Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-05
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

III u. 1otLD LANCOLN.
A old saying has it that let
~ ter left unanswered long
enough answers itself. It
begins to look as If the gov
eminent of the United States. except
in few isolated instances. is going
to allow the problems OF reconstruc-
ton, which Immediately confronted
| this country upon the signing of the
armistice, to be dealt with in the same
| manner - that it is going to allow
matters to drift along until, willy
nilly, some kind of a solution is
| found, whether it be the best solution
| or not.
| 1t is practically two months since
| the lighting stopped, and no step has
| been taken by Congress or. SO far as
| is known, by the executive branch of
| the government, looking to COM
prehensive survey OF the situation for
reconstruction purposes. 1t is nearly
| four months since the proposal was
preached in the Senate by Senator
John w. Weeks of Massachusetts,
that a joint congressional committee
on reconstruction be created.
Politics Enters In.
Perhaps 1t. was unfortunate that
the suggestion first came from a re-
publican source. At any rate, it was
only day or two later that Senator
overman of North Carolina, an adj
mln1stration leader in the Senate, in
| PRODUCED bill providing for the ap-
pointment of a special committee by
! the President to study and report on
the problems of reconstruction. 1t
was said that the administration felt
| lmpelled to take some step looking to
| reconstruction plans, lest the repub-
means obtain the advantage of origi-
mating the idea. But it has since de-
veioped that the President preferred
| 20 ieave to the executive officers of
the government the duty of studying
| the reconstruction problems.
! 1t may be that this was because he
realized there would be a hot fight
| in Congress as to whether a con-
| gressionai committee or a commits
| sion appointed by the chief execu-
| tive should be selected if a special
body was to make the investigation.
At any rate, it has been learned
that the Weeks resolution, the Cum
Minis resolution drafted by the re-
publican conference Of senators as a
| substitute for the Weeks measure
and providing for six joint commit
tees assigned different subjects. and
the Overman bill are to be allowed
| to die slow but sure death in pigeons
holes of the Senate rules committee.
Dilatory With Peace Plans.
| This country was unprepared for
| war when the break came with Ger
many. 1t was unprepared for peace
and the problems which came with
it. when the armistice was signed.
But when war was declared the coun-
try began to prepare in a hurry and
| with success that is the marvel of
| the world today. On the other hand
there appears to be a diiatoriness
about preparing to meet the peace
problems that are at hand for which.
some one some day VIII be held re-
sponsible
What has been done in this country
looking toward the solution of the
| reconstruction problems? One menu
the Department of the Interior-has
| taken hold of the problem of getting
/ the men in the Army to go back
to the farm" and has progressed SO
far with 1t that he is ready to ask
Congress for an appropriation of
500. 100000 to begin the actual work
| of reclamation of arid logged-over
/, and swamp lands to be used as farms
| and also for the purchase, where pos
| sible. of abandoned farms. There is
| no land left on the public domain flt
/ for farms which does not need re-
claiming. The arid lands are on the
public domain. The logged-over lands
! and swamp lands are largely owned
ny private INDIVIDUALS ana corpora.
| lions. But it is believed that they
can be obtained at low prices for the
| soldiers.
Ready to Go Ahead.
| Secretary Lane was given an ap-
preparation of 100000 last year to
begin survey Of the lands available
for conversion into farms for the re-
| turning soldiers. He used this up and
at the time the armistice was signed
he was asking for 100000 more to
make more comprehensive survey
(, and plans for placing the soldiers on
the land. He dropped this when
| peace was at hand, and made plans to
| begin the actual work of getting the
returning soldiers onto the land He
| has already conferred with Chairman
Sherley of the House appropriations
committee in regard to the appropria-
| ton for $100,000.000. and hopes to get
| it into an appropriation bill before
| the end of this Congress, March
next.
| Secretary Lanes plan proposes that
| the soldiers who take up these farms
shall first be hired by the govern
| ment to aid in retaining them. and
| then that they shall be placed on the
| farms and allowed to pay for them in
easy payments over period of forty
years. England, Canada, France and
other belligerents had prepared to
I put the soldiers on the land long be-
| fore the war closed. In Canada, the
soldier is given farm and allowed
up to $4,000 in the form of loan to
stock the farm and buy needed farm
is to go to farming, in most instances
it will be necessary to loan him
capital to stock his farm. Straw votes