The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-08-07

affairs of governm ent. Many of the
 branches of the government which
 deal remotely or directly with the
 soil and it's problems and it's possi-
 biIities would be more valuable to
 the general welfare if the practical
 experience of the farmer were aD
 element in their administration. To
 be specific, the Interstate Commerce
 Commission, the Federal Reserve
 Board the Federal Trade Commis-
 sion and the United States Tariff
 Commission are administered by bus
 mess men. Does anyone contribute more to the making and success Of railroads than the farmer or to the creation and prosperity of the banks.
 or to the stability of manufacturing and trade units, or to the agencies interested in exporting?
 Our objectives should be a de- creased tenantry. With the period I of occupancy uncertain, the renter strips land of it's fertile elements, and
 each year diminishes our national as sets. Under the operation of the
 Federal Reserve and the Farm Loan l acts, encouragement has come to i thousands who find that industry,
 character and intelligence are gold l en security to the peoples banker, l the government of the United States. I Multiply our home owners, and you l will make the way of the seditious 1 agitator more difficult. Bring into
 the picture of American life more
 families, happily a part of garden and
 | flowers all their own, and you will
 l find new streams running into. the
 | national current of patriotism. Help
 1 to equalize the burdens of taxation
 by making the holders of hidden
 wealth pay their share with those
 | whose property is in sight. In short,
 remove the penalty imposed upon
 homebuilding thrift, and thousands
 contented households under the shel-
 ter of their own roof will look upon Il government with affection, recogniz-
 ing that in protecting it, they pro- tect themselves. There are more home owners in America than ever , before. The prosperity of the coun- try under Democratic rule has been widely diffused. Never before has
 the great mass of the people shared
 in the blessing of plenty. There is much to be done, howevr, in multi
 plying home owners. Nothing will bring more golden return to the , l welfare of the republicS6d 1oe
 Common prudence would suggest
 that we increase to our utmost, our area of tillable land. The race be- tween increased consumption and added acreage has been an unequal
 one. Modern methods of soil treat , ment have been helpful, but they
 have their limitations There are , still vast empires in extent in our country performing no service to 2 humanity. They require only the ap- f piled genius of men, to cover them : with the bloom and harvest of human necessities. The government should r turn it's best engineering talent to the , task of irrigation projects. Every ! dollar spent will yield compensating :. results.
 Anv discussion of the question of = food supply leads very quickly to the f closely relat matter of transporta- = | tion. There is one thing which !, brings us so internationally to critical
 l conditions than the insufficiency of - our transportation facilities. Both f the railroads and the public are to h 1 blame. There has been no material f addition to the total mileage Tn the e last ten years, and the increase in S terminals has been much less than e required. At the beginning of the y war, the rolling stock was sadly re-
 duced and inadequate. The public d hs-d not given in pay for service, suf- e ficieEt revenues on which credit could l, be allowed by the banks. Moral as- e sistance was withheld because of
 railroad policies that did not bring # approval. Many of these corporations # had made themselves a part of poli- e tical activities, local, state and na- '- tiona1. Then there were more or g less sporadic instances of Stock-wa- ;- tering operations, and the exploitation $ of utility properties for personal gain. > Abuses were not general, but they l. were sufficient to bring the entire n railroad systems of the country in l. disrepute. The good suffered with l. the evil. When the transportation lines were taken over by the govern II II through the task of the day. Unity 's in operation, the elimination of the
 long haul, and the merging of every II mile of track and terminal and every t car and engine into a co-ordinated u i plan of operation, enabled the gov- ernment to transport troops and SUD- IT plies at the same time affordfng. un- . der great stress, a satisfactory outlet r for our industries. It should be re ; m enabered in this connection that ,e l except for the motor truck which SUD- 10 plernented transportation by rail. 7 and except for the great pipe lines 10 which conveyed oil for commercial 10 purposes, we should not, in all prob n ability have been able to throw our Iy deciding strength. into the balance and in 1 win the war. Any attempt to dis lg credit the federal operation of rail- in roads during the years of grave emer- n, gency is unfair. In the case of those ty who know the facts it is insincere.' Too h much cannot be said in praise of those T. who directed this work. nor of the sy men who physically operated the lines l. under the discouraging conditions o1 le poor equipment. But all of this is ;e water over the wheel. The problem ,y of the railroads is still With us. The in government and the public should to render every cooperation in the ut m most good faith, to give thorough test of to private ownership. The railroads h. have had their lesson. Government Id regulation is accepted now not not Id only a safeguard to the public, but r, as a conserving process to the utility nt Financial credit is necessary to phy- e. sica1 rena abilitation and it should be