The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1920-07-12
ROBBING AGRICULTURE
is NATIONAL SUICIDE

In our last issue of April 8 we
published an editorial entitled "The
Nation Needs An Agricultural
Policy" Immediately we began to
receive letters from various editors
of farm papers and others, all en-
dorsing the editorial, but many of
them on the other hand, calling our
attention to an article by Herbert
Hoover in The Country Gentleman
of April 10, in which he discussed
the agricultural situation, and de-
claring that Mr.. Hoover met the re-
quirements as stated by US. "We
hope no man will be elected to the
Presidency" we said, "whose heart
land mind are not devoted to the
improvement Of the farmers condi-
tion."
The trick of fooling farmers has
been a favorite one in Washington
for years. It has been the habit to
group a lot of bureaus which have
no more to do with farming than
they have with manufacturing and
then point with pride to the gross
millions appropriated for the Agri-
cultural Department. 1t has all
been a camouflage to make the far
mers feel that they were being
treated literally, whereas, as mat
ter of fact, they were being treated
= with extreme stinginess.
For weeks before Congress ad-
journed Secretary of Agriculture
Meredith waged a terrific battle to
prevent the cutting of his meager
estimates. If there had ever been an
opportunity for those who in all
sincerity want agriculture to pro-
gress to show their colors and fight
while the fighting was good, then
was the time. Then was the time, in
deed, for voice to cry from the
wilderness and make itself heard.
But we can find no record that
Mr.. Hoover who was so eloqunt in
The Country Gentleman, was sufi-
ciently interested to speak word
when a word would have acom-
plished something. No, nor did one
single other man of those then
pressing their claims for recogni-
tion at Chicago deem it either
privilege or a duty to throw the
weight Of bis influence into the
scales: Fhey We're all so busy play
ing politics that they did not have
time to see to it that agriculture
got fair deal in Washington.
Secretary Meredith has literally
begged Congress to abandon Con-
gressional free-seed distribution
and premit him to use the money
a quarter of million-"for neces-
sary and important activities bear
ing on agricultural production" but
though the Senate listened to him,
the House insisted that the free
seed policy continue.
! 1t does no good to condemn Con-
gress in general. Votes on an agri-
cultural matter are a local issue.
Every farming community in this
country ought to find out how it's
particular Representative voted on
this plan to hamstring the Agricul-
tural Department. Every communi-
ty should demand an explanation.
Representative must be held indi-
vidually responsible. 1t may be that
the Department of Agriculture is
! not the efficient instrument that it
should be, but it is probably as eff
cient as other departments. More
over, the cure of ineficiency would
not be starvation. You cannot win
the faith of the farmer in Govern
ment when Government expends
millions for Industry" but be-
grudges every dollar that is appro-
priated to improve agricultural
conditions.
This cavalier treatment of what
is in fact the greatest industry in
the nation Us not merely criminal
| it is national suicide. Already food
conditions are so menacing that the
iD,o.;Jont hoe hoop co1icitod to icSuo