The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1917-07-13

lieve he will consent TO any injustice
being done to the farmer; and to say
that the purpose of this bill is to de
injustice, it seems to me, is not war
ranted by the facts.
Mr.. Reed. | did not use the tern
injustice. We are now making this
bill. and we cannot escape the respon
sibility of making it. | am talking
about the effect of the bill, the pow
er of the bill. We are putting in the
hands of somebody the power to con
troll the price the farmer is to get.
think the Senator now practically ad
mits that. l am not saying it is go.
ing to be just or unjust
Mr.. Page. No, do not confess it
It may be so. l do not deny it or con.
fess it.
Mr.. Reed. Well, that is a good plea
in a Federal court. 1t is called "nolo
contendere." But what | now call the
Senator's attention to is this:
Let US admit that everybody is GO
ing to try to be just; that the man
who is going to administer this bill
is going to try to be just. What /
am trying to impress upon the Sena-
tor is that if you deny to the farmer
the benefit of the competition of the
world for that which he produces,
you must give to him a protection
against the competition of the world
in that which he is to purchase. Other
wise, you will compel him to buy his
fertilizer in an 600 per cent advanced
market, while he sells his wheat in a
market that has been artifcially and
by law circumscribed. So that if you
cut down the price of his wheat, you
must cut down the price of his fer
tilizer. If you do not do that now,
no matter how patriotic this farmer is,
he has got to quit his farm; and
when he quits his farm, instead of
America feeding the world, America
may have trouble in feeding herself.
Now, / call the Senator's attention
to this fact: The farmer is a con-
sumer as well as a producer, and on
the average he consumes just exact
ly as much as any other man. He has
to have boots and shoes; and if you
make him sell his wheat in a con-
trolled market, you must give him his
boots and shoes from that same mar
ket, so that he gets them equitably.
he must have barbed wire for his
fences. He must have agricultural
implements to till his fields. He must
have wagons. He must have harness.
He must have groceries.
He must have sugar and tea and
coffee. He must have everything that
every ordinary person in the world
has. Now, if you make him sell in a
market, must you not in the
very nature of things give the benefit
of purchasing in that same controlled
and put it all within one
agency? Where can you stop?
Mr.. Page. May ! ask the Senator
i he is-without any qualification
in favor of covering all of the neces-
saries of life by this bill and allowing
Mr.: Hoover, or anyone for him, to
make the price?
Mr.. Reed. | am if we pass the bill
giving control of the farmers product;
hen | shall insist upon the other.
But my own theory is, as the Senator
would know if he had happened to be
lere when | was wearying the Senate
With speeches that were entirely too
ong-
MIR. Page. / have been here con-
iderable part of the time.
Mr.. Reed. My own theory about
he matter is that the thing to do is
o get the Spectator and attend to
lin wherever he exists, to get the
Ioarder and attend to him wherever
e exists, and we have laws that gov
IN that already; to give control over
ne exchanges of the country so that |
II gambling can be taken out, and we
ave already passed that statute
through the Senate, although it has
OF been accepted by the House. My
heory, then, is that having done those
Kings we should do everything posi-
lie to promote as large production
S we can, and that then we would
ave to protect our country against
ne suction of Europe-the term used
y Mr.. Hoover; and a very good one
land that that in itself is going to
ontrol the farmers prices a good
cal. 1t is very dangerous power
Mess it is very carefully employed,
ut | am willing to give that, and my
leory is that that is about all we can
D. But if you enter upon the other
leory, the theory of controlling these
rices for the farmer and denying
i'm a world market, you must pro-
ct him upon the other hand or you
i'll ruin him; and when you ruin the
Irmer you will have killed the very
ling that we are starting this legis-
ton for, namely, the effort to pro-
ice greater crop in the world.
| beg the Senator to think about
lis with his wise old head, that has
fought of many problem. How
e you going to solve it in any other |
ay?
Mr.. Page. Mr.. President, l have i
ways admired in this life a man
no had something to propose. The !
gument of the Senator from Mis-
uri, as it appeals to me, is purely '
negative one. =
Mr.. Reed. Oh, no. y
Mr.. Page. He does not want to do 4
is nor that. He simply says that :
is is wrong or that is a wrong, :
t he suggests no remedy.
Mr.. Reed. Oh, if the Senator q
ease, / hope he will not be unfair n
me, a