OOO, are required to meet the annual pay roll of the manufacturers. The money derived from the remaining staple crops is used in meeting the payroll of the bankers. merchants, | etc. After these obligations are paid. the farmer has only few punches of vegetables, some fruit and poultry | which he can sell and call the pro- ceeds his own. ' When the farmer pays off his help he has very little left and to meet | these tremendous payrolls he has been forced to mortgage homes, work women in the field and increase the hours of his labor. We are. there fore, compelled to call upon all in- dustries dependent upon the farmers for subsistence to retrench in their expenditures and to cut of all un- necessary expenses. This course is absolutely necessary in order to avoid a reduction in wages, and we want, if possible, to retain the present wage scale paid railroad and all other in- dustrial employees.
 We will devote this article to 8 discussion of unnecessary expenses and whether required by law or per mitted by the managements of the concerns, is wholly immaterial. We want all waste labor and extrava- eance. of whatever character, cut out. We will mention the full crew bill as Illustrating the character of unneces- sary expenses to which we refer
 Uniop Opposes Full Crew" Bill.
 The Texas Farmers Union regis tered it's opposition to this character of legislation at the last annual meet ing held in Fort Worth, Tex, August 4, 1914, by resolution, which we quote. as follows:
 "The matter of prime importance to the farmers of this state is an ade- quate and efficient marketing system: and we recognize that such system is impossible without adequate rail- road facilities, embracing the greatest amount of service at the least pos 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 kh4 hot 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- cially reaffirm 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 jority, 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 un- l necessary expenditures.
 The same rule applies to all regu- latory measures which increase the expenses of industry without giving corresponding benefits to the public. There is ofttimes body of men as. sembled at legislatures-and they | ,;1 %0 hn fhar0-Whn in their zeal for rendering their fellow. associates a service, sometimes favor an increase in the expenses of in 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 of the shoulders of the farmer by urging the legislature to lay another burdeI upon his heavy load and under the lash of ''be it enacted" goad him or to pull and surge at the traces of civil
 ization, no matter how he may sweat
 foam and gall at the task Whe1
 Legislatures "cut a melon" for labo
 they hand the farmer a lemon.
 The farmers of the United State are not financially able to carry "deai
 heads on their payrolls. Our ow1
 hired hands are not paid unless WI
 have something for them to do an
 we are not willing to carry the hire
 help of dependent industries unles
 there is work for them. We mus
 therefore insist upon the most rigi
 economy.
 Legislative House-cIeaning Needed.
 While the war is on and there is
 lull in business, we want all leg1sl;
 tive bodies to take an inventory (
 the statute books and wipe off a
 extravagant and useless laws. A goo
 honse-cleaninR is needed and econ