Evening star., 1922-12-26

The millennium has dawned. Moth
ine else could possibly account for
down the free seed graft, as it did
chagrin of those members who so
dearly love the poor downtrodden
| iarmers-farmers OF votes. not acres.
There is no farm organization.
from Maine to lower California. from
Maryland to the Philippine Islands
which has failed to denounce the
| congressional graft Of free seed dis
tribuuon. 10. these many decades
written word of editorial support
Of free seeds Every Secretary OF
Agriculture. from James Wilson 10
| Henry Wallace, has denounced the
1t costs the Treasury 100000 an
| nually TO supply the members with
| the means of petty politics. in send
| ing out ordinary garden seeds, not
| service in distributing the franked
packages, which must run into
hundred thousand dollars more-or
close TO 1t.
Furthermore. the actual value to
| the recipient of the few seeds he
| uses is so small that it is doubtful II
| the free distribution adds materially
| to the total area of gardens planted
which would not be planted even II
the garden seeds were purchased At
Originally the law was intended
| for the encoura cement of the impor-
| tation of and experiment with rar'
and possibly useful new varieties. II
was never intended that hundreds of
! thousands of dollars would be- squai-
! dered annually upon just ordinar>.
| garden varieties of cucumbers and
onions and cabbages and beets and
| lettuce. for the sake of playing the
constituent of the benefactor. the
| representative, for a come back with
| his vote. 1t is the most petty politics
in America. and ought to have been
abolished long ago. according to all
the agriculture spokesmen, both in
and out OF government circles
X x
| The House has acted patriotically
| in passing the Langley Bursum bill
increasing the pensions of all Vet
Grams of wars prior to the world war
to s72 a month, and of all widows Of
such soldiers to $50 month. 1t may
be safely assumed that all benefici
aries of the new law have passed
their productive period of life, and it
! well becomes this great nation to Sc.
| that those who fought that liberty
| should not perish from the earth
| should not themselves go down the
Hast steps of life forsaken and in need
The bill also provides pension. to "a
maximum of s125 a month, for sol
diers who were MANNED in the world
war. but otherwise does not affect
! world war veterans.
x x
OF course, Washingtonians who buy
coal are not supposed to be interested
in the following, but just to get it
! into the record let me call attention
to the disclosure that the men VIII"
dig the precious carbon which we
shovel SO recklessly into our fur
naces are getting only sl65 week
| in hard-earned wages. That Is in
West Virginia. What the miners are
getting who dig the anthracite de
ponent saith not. Fortunately. the
employers who are paying wages o.
| only s165 a week have been thought
full enough to pay off just before
| Christmas so that the pittance could
| be spread around to best advantage
! in buying toys and knicknacks. Is II
any wonder that there are so per cent
more miners than can be employed
steadily the year round? They have
| to lay off about half the time TO give
/ them all a chance, otherwise many
, might go at some employment where
/ they are needed.
| Horseshoes no longer bring good
| luck; rabbits feet are not worth the
Carrying; and as for mistletoe. why
/ il would take a carload to charm one
kiss. SO what's the use. Florists find
SO little demand for it that many have
ceased to carry it, and even girls who
get any have forgotten how it is used
and think it is TO flavor soup. They
need to be shown. but that is difficult
when the lights are so bright. Per
haps the excessive use of electricity
| is what has killed the effectiveness of
mistletoe. Gas used to kill other
plant life indoors.
Washington will start the new
year with the least city debt of any
city of its class in the world-onl.
s156.2343s. The Commissioners, re-
alizing the pressing needs of the city.
particularly in school buildings and
street work. have appealed to ComS
gress for authority to issue bonds 1"
the amount of s20.0oO.00o, at the rate
of $4,000 a year for four years.
with the view to catching UP with
the program suspended during the
world war.
AT the present rate of congressional
| appropriations, it is said by the Com
missioners the school building needs
will not be caught up until 1912. TIL,
| 10000 children who now receive only
halliday schooling will be in middle
life before the school capacity now
needed is supplied. and by that tiil,-
they will have increased and multi
piled, besides the other forms of city
| growth. SO that the present program
will have to be doubled and quad
rupled, and maybe Congress will be
just as Indifferent then as now. No
wonder Senator Capper. chairman of
the Senate committee on public
schools in the District Of Columbia.
declares whether the Senate is in
terested, these are testimonials Of
J disgrace, and the members of Con
gress cannot escape the disgrace