The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1920-11-18

SOullnuCu OA uOoNoy - A~~AAJ
existed for many years in attempting
to legislate in finding that the pro
posed legislation runs counter to tn
Constitution Indeed much of tn
legislation that we regard today a
essential rests upon such clauses O.
the Constitution as those that have t.
do with the regulation of interstate
commerce or the general welfare o.
the country. 1t was the Judgment o.
such men as Washington, and Hamil
ton, the Adams, jefferson, and Mon
roe among the early statesmen, thai
the functions of government should bt
simple. 1t has been the judgment Of
Lincoln, of Blaine, of Mckinley, Of
Cleveland, among the later statesmen
that the functions of government
Judgment Of Lincoln
should be simple. Such men in Great
Britain as John Stuart Mills, Spencer
Cofdon, and Gladstone stand out as
representative of those who have be-
lieved that the functions OF govern
ment should be limited largely to the
constituent elements.
Notwithstanding all this and in
spite of protests all along the line
from statesmen who have held that
the functions of government should
be limited to the constituent duties,
there has been an everincreasing ten
dency to broaden the scope of govern
ment touching matters that are pure
ly ministrant.
Take for instance the Post Office
Department 1t may surprise you
when I tell you that during each Of
the first five years of Washington's
administration, 1t cost to maintain the
Post Office Department two cents for
every man, woman and child within
the United States-the cost, / mean
for an entire year. True, our people
were not widely educated, newspapers
and magazines did not have generous
circulation, the functions performed
by the Post Offic Department were
simple and yet contrast the expendi-
ture of the government in that day
with the expenditure today for the
same Department Today it costs the
people of the United States between
three and four dollars for each man,
women and child, to maintain the Post
Office Department No one in the
remotest part of the country is far
removed from a post office that re-
ceives its mail from the star route;
the settlers along the route have their
mail deposited in boxes by the gate
way; the rural delivery system is re-
garded as necessity by the farmers
throughout our land; free city de-
livery has become so much an insti- |
tuition that we do not contemplate
getting along without it. The parcel
post, the postal savings bank, the
postal money order department, all of
these indicate functions that are being
e. owl
ment and that represents, | believe,
the best judgment of the American
people of today
Or take the Department of Agricul-
lure The Department, such as we
know it was not contemplated by the
others. Washington was generous in
MS collection of trees and plants to
adorn his lands at Mount Vernon.
This work he did out of his private {
resources, but he did not contemplate {
hat the Federal Governmnt would
Engage in the work of agriculture in t
he way in which we are carving for i
yard that work todav We built ma {
ional roads during Washington's adj t
but they were not built t
or agricultural purposes not to slim /
late commerce.; they were built as s
ailitary roads, Id
The first appropriation that was Y
made for the purpose of carrying out b
york that is analogous to that which b
) now done by the Department of t
agriculture was the approximation of II
EN- thousand dollars made in 1910 for r
he purpose OF purchasing seeds to
upply a drouth-strfcken section of
ur country. The congress was con-
ervatIve, the government was con- '
ervative in its demands It was not "
ntii 1850. that appropriations for n
work aggregated more $;
IAN about $4,000. The Department b
Agriculture was created in 1886 IN
nd Jeremiah Rusk was given as sec II
stary of that new department lit RI
e less than / million dollars to con- tt
1ct the work that it was felt was s.
roper for the Department to handle fe
y g one-year period Today, the an nj
1al expenditures of the Agricultural in
apartment are something like thirty W
rec million dollars The activities to
mat department are many and re
lrled- The Department has to do sa
ltn aiding the farmers of our coun- nc
y IN wlthstanding the ravages of ne
e cholera. of stamping out the pest ca
boi!weev1l, giving positive and af- pc
matlve announcement to better er
rming. the development of better Oh
nds of fruit and grain and pro-
cts of every kind. an
Some vars ago, it was recognized la1
at the climate and soil of southern tn
lifornia were quite similar to those op
SMYRNA. It was believed that the err
lustrv furnished bv the production sta
SMYRNA figs could be made one of VIC
mense value financially to farm try
of California. Trees were brought
m SMYRNA to California and the col
pertinent made The trees produc- vol
: the SMYRNA figs grew luxuriant- del
they were coverd with blossoms occ
vet the blossoms shriveled away SUI
died and no fruit was grown. bee
at was the problem? Representa- bee
IS Of the Department of Agricul- pro
. were asked to consider the uues- tau
/. They studied the trees In Svmr- me-
and in California: they saw that con