The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-02-26
VOX POPULI
THE PUBLIC FARM.


home. many of whom are empty hand
ed or without jobs and without means,
what do you think would be best for
those fellows that have gone and bat
tied with the enemy until victory was
won?
, Well, it is my purpose TO tell you
, what 1 think about it. - It lies only
in the same pwer to help those fell
lows that put them n the battlefield.
But, you say in what way? BY putting
them in the fields of production or
public farm owned and run by Uncle
Sam, for he has plenty of public land,
and should he not have enough let him
take it over as he did the railroads and
many other things at the commence
, ment Of the war. Why did he do this?
Because il was a crying necessity,
which every one knows, and suppose
there was not a single objection,-an
50 il was done.
Now the public farm today is a cry
ing necessity; but YOU say, how is such
| thing to be done? Well, there are
two ways it could be done. It could
be done by an appropriation and if
war was coming on US it would be done
But there is still another way. Let
Uncle Sam bond the public wealth of
the country and float the bonds ana
start the farms. There is nothing on
earth that a man can turn his hand 10
that he can make as much at as he can
on the farm. and furthermore, this
thing would answer a question that has
SO often been asked through the public
press and one too, that seems to puz-
zle the world of thought among the
best thinkers of the age.
Now, where the great trouble is
there is not enough produced for when
the demand is supplied il Will knock
the props from under the high prices
and create keen competition ana lag
low the speculator-and the people
viii then begin 70 breathe easy.
What kind Of q place would the pub
lie farm be? A place where q man
without means could so and find a
honest days pay for an honest day
work. and find food and raiment and
shelter and schools and churches for
himself and family. and be at home
800 days III the year. After the first
year the farm would run isef and
! Uncle sam would be able to pu diVi-
dend Of at least p per cent in his
pocket for every dollar invested, and
the third year he could put in stiIl
more ana it would eventually be one
OF the best revenue getters that Uncle
Sam ever turned his hand to raise a
revenue.
Now. l know what I am saving to be
true, for l am not theoretically speak
ing. for I have the experience a we'll
| was raised on the farm and I want to
/ tell you that If ! farmer could not
make 200 per cent on his labor ne
would quit the business. Now this
should not only be made a law. but il
should carry with it a compulsory law
to compel all men to work at some
thing that would be profitable to his
country and the uplift OF his people
There are too many SlackerS Sinking
the farm. the place where he could be
of the most use to his people and him
( self. and again, when the war was de
clarcd Uncle Sam called for all classes
Of course that included the tramps as
Well a the first class citizen and he
was better qualified than the other
fellow from the simple fact that he
was acquainted with hardships and as
to grief. l don't suppose he knew what
that was,-but the tramps were among
the first men to respond to this cOun-
| try's call. lie knew that he was done
| for awhile, at least. asking for hand
outs, for he was well aware that Uncle
sam would sit him down to his table
and feed Kim and take him 70 his war
drobe and clothe him and then give
| him a nice gun and tell him he must
go and lay down his life for his coun-
try.-which he did. And now. shall
those poor heroes. the remainder of
them. come back home and return to
the dismal road of a tramp? My God
what a shame 10 a civilized nation.
Then. let US have the public farm
and where now the boot of the owl can
only he heard TO break tn, stiffness Of
the night.-thc crow of the rooster viii
lie heard giving note to the coming
daylight and Mama scraping out the
tray with all her might TO knead the
dough for the day-and the extensiNe
fields laden with their golden grain
being nuturcd ~ the sunshine and the
rain.
J. II. Macon. Sr
Pensacola. Fla.