The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1916-11-22
Larger Production Urged
Before National Grange
IN MAKING WELCOME ADDRESS
The First President Wilson Has
Made Since The Recent
Election.
SAYS NEW PROBLEMS TO MEET

Washington, Nov. 16.-President
Wilson blamed middlemen for the
high cost of foodstuffs here yester-
day in a speech welcoming to Wash
ington the convention of the Nation
al Grange, the first formal speech
he has delivered since the election
Urging that farmers increase their
output, the President said:
I'VE ought to raise such big
crops that circumstances like the
present can never recur, when men
! can make as If the supply was so
short that the middleman could
charge for it what he pleased. 1t
will not do to be niggardly with the
rest of the world in respect to its
food supply
The President did not mention re-
cent petitions to him to declare an
embargo on expectation of foodstuifs
from the United States to the rest
of the world and he did not refer
even indirectly to the outcome OF
the Presidential election. His ad-
dress was interrupted frequently by
applause from the farmers attend
ing the fiftieth anniversary celebra-
ton of the founding of the Grange.
at seems to me- said the Presi-
dent. that some of the most inter-
esting problems of our life and of
the life of the world lie before us,
problems in connection with which
farmers of the United. States will
play a part such as they have never
played before.
1t goes without saying that the
physical life of the nation has al
ways depended upon the farm. 1t
goes without saying, also. that to
large extent the physical life of the
world has drawn it's sustenance
from the great areas of farm land
in the United States. We have sent
food to all parts of the world, and
the American farmer has contribut-
ed to the life of all the countries OF
the world. But you know that as
our own population has increased
the proportion in which We could
help foreign countries as contrasted
with our own has decreased, and
there are problems that are COM
parable with the problems of states
menship lying ahead of the farmers
of the United States.
"In the future we have got to'
bring more of the area of the Unit
ed States under cultivation than is
under cultivation now. We have
got to increase the product at every
point where It is susceptible of be-
ing increased.
Zone of the things that has most
interested me about what has been
done recently by legislation for the
benefit of the farmer is the ques-
ton why it was not done long be-
fore. 1t is astonishing that the-~as
sets, the valuable. available assets,
the visible assets of the farm should
not have been available as basis
of credit in the banks on the same
terms as the assets OF commercial
undertaking and manufacturing in
dustry. Cattle are just as visible
and tangible as goods in warehouses
and goods on trains.
1--WE have liberated the credits of
the banks, and We have modified
through the Department of Agricul-
ture the scientific intelligence of the
world. With that combination every
nation in the world ought to come
| to us to learn how to raise big
crops. We ought to raise such big
crops that circumstances like the
present can never recur, when men
can make as if the supply was so
short that the middleman could
charge for It what he pleased 1t
! will not do to be niggardly with the
world in respect of its food supply
II wish that all problems of gov
ernment were displayed In as ciear
lines of duty as this problem of gov
eminent with regard to how the
farmer ought to be treated is dis
played. | wish. for example that
froeign affairs We're as simple as ag-
riculture. The great satisfaction
about what you have to discuss is
that when once your duty Is deter
minded we have got a great force OF
intelligence to go forward dn the
line of duty
"The thing that makes free
country vital Is the large number OF
people who get together to do i'm
portant things without asking the
leave of the Government to do them.
The striking thing about a great
country like the United States is