The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1920-11-26
FARMERS MUST
HAVE PROPER
LAWS, HE SAYS
TELLS THE WASHINGTON CITY
CLUB OF DANGERS JUST
AHEAD OF COUNTRY
LOOTERs ARE PILOTS
farmers National Council Stoks.s.
man Says Rail Law Must
BE Repealed

In an address before the City Club
of Washington last week, BENJAMIN
G. Marsh, secretary and director of
legislation for the Farmers Nation
al Council, declared that "America
and the world is sitting tightly on a
rapidly burning fuse, connected with
a monstrous powder magazine" He
attacked the Cummins- Esch rail-
road law, which guarantees a 8 per
cent dividend to private interests at
expense OF the producing and con-
suming public, and emphasized the
need of credit system OF loans to
farmers, the lack of which is BANK
ruptiDg those who fill the nations
food basket.
Mr.. Marsh appealed for the elimi-
nation Of special privilege and mo-
nopoly through the institution of
sound economics, and asked that
direct marketing of farm products
be used to eliminate the tolls of the
needless. speculative middlemen."
Invites Loot and Graft
ssThe Cummins-Esch law return
ing the railroads to their private
owners with government guaran-
tee of per cent on billions of wat
cred stock and with a direct invit-
alton to graft, loot, inefficiency and
wastefulness was not only the most
foolish economic legislation ever en-
acted by any Congress, but the hard
est blow ever administered to agri-
culture. particularly the farmers OF
the west, he said.
The direct cost of the law to the
farmers was quoted by Mr.. Marsh
at approximately 5000, 100000 per
year, or an average of s127.50 to
every farm family of six i'm higher
freight rates. The indirect costs,
be said, were two or three times as
great.
The farmers must have legis!a-
tion for adequate control of the
meat-packing industry, which will
give them at least 800, O,OOO,O 900 a
year more for their live stock" he
declared later.
Regarding Credit System
Regarding the credit system, he
said:
Farmers today pay at least three
or four hundred million dollars a
year more for interest than they
should-an average of $45 to $50
for a family Of six. Farmers have
been unable to get credit to market
their crops in an orderly manner to
meet consumption demands, because
investment bankers and big finan-
ciers have attempted to restrict
farmers to production and to pre-
vent their marketing their own
products.
OuI YlCoCuL system vi ldAdllUil
adds enormously to the cost of farm
production. To reduce this cost we
should promptly pay off the national
debt by taxes upon estates, incomes,
excess profits, natural resources
speculatively held and capital tax
with high exemption on all prop
erty. This would save the farmers
$1,000, 100000 for many years to
come.
Need Repeating Congress
'sThe new Congress must be re-
pealing Congress. The new Congress
if it is to remain Of the same politi-
cal complexion, will have to estab-
lish a reputation as repeating
Congress.
"Among the bills which 1t will
have to repeal are the Cummins-
Esch law, which has saddled at least
five billion dollars a year on the
American public; the Jones ship
ping law, and laws turning over our
water power and other natural re-
sources to private exploitation. -
Labor.