The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1922-08-16
Advocates Great Lakes Waterway
to Help in Freight Reduction
SPEAKER SHOWS ACCOMPLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY TARIFF
WAR FINANCE CORPORATION, FARM LOAN BANKS
AND OTHER RECONsTRUCTIvE MEASURES; CAM
ISSUES FORGOTTEN

rights, and with hope of progress, is
nation rising in the tide of civliiza-
ton.
l do not mean that we should there
by neglect other activities of life. Our
mineral resources, manufacture, trans
portation, and all other activities must
be developed with those of the farmer,
but, as I have said before, his is the
basic industry. He produces the food
of the nation. He takes the greatest
risk, and today I believe his returns
are the smallest, though his position
in the world is secure. But for the
mobilization of the production of this
country, and of all the allied and neu-
tral nations during the war, our ar
mics would have been powerless and
our arms would have been paralyzed.
REIMBURSEMENT PROBLEMS
| After the war came readjustment.
The excessive demand from foreign
! countries ceased. The high prices of
all products began to fall. The far
mer was first and most drastically af-
fected. Because they are the least
organized and most numerous, the far
mers have to produce and sell their
products. Farming is not handled by
large corporation and therefore when
the stimulus arising from the war
ended during 1920, the farmers prices
dropped more rapidly than their cost
of living, and when this Administra-
ton came into power the farmers of
this country were facing ruin, which
| meant disaster to all industries. Some
thing had to be done. The President
made up his mind to study the agrieul-
tural problems and to make that sub
Ject one of the principal activities of
his administration. He delivered a
great agricultural speech at our Fair
in st. Paul in 1920. He called an ag-
ricultural conference last winter. In
his messages and in his conferences
with Senators and Representatives
from the agricultural States, he has
constantly urged legislation and ex-
ecutive action to stabilize and assist
| thls-your-great industry.
l am not going to make a partisan
appeal: [ realize that during the war
everything was sacrificed to win it.,
now, that the farmer received his
but l did not believe then, and do not
fair share Of the profit. During Pres
ident Wilson's administration Con-
gress was asked to pass law fixing
the prices of wheat and authorizing
the Government to buy it, the osteni-
| BILE purpose being to increase the price
so the farmer would produce maxi
mum. AS a matter of fact, it reduced
the market price, and though I do not
deny the price was good, it was not
equal to what was being paid in other
countries or was being paid in the
market when the law was passed. The
law made maximum price only. The
President fixed both the minimum and
maximum, and the farmer was COM
PEELED to take 1925 bushel for wheat
that was selling in the market, before
| the executive action, for $3.50 to $500
bushel. l, for one, protested against
| it, and l think it would have been bet
ter to let the farmer get his market
price; but that is thing of the past.
Let me for few moments review
the legislative and executive action of
this Administration in aid of the far
mer. The following are some of the
laws which have been passed during
this present Administration:
U The emergency tariff law for
the benefit of agriculture, which placed
tariff duty on farm products.
(2) The law extending the powers
of the War Finance Corporation so as
to relieve the credit situation among
the farmers and provide a foreign
market for their products.
(3) Law appropriating $35, 100000
to aid the Federal Farm Loan Banks
to sell bonds at 51s percent without
any increase in the rate of interest
to the farmer
(4Cooperative marketing bill, au-
thorizing the farmers to organize CO.
operative marketing associations, in
order to reduce the cost of marketing.
(5) The packer control law.
(6) The law regulating future
trading in grain.
(7) Bill authorizing the President
to appoint representative Of agricul-
ture on the Federal Reserve Board.
(8) Federal aid in the construction
of highways, from which Minnesota
has been benefited to the extent of
many millions of dollars, thus reliev-
ing rural taxpayers Of a considerable
burden.
Some of these most important mea-
sures I had the honor to introduce or
have charge of in their passage
through the Senate, and I have sup
nortad all of them. / have not the