Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1921-11-10
LEGIsLATING FOR THE FARMER

In the subject of legislation taking care of the interests of the
farmers congress seems to have performed a record feat in putting
over bills that should make the life of the agricufturist one glad
sweet song, but so far as anyone can notice the effect of theselaw
seems so far to remain in the offing-very much in the offing-in
fact, so far away that they may be said to be far below the horizon
The very low visibility of any actual benefits to the farmer of
the very favorable consideration he has secured aft the hands of
congress during the past year, as shown by the real conditions
faced by the farmer, is exempified by the steadily receding mar
kets for wheat, corn, beef and whatever else he has to sell, and
raises a question as to the real value of emergency legislation-it
Just don't seem TO work, somehow.
1t has been admitted, however, that congress has done its part
for the farmer, and undoubtedly did it with the very best inten-
tons in the belief that real benefits would accrue, and while the
results are not apparent, at least not yet. credit must be given our
lawmakers for a noble effort to cure the ills of the agricultural in
terests. Just to mention a few of the things that congress has ac-
eompished ought to be good reading for the farmer, even though
"0 m q ee n"nC ca PC nei ne n@' ioans sanc = ~;
The Emergency Tariff Act, which purports to protect the
farmer from foreign competition where the production costs are
much lower than here; an act providing for a credit of a billion dol
lars for farm exports; an act that gives the secretary OF agrlcui
ture supervision over the activities of the packing houses and the
stockyards of the country; a bill which provides for an increased
rate OF interest on farm-loan bank bonds without increasing the In
terest rate of farm-borrowers; the CapperTincher bill for the reg
uation of all the grain exchanges in the country; the bill appro-
priating twenty-five million dollars as a revolving fund for the
farmIoan banks.
In addition to the above congress has a further program for
the benefit of the farmers which includes a bill to increase the linn
a bill to provide for cooperative marketing; a bill to direct the APP
pointment of a farmer representative on the federal reserve board;
a rural credit plan to enable farmers to secure short term loans and
reduced freight rates on agricultural products.
1t is certain that the lawmakers of the present administration
have done their d-dest for the farmer, but the immediate effect
of all these laws is not encouraging. They appear slow in getting
into action. Private and cooperative effort along this line seems
to have fhvvered somewhere else. A few months ago the farmer
saw some promise in the great cooperative grain selling corpora
ton, but to date the farmers who invested in the scheme have real
been hoped up with the idea that legislation was the panacea that
cures all financial ills, and we have been getting it in large doses.
1t don't even alleviate, let alone cure.
The forces that are making it hard for the farmer, and Incl
dentally everyone else, are too powerful for legislation or possibly
even civilization to counteract. 1t is absolutely no use for the
farmer or any other class to sit down and wait for congress or any
other lawmaking body to grease the way to prosperity, for it can't
be done. 1t is simply an Individual problem and one that has to
be worked out by the person most vitality interested, each one for
himself.