Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1917-10-12
Questions For Montgomery County
Farmers.
SHOULD He CONTROL ELEVATORS AND Mills

SHOULD He CONTROL ELEVATORS AND MILIsf
The States and the Nation have lent
their credit for billions to corporations
owning railroad franchises. and have given
freely of their credit in the development
of other business enterprises which have
netted millions to those engaged in their
operation. Can you. therefore, see any
reason why the State of Maryland should
not lend its credit to the farmers of the
State. so that there may be erected in
every county public elevator and mill.
to which the farmer may take his wheat
and corn and other cereal crops, receive
back his flour, bran and middlings at cost
of manufacture, or at small profit, and
have the excess, over and above that needed
for his use, sold in such way as to give him
the greater part of the profit on his in
dustry
Do you not think that capital would
readily invest in such an enterprise if the
State guaranteed dividend Of, say, four
per cent and provided that all in excess of
eight should be returned to the farmers in
proportion to the quantity of grain that
each brought to the MILF
If the u. S. Government can control food
products and fuel in time of war beneh-
cially for the whole people and restrain
the greed of the Spectator who boards to
corner the market, and the food gambler
who lives as parasite upon the industry
Of the farmer and other honest tOilers,
should not the power of the National Gov
eminent be invoked in times of peace to
create great elevators and store-houses at
terminal centers, so that the prices of farm
products might be held up to living rate
during times Of surplus, and provision
made against lean years when the con-
sumner would suffer from deficit of food
and prices be exorbitantH
Do you not think that gambling in food
products and fuel should be made felonyH
Do you not think that there should be a
limitation placed upon the price Of seeds,
fertilizers and farm machinery IL the price
Of things that the farmer sells is to be
limitedH
Do you not think that If we had farmers
in the State and National legislative bodies
in sufficient numbers some way would be
found to stop the robbery by manufacture
ers Of the farmer when prices are placed
upon parts furnished to take the places Of
broken implements
The Sixty-fourth Congress of the United
States was composed of 800 lawyers and
8 farmers. and five of the eight were also
engaged in banking or manufacturing. In
the Senate there were IA lawyers and 5
farmers, and two of these were engaged
in other business besides farming
What do you think Of your representa-
ton in the National Congress
What do you think of the fact that in
the Senate Of Maryland among the four
teen that hold-over but two are farmers 7
Is your proportion high enough to suit you ?
LOUISIANA Owns ELEVATORS.
louisiana has a 1000, 900 bushel State
owned elevator, with modern equipment
for loading grain upon vessels, and II is
doubling its capacity. Through its State
owned terminals are marketed the crops Of
other States that have not yet succeeded
in breaking the grip Of monopolistic con
troll that keeps marketing and distribution
at its mercy. and takes the farmers legiti-
mate profit. louisiana also has built the
greatest cotton warehouses in the world,
and the State is now doing the biggest job
of handling cotton anywhere in the world.
Except in North Dakota, other States with
large staple crops to market. like Mary
land, still persist in letting private mo-
nopoly scalp the profits and force the
farmer to accept just enough to keep him
alive. 1t would not do to actually kill him
quickly. but under present conditions he
is being extinguished slowly, as the num-
Der Of farmers is steadily and persstently
decreasing in relation TO the number Of
people in other calings.
CALIFORNIA Owns TERMINAL FACILITIES.
The State of California owns terminal
facilities and utilities at San Francisco
valued at $20,000,000 The revenue from
these amounts to $2,00O.0O0 a year, and
pays all the expenses of operation. all the
interest on the bonds issued to construct
them and retires all installments Of the
bonds annually as they become due. The
Legislature and the people have cheerfully
loaned the States credit for constructing
these facilities. California never could have
successfully financed this great enterprise
by taxation. The $20.000.000 in bonds
issued to build the utilities. had ii been a
tax, would have made State ownership
too costly, and would have created opposi-
ton that would have caused the whole
plan to fail. The producers Of the State
have gained profit and relief and the State
has been put to not a dollar Of expense
on the contrary, its taxable property has
been increased. We do not need State
ownership: all we need is State credit.
WILLIS MOORE.
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