Republican farmer., 1920-08-13

affairs of government Many of the
 branches of the government which
 deal remotely or directly with the
 soil and its problems and its possi- bilities would be more valuable to the. general welfare if the practical experience of the farmer were an 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 l 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 sta ability of manufacturing
 and trade units, or to the agencies
 interested in exporting?
 Our objectives should be a de-
 creased tenantry. With the period
 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 acts, encouragement has come to thousands who find that industry, l character and intelligence are a gold- en security to the peoples banker, ! the government of the United States. Multiply our home owners, and you will make the way of the seditious
 l agitator more difficult. Bring into
 the picture of American life mere
 families, happily a part of garden and
 flowers all their own. and you will
 find new streams running into the
 national current of patriotism. Help
 to equalze the burdens of taxation
 by making the holders of hidden
 wealth pay their share with those
 whose property is in sight. In shert,
 remove the penalty imposed upon
 homebuilding thrift, and thousands
 contented households under the shell
 ter of their own roof, will look upon
 government with affection, recogniI-
 ing that in protecting it, they pro- : tect themselves. There more F | home owners in America than ever , 1 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 our home owners. Nothing will bring more golden return to the welfare of the republic.
 f Common prudence would suggest
 that we increase to our utmost, cur r area of tillable land. The race be- ', tween increased consumption and 4 added acreage has been an unequal
 lone. Modern methods of soil treat e l ment have been helpful, but they
 l have their limitations There are o still vast empires in extent, in our = country, performing no service to r humanity. They require only the ap # piled genius of men, to cover them e with the bloom and harvest of human ,+ necessities. The government should IF turn it's best engin eering talent to the a task of irrigation projects. Every d dollar spent will yield compensatin e results.
 ,J If ha nj , food supply leads very quickly to the if closely related matter of transporta- .. ton. There is no one thing which n brings intern1ittently to critica
 conditions than the insufficiency of l., our transportation facilities. Both if the railroads and the public are tn h blame. There has been no material If addition to the total mileage Tn the ,e last ten years, and the increase i'll ,s terminals has been much less than le required. At the beginning of the Iy war, the rolling stock was sadly re-
 duced and inadequate. The publi: Id had not given in pay for service, suf- re ficiert revenues on which credit could n, be allowed by the banks. Moral as le sistance was withheld because ot
 railroad policies that did not bring of approval. Many of these corporation. of had made themselves d part of poll le tical activities, local, state and na V tional. Then there were more ol lg less sporadic instances of stock-wa C. tering operations, and the exploitation ts of utility properties for personal gain S. Abuses were not general, but the, l. were sufficient to bring the entir 'n railroad systems of the country il n- disrepute. The good suffered witt a- the evil. When the transportation K lines were taken over by the govern C. ment, they were barely able to linn Ill through the task of the day. I!ni.: ss in operation, the elimination of tn re long haul, and the merging of ever .n mile of track and terminal and ever
 - car and engine into a coordinate s plan of operation, enabled the gov = ernment to transport troops and sup al plies at the same time affording, m a- der great stress, a satisfactory outle for our industries. It should be re ,i. 1 m menbered in this nnection ths as except for the motor truck which sup he | p1emented transportation by raj il and except for the great pipe line he which conveyed oil for conmercia oo purposes, we should not, in all prot 70 ability have been able to throw ou .1v deciding strength into the balance an in win the war. Any attempt to dis ng credit the federal operation of raj in roads during the years of grave en1e; in, gency is unfair. In the case of thos ty who know the facts it is insincere. To ch much cannot be said in praise of tnos h. who directed this work, nor of t11 ey men who physically operated the line h. under the discouraging conditions he poor equipm ent. But Ill Of this ice water over the wheel. The proble, by of the railroads is still with us. I'll ih government and the public shou. Ito render every cooperation in the U en most good faith, to give thorough te. of to private ownership, The railroad in. have had their lesson. Governrue e1 'ld regulation is accepted now as not nt nd only a safeguard to the public, bl CT, as conserving process to the utilit lnt Financial credit is necessary to phy oe- sics1 rehabilitation and tit shouId F ce, sufficient for the neriods of may ral ,o,n, demand We sbould not lo.