Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-02-14
Friday. February ~, 1918.
"Hey There" Do You Want a Home
on Farm?

"Aey There" Do You Want q Home
on Farm?
THIS Is the unique title Of a little
hookie; which the Secretary Of the
Interior, with the active cooperation
OF the War and Navy Departments. is
sending to the various camps of the
army, navy. and marine corps
throughout the country to ascertain
the attitude of the men toward his
plan for providing them with work
and homes on reclaimed land.
The booklet is in the form OF ques-
lions and answers which give a COM
rete and concise description Of the
plan. and also has attached to il a
post card QUESTIONABLE which the
men are asked to fill out and mail to
the Department. Each man inter
ested will be asked to state his name.
home address, age. occupation before
enlistment, whether ne has ever
worked on farm. whether he is in
terested in the plan. what kind Of
farming he would like to follow.
whether general, live stock truck, o.
fruit and whether he would be will
ing 10 take job IN his own State o.
anywhere in the United States if q
JOB on one of these proposed projects
is offered to him.
A tabulation Of the replies will be
presented to Congress IL connection
with Secretary Lanes request for an
initial appropriation Of SIO0, 000, 600 to
begin construction on meritorious
projects throughout the United
States.
If with the Lane project goes q
government determination to see to
II that these soldier farmers are not
exploited by market pirates. the
scheme may be Of real benefit to 9TH
or farmers and thus to the country at
large. II, on the contrary the num-
Der Of middle class, interest paying,
mortgaSe- fighting farmers Of the
country IL to be increased by a mil
lion or 50 to the enrichment Of mid
Gle men and lowering of high cost Of
living to union labor where il holds
government by the throat. then there
soon will be more than q million o. 50
increase in abandoned farms
The hearings before the interstate
commerce committee Of the National
House Of Representatives are bring
ing out some OF the ways in which
certain powerful interests through
''Eovernmen, control'of producers and
consumers, have fartened on the
American people in the name of pa
triotism. The scheme Of paternalis-
tic. bureaucratic government. TO
force the public to make its bread and
buy II too, as in the case OF guar
anteed price for one produc, only
wheat, is no more promising of in.
justice and hardship for both pro-
Queer and consumer than is the
farms for soldiers scheme by the
witness is testifylng 10 the mon
Etrous swindle put over or the people
IN the pre.ense Of prosecuting war.
For several days Edward c. Lasater,
former chief Of the live stock and
market division of the food admins
tration, continued his revelations be-
fore the House committee. He de-
clared that the policies Of Admins
traitor Hoover had been determined
for HIM by The FIVE leading meat
packers and carried out by employees
Of the packers serving the govern
ment for 81 year.
When Ny Hoover took the once
he assumed the responsibility Of rep
resenting all interests" Mr.. 1azater
said, but he never did He protected
the milling interests, the packing IL
terests and the compound feed inter
csts. but he disregarded entirely the
interests of the producer and the con-
sumner II would be difficult to es,i-
mate how much the country has los.
as a result"
Francis ]. Heney. former counsel
for the federal trade commission, tes-
tifying, Wednesday. before the same
committee declared tina: within 10
Years, and probably within five, the
FIVE leading meat packers would con-
troll the entire food supplies Of the
country and would be able to charge
any price they desired. MIR. Heney
said the packers have extended their
activities into 50 many fields that they
had become a menace TO the country.
They now control the cheese. oleo-
margarine and butter markets, he
said, and rapidly are obtaining 4
monopoly Of large number OF other
food products. Through their larxe
capital and their special privileges,
the witness declared, they are able to
smother competition"