The Delta independent., 1920-10-01

States seIf-sustainsng nation which
means that we shall grow within our
own boundaries all OF the staple food
products needed to maintain the high
est type Of civillzation-or whether
We shall continue to exploit our agri-
cultural resources for the benefit of
our industrial and commercial life. and
to leave to posterity the task Of finding
food enough. BY strong-arm methods,
If necessary, to support the coming
hundreds Of Millions
~ believe In the seif-sustainIns, In
dependent, seif-reIfant nation, asrieul.
turaIIy, IndustriaIIy and politically
We are then the guarantors of our own
security and are equal to the task"
SO declared Senator Harding In a
masterly address before the Minnesota
State Fair here, in which he revealed
most profound understanding Of
agriculture, its problems and its rela-
ton to the farmer and the consumer in
the cities. This speech has been de-
scribed as the greatest speech on agri-
culture which has ever been made by
Presidential candidate.
Among other things he said:
"A good many years ago q Chinese
philosopher uttered profound truth
when he said: The well-being Of q
people is like tree; agriculture is its
root, manufacture and commerce are
its branches and its life; If the root
is injured the leaves fall, the branches
break and the tree dies.
Cause for Concern.
TT may seem strange to many good
people that at this particular time any
one should quote this saying Of Wise
old Chinese. Never In all our history
have prices Of farm products ruled
30 high, measured In dollars, as during
the past four years. Farm land in the
great surplus-producing states has ad-
vanced to unheard Of prices, with
every indication that, but for the tight
money conditions, It would 20 still
higher. Apparently the farmers Of the
land are enjoying unprecedented pros
perity. Why then. even by implica-
tion, suggest that something may be
wrong with our agriculture, and that
the trouble may be communicated to
our manufactures and commerce? Peo-
pie In the cities are disposed to think
that II there is anything wrong 1t 10
In the cities where food is selling at
SuSu uiBh pTiCcb, anu MOI III tne COuu-
try where the food is produced. But
both farm and city students of national
problems see In the present agricul-
tural situation certain conditions
which give cause for real concern to
every lover of his country"
He then referred in most interest
ing way to the development of the
great central west and sketched briefly
the settlement Of the great central val
leys. as follows:
Through the homestead law the
government gave a farm Of the richest
land In the world to every man who
wanted one. Railroads were built, the
prairies were plowed up, and almost
overnight the agricultural production
Of the United States increased by
so per cent. Grains were produced
and sold at the bare cost of utilizing
the soil, and the farmers of the older
states to the east were smothered by
this flood Of cheap grain. The only
thing that could be done with this
superabundance of food was to build
cities out Of It. And great cities we
did build. not only In the United
States. but across the seas"
He spoke Of the hard conditions
which came upon the farmers Of the
central west as a result of their over
production, and then of the gradual
improvement which began about 1905.
when the Increased population in the
cities began to catch up with farm pro-
duction, and how this increased de-
mand for food was accelerated by the
great World War.
Speaking Of the part played BY the
farmer during the war. he said:
Splendid Part Of Farmers.
sSThe spIendid parf nIayed nv the
farmers Of the nation during the war
probably never will be understood Or
fully appreciated by our people. More
than Is per cent Of all our fighting
men came from the farms. and after
sending their sons to the camps, the
fathers and mothers, with the help of
the younger children. turned to and
produced more food than was ever be-
fore produced in the history of the
world in the same time and from the
same area Of land Their working
days were measured not by the clock.
but by the number of daylight hours.
They took to themselves the respon-
sibility Of feeding not only our own
people, but also our allies across the
sea- In more ways than one, our farm
ers made the war their war, and count
ed no sacrifice too great to help dght 1t
through to a successful finish. The
story of what they did, written by
some one who understands It. will
furnish one Of the most glorious chap
ters in American history. One thing
l may say-in every American con-
ence to the world war for maintained
rights, the farmer has been 100 per
cent American and ready for evevy
s.eriH~eV