The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-04-27
DR.. /. LADD'S
WEEKLY LETTER
The Flax Farmers

l. "a ETeSGnt IQQlcatlOnS are tIlat the LAX
growers Of the future will be afford
ed a fair degree of protection on flax
grown in this country. The Commit
tees report calls for a tariff of 40
cents per bushel on flax and 37s cents
per pound on linseed oil or about 26
cents per gallon. With this protection
there should be a marked increase in
flax growing, especially in the North
west and the United States should
produce enough flax to supply the ap-
proximately 75,O00,OO0 gallons Of lin
seed oil now consumed annually. This
would mean approximately 10000
600 bushels of flax would be grown
in this country. That means about g.
100000 acres of land would be with
drawn from wheat production where
we now produce a surplus for export
and given over to the growing of flax
for oil where we now have a great
shortage to supply the needs Of our
own people. 81 .1.s @~,,>~,..@@ f. !. y ~
My suggestion is to grow a larger
acreage of flax Of the "wilt resisting"
kind in the system of crop rotation as
now practiced in the Northwest. The
worlds supply of flaxseed is reported
as small and with a 40 cent tariff, the
price promises to be reasonably good.
The normal world requirements for
flaxseed exclusive of Russia amount
to about 100000 900 bushels annually
while ,fba r,,.nd1of;o,, loc% x,o,r 4, ~,
ported to have been only about 52,-
100000 bushels for industrial purposes
hence the prospects for good prices
are exceptionally good at this time.
Heretofore in tariff making the pro-
ducts of agriculture have been penal
lied for the benefit of the manufac-
turer. Now the farmer is organizing
for a square deal and in his finished
product, whether wheat, flax, cattle,
sheep, wool or butter, the farmer is
demanding and is entitled to the same
degree of protection as the manufac-
turer who uses the farmers finished
product as his raw material.
In certain influential quarters, es-
pecially in the East, there is a deter
mination to afford the farmers little
or no protection in order that the
manufacturer may have cheap raw
material but the manufacturer at the
same time demands high protective
tariff in order that he may make a
profit and maintain the American
standard of living for his workmen.
Without protection to agriculture and
with the proposed high tariff protec-
tion for the manufacturer, we would
of course. b. building up a class of
vassal workers on the farm and a
privileged class in town. This the
farmer will no longer stand for, but
he asks no undue advantage only that
he shall be afforded the same degree
of protection as has heretofore been
afforded and is now, afforded to the
manufacturers in these industries. The
6,500,000 farmers supported by the
laborers of the country are demanding
and expecting justice for agriculture.
They, ask no more, they will accept
no less from the party in power.
Automobile Facts -.
1t. is said that there are in the
United States more than 100000
automobiles and they are increasing
at the rate of from one million to one
million and a half per year. The up
keep for one year Of a pleasure car
has been estimated at $573. In other
words, the cost of the upkeep for au-
tomobiles in the United States cannot
be less than 81, ,OOO, ,0OO, 900 annually.
This would mean tax of $50 for each
individual in this country. Some class
these as pare Injuries, therefore a
luxury tax, but many automobiles are
now operated almost exclusively for
business purposes and the charge that
they are a luxury in all cases is un-
just. One speaker recently criticised
the farmers Of the country for having
SO many automobiles. / know Of no
class af business men who in gareraI
can use an automobile to better ad-
vantage to themselves and their busi-
Dess than the, farmer. =