The Washington herald., 1917-08-22

financial assistance. For instance.
although much has been said about
the so-called excessive war profits
which have been gained by the manu-
faCtuTers of mutations. equipment and
other material Of war. and although
it Is the purpose of Congress, ap
parently, to secure a considerable part
Of the needed revenue by taking it
through taxation out Of these eXces-
sive profits, nevertheless a careful
computation SENS to show that the
farmers of the United States have
tlourished to a greater extent than
have the makers of munitions ana
other war commodities.
Expert estimate fixes the amount
which the farmers will receive for
the wheat crop harvested last year
at almost exactly seven hundred
million dollars. The same expert
authority estimates that the farmers
received for the 1916 crop of corn
$3.50, 0O0,O0O. They received for oats
S3l2OOO,OOO and for cotton $3.50. .OJo. COO.
The aggregate sum received by the
farmers for these four harvests
which were garnered in 1916 is fixed
at s31ls, ,O0I,O 600. The farmers could,
therefore. II they were so disposed,
convert the earnings they gained in
1916 into the second Liberty Loan
bonds and still have left many mil
lion dollars. OF course this COM
parison is not entirely just because
the farmers have been compelled to
pay high prices for labor and for
every other factor that enters into
the cost of sowing. planting and
harvesting. But the presumption is
AnN - 81 afV, Of ha
farmers for 1916 compares favorably
with the excessive earnings of cor
porations after deducting from those
earnings items that may be properly
subtracted
Everyone who has studied this re-
cord speaks of it with qualification.
They say that upon the farmers of
the United States is placed the most
important responsibility for maintain
ing prosperity and strength of the
nation. Had not the farmers respond
ed to appeals made to them a year
or two ago very different story
would have been told of the nations s
prosperity in the year of 1916 and the
first half of 1917. Now the government
is making appeals to the farmers so
greatly to increase their acreage,
especially of wheat, that 1t will be
reasonable to look, If weather condi-
tions are favorable, for a harvest in
1918 of winter wheat alone of SsO.-
600, 900 busels, and an aggregate, in
cluding spring wheat, somewhat in
excess of billion bushels. The Wash
ington authorities have asked the
farmers to increase their acreage
planted to wheat so that there will
be in the aggregate forty-nine million
acres planted to winter wheat, and
nineteen million acres planted to
spring wheat. The department an
nounces that If the farmers increase
their acreage and II the very favor
able conditions which prevailed at the
time of the winter wheat crop of 1914
was grown are repeated the yield
of winter wheat next summer should
be nearly nine hundred million BUSH
els, and that amount will be larger
than the total of both winter and
spring wheat ever harvested except
upon two occasions. The government
will see to it that the farmers receive
fair prices for their crops. If, there
fore, such harvests as the government
hopes for are garnered and such
prices as are regarded very reasonable
are fixed, the aggregate amount of
money which the farmers will receive
in the autumn and winter of next
year should be not far from $4,000. 900, 900.