Arizona republican., 1922-05-06
Agricultural Bloc" legislation


Replying to the censure of the agricultural bloc
and the charge that the enactments which it had
forced through congress were special legislation Sem
ator Capper of Kansas an address before the
ate last month"; declared that the bloc was opposed
to special legislation that it only insisted that
agricultural industry should be placed on parity
with other industry, and that the market gamblers
and spectators who had enjoyed special opportuni-
ties and privileges should be made to yield them up.
Though the greatest of industries the basic in
dustry agriculture had been neglected in all that
was to make it profitable and attractive There has
long been department of agriculture In the earlier
days all that it did for the farmer to issue
ally in large cloth covered official looking volumes,
statistical reports of the farming industry. little
later the activity of the department was expanded
to the issuance of seeds for the farmers garden OF
late years its service has been much practical
The farmer has been taught how to raise better
crops how to for and improve his SOIL and gen
orally to rural conditions far he can do
so through his own unaided efforts. All this has
been accomplished in large measure through agri-
cultural extension work which at first the farmer
looked askance as 'book- farming but which at last
he came to accept and appreciate.
Crops have been increased by intelligently- -di-
rected effort but with this Improvement Of the farm
erss condition there have grown up powerful organ
Eations of niddemen take the of the larger
crops and so much of the fruits of the farmers labor
as to leave him only enough that he may not be
utterly discouraged Thus, notwithstanding the prog
ress the farmer has made in improved farming, his
marketing conditions steadily grew worse. and more
and more there was taken from him the control OF
his own products. He was denied the benefit of the
operation of the law supply and demand.
One result of this, Mr.. Capper points out
was the evil one of an increase of tenancy form
of absenteeisrn. Another which has attracted less
attention is something that certainly points to dis
aster not for the agricultural industry alone but for
all industries-the increase of farm units throughout
the country.
we of this valley can better understand what
this means to agriculture for we have long recog
nzed that our own prosperity that is the prosperity
Of us as whole must increase with the lessening
Of the farm unit And in this valley it cut
down and is being steadily cut. We see that if
the farm unit should be enlarged into great hold
lugs there would be throttling of population.
The effect upon the whole country as a result of
increased holdings must be the same that which
we would have felt If large land of this
valley had increased their holdings instead of having
divided them.
Mr. Capper dealt largely with the immediate
demand for the legislation advocated by the bloc
rather than with the conditions which had been
slowly FORMING and with the lessened control by the
farmer over his own products. The elimination was
the condition Immediately following the war, when
the prices of all farm products dropped like
plunamet" while there was corresponding drop
Of the prices of the things the farmer had to buy.
He was the chief victim of defation and the con-
sumer vas not the BENEFICIARY of it. Then the mid
dienans the controller of farm products. stood out
in palmer ugliness He had made the mistake of
imposing more than the traffic would bear. He pro-
yoked the agricultural bloc
The evil of special legislation is that while it
benefits invariably some small group perhaps only
some Individual it damages every other group-aH
.itizens outside the very small group. Agricultural
bloc" legislation proposes to benefit very large
group consisting of not only producers but also
sumers who have suffered from the exactions of
small group which has been exercising special priv
nege which it had seized upon without the sanction
even ofspecial legislation.
Mr. Capper properly gives the legislation of the
obloc" the name of corrective legislation" Much
this Is of emergency character and part of it
is of temporary character. such the for hand
ling agricultural credits more effectively. the act
creating a revolving fund for farm loan banks, two
measures carrying appropriations but which involve
no permanent expenditures.
Other measures which may be regarded per-
manent policies are the act regulating grain ex-
changes and the measure controlling the commission
men of The stockyards which this week was sustained
by the supreme court and the cooperative mar
keting act.
There are other measures pending contem-
plated all tending put the farmer his feet, not
only to his advantage but to that Of the whole
country.
The First Issue at Tucson