The Washington times., 1917-09-30

the earnest effort the leaders in the
movement have made actually to bet
ter conditions: and I say this al
though from the facts at my COM
mand 1 Judge that most of the work
which 1t is thus proposed to have
done by the State could be done bet
ter by cooperative societies among
the farmers themselves. Present con-
ditions should certainly be changed.
To keep them unchanged Is to act in
a spirit OF mere Toryism.
From the North Dakota experiment.
when put in actuel practice, we can
learn some things to follow and some
things to avoid: and perhaps we can
also learn to be wise in time, and, by
sane determination to put in practice
reforms that we are reasonably sure
will have no bad effects, avoid the
sad necessity of paying with our own
skins for experiments which probably
will have bad effects.
Cooperative AHsociationH.
greatly prefer to see the Govern
ment leave untouched whatever the
corporations under Government super
vision can do; and just as far as pos-
sible / want to see all the corpora
tions made into cooperative assocla-
tions. But there are things so i'm
portant that the Government must do
them, II 1t is only through such exer-
else of collective power that they can
be done.
Our object must be ~ to make the
tenant farmer a landowner: (2l to
eliminate as far as possible the condi.
tions which produce the shifting. sea-
sonal, tramp type OF labor, and to
give the farmer laborer a permanent
status, a career as a farmer. for which.
his school education shall ft him, and
which shall open to him the chance OF
in the end earning the ownership In
fee of his own farm: (3) to secure CO.
operation among the small landown-
ers, so that their energies shall pro-
duce the best possible results; (4) by
progressive taxation or in Other fash
ion to break up and prevent the for
nation of great landed estates, espe-
cially in so far as they consist of un-
used agricultural land; (5) to make
capital available for the farmers, and
thereby put them more on an equality
with other men engaged in business;
(6) to care for the woman on the
farm as much as for the man. and to
eliminate the conditions which now
so often tend to make her life one Of
gray and sterile drudgery: "a to do
this primarily through the farmer
himself, but also. when necessary, by
the use OF the entire collective power
of the people of the country; for the
welfare of the farmer Is the concern
Of all OF us.
The most important thing to do is
to make the tenant farmer a farm
owner. He must be financed so that
he can acquire title to the land. In
New Zealand the government buys
the land and sells it to small holders
at the price paid with a low rate
of interest. Perhaps our Govern
ment could try this plan, or else could
outright advance the money, charg-
ing 3h per cent. interest.
Default In Payments.
Default in payments-which should
OF course be on easy terms-would
mean that the land reverted to the
Government. The experience OF the
firms which have loaned to the largest
number OF people to acquire homes
in small installment payments has
been that foreclosure occurs in a very
small percentage OF cases, but IL
would have to be absolutely under
stood that no failure to pay would
De tolerated. IOT buCn lOleTdIlOn
would in the end discredit the whole
system and work ruin to the honest
and hard-working men who would
pay.
We could follow the precedents es-
tablished in connection with the rec
lamation act in the arid and semi
arid regions of the West. 1t would
be desirable and entirely feasible to
try the experiment first on a small
scale, in experimental fashion, and
then to apply II on a large and larger
scale with the notifications shown
TO be necessary in actual practice.
To break up the big estates II
might be best to try the graduated
land tax, or else to equalize taxes as
between used and unused agricultural
land, which would prevent farm land
being held for speculative purposes.
There can without question be criti-
cism of either proposal. II any bet
ter proposal can be made and tried
we can cheerfully support IL and be
guided in our theories by the way II
turns out. But we ought to insist
on something being done-not merely
talked about.
Every one is agreed that we ought |
to get more people back to the |
land" but the talk on the subject is |
utterly useless unless we put IL in |
concrete shape end secure a "serv- |
ice test" even although it costs some
money to furnish the means for do |
ing what we say must be done.