The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1920-02-20
Dor Candidate.
tcry-Stone Mentioned as La


600 answers sent in by farmers
to QUESTIONABLE sent out by
the administration early in De
cember indicate widespread un
rest on the farm. Replies are
still coming in at the rate of |.
600 a day.
From every section of the
country farmers report inability
to meet conditions, that is. to
make good living out of the mar
gin between market returns and
the cost of farm supplies, includ.
ing hired labor. Some report as
planning to quit farming; more
as having to decrease production
to keep from going broke.
While many politicians affect
surprise" that our farmers are
not living on milk and honey
considering how they have dis
trbuted free seeds, reaccom-
plished other similarly great
things for the farmers in the
last three years, the conditions
reported have been apparent to
amy one who studies production
conditions for a long time.
Farmers have been prevented
from receiveing full competitive
prices in several lines by war re-
strictions and have been faced by
organized raids like that of last
fall. At the same time the great
industries supplying the farm
er with clothes, machinery and
other supplies have had free
hand. Obviously the farmer has
been badly squeezed by these
two hostile forces.
Bigger Production Pleas
The politicians will endeavcY
to smooth over the unrest or the
farms by an appeal fer greater
production as a patriotic duty. F.
+. Meredith, the new secretary
of agriculture, has already
!aunuhcd such a fearful appeal,
and it Will be repeated over and
over by every controlled paper in
the country until after the ncNt
election. In effect the farmers
are being asked to send good mon
ey after bad. They have been
Cleaned in the last year; 81
they are asked now to put up a..
the capt. al they can leg OF Lcr-
row. not with a reasonable ilcpe
of profit but from patriotic duty.
Decreased production, curtail-
ing capital and labor expense, is
the only way the farmer can
stay on the farm during an adj
verse period, and he will be far
more patriotic if he thus pro-
tects himself until such time as
the politicians are willing to or
ganize our marketing and draw
the teeth of the trusts. A de-
crease of 100000 acres in win
ter wheat planting has already
been registered.
Bonus Moves
Soldier bonus legislation, pro-
missed by the Republican steer
ing committee of the house to
the liberal group organized by
Representatives Baer, Sinclair.
Carss and Keller some weeks ago
is still deferred. The house is
busy trying to make up it's mind
whether to give an additional
$3.50, 100000 to Poland, Armenia
Bohemia and Austria as a safe.
guard against their going Boil
shevik." Latest opinion is that
the recommendation of the ways
and means committee that $780,
100000 be given, chiefly to Po-
land, will be adopted. Soldier bo-
nus bills may be considered when
this item is out of the way.
Baer and his associates are in
clined to think that the gift of
this money to starving Poland
will not result i'm feeding the
Starving people so much as in
stimulating the Polish army to
try to conquer more of the soil
of Russia, on which they already
are intruders for more than 100
miles beyond their eastern
boundary. Such an advance will
mean more war, which in turn
will lead to further appeals for
help for the starving people be-
hind the battle lines. These cong
ressmen favor such an applica-
ton of American funds as will
bring peace and industrial pro-
duction in all Europe, so that Eu-
rope may exchange goods with
America, andeso that the danger
of a worldwide panic and unem-
ployment may be averted.
Baer Pushes Bonus