The Elk Mountain pilot., 1922-12-21


President Harding's message to Con-
gress as the text for some searching
questions, which are set forth in a
letter to the President signed by its
Chairman, Mr.. ]. A. H. Hopkins. The
letter reads as follows:
President Warren G. Harding,
White House,
Washington, D. C.
My Dear Mr.. President:
In your message to Congress you
very properly call attention to some
of the vital problems which concern
the welfare of the American people.
You emphasize the fact that our
government has utterly failed to real
ize that we are country of natural
ishly neglectful of our agricultural
problems.
You very properly refer to our la
bor question as a problem which is
very far from satisfactory solution.
You state that our alien population
must be taught to respect our insti-
tutions; but you fail to point out that
our government officials themselves,
though their failure to enforce our
existing laws as against 'malefactors
of great wealth and the arrogant
abrogations by these officials of the
civil rights guaranteed to the people
of the United States by the Constitu-
tion, have set an example of lawless-
ness in high places not only to the
foreigner who comes to our shore but
to our native population as we'll,
which is undermining our institutions
and creating a disrespect for law and
order, the danger of which can hardly
be overestimated.
Do you claim that the present ad-
ministration has, since it took office
on March A, 1921, made any serious
attempts to re-establish law and or
der, or that it has made any material
progress towards solving the prob
lens to which you refer? Is it not
iiioic CoiicCb " say tudts Iii iOuSh thc
utter failure of your administration
to uphold the law and to recognize
the humanity which underlies all of
these problems, it has on the contrary
aggravated them and ignored the de-
mands Of the American people as ex-
pressed at the polls and elsewhere?
Is there in your opinion no signifi-
cance in the fact that the most COM
plimentary references to your recon-
mendations emanate from members
of the Senate and House who have
just been retired from Office through
the overwhelming mandate of the
voters on November 7th, such as New
of Indiana, Poindexter of Washington,
Calder of New York, Pomerene of
Ohio, and Mondel1 of Wyoming?
You state that the Federal Reserve
system and the Federal Land Banks
should have their powers enlarged to
provide increased farm credits. Are
you not aware of the fact that the So
called Federal Reserve system is in
effect not Federal system at all. but
system of private banks designated
as Federal repositories controlled
by precisely the same Wall Street
clique which has for years exploited
the country for its own personal ben
eft?
Do you know that the Federal Re-
serve Banks in distributing the loans
allocated to each state have arbitra-
rily favored the large commercial in
terests centered in our great cities to
the distinct disadvantage of the agri-
cultural districts?
Has it occurred to you that what
the farmers really need is not simply
the privilege of borrowing money at
the option of the Federal Land Banks
through mortgaging their lands, thus
encouraging bankruptcy, but to have
the right to borrow money direct
from the Government itself as loans
against their crops until the crops
are marketed, thus affording relia-
BILE supply of capital at minimum
rates during the periods of produc-
tion with which they may finance
their operations year by year? \
You state that the coal and rail-
way strikes had no excuse for their
beginning and less justification for
their delayed settlement because la
Dor was insistent on holding on to
the war heights of wages. Is it pos
sible that you do not know that the
railroad wages were never unduly in
creased, and that at the present time
the railroad employees are receiving
an average of $500 per year as
against an estimated cost Of living of