Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-02-18
FARM PROBLEMS
TODAY BIGGEST
IN HISTORY
Fountain County Farmers
Hear Address by Earl
Crawford.
HIGHWAYS AND TAXES
Special to The Times.


KINGMAN, Ind, Feb. 18.-Addressing
a meeting of the Fountain County Farm
Federation here this afternoon Earl
Crawford, member Of the State highway
commission, declared the farmers prob
lem today is the biggest one in the his
tory of agriculture, because he is con
frOnted with the stupendous task Of pay
ing his debts-public and pFiyate-with
half priced products.
In the last few years we all spent
money like a crew of drunken sailors
on shore leave. We paid personal bills
with notes and they are now due. We
paid for public improvements with bond
issues that now must be reckoned with
Strict economy in expenditure Of all pub
lie monies as we'll as in personal life
must be followed ald then we are sure
TO come out on top he declared.
CACSES OF PRESENT
DIFFICULTIES.
The speaker charged our present diff
culties was due to Inheritance, in q way
because farmers as q rule sidestepped
and temporized with important questions
affecting agriculture and affairs Of State
This seed Of INDIGESTION and inactivity
has brought the Nation a harvest Of
trouble, he said. He pointed out that in
raising livestock and crops we long ago
learned that like begets like, and that
as we SOW we also shall reap. Cognizant
Of this law Of nature and man. it seems
that we forget it is applicable in our
civic, social and political affairs. he said.
Mr. Crawford said no one individually
was to blame for this condition but col
lectively we all, in a measure, are re
spOnsible. We are paying the price for
the folly Of unrestricted spending and
several pears of unprecedented prices, be-
cause farmers, representing 40 per
cent Of the country's population. failed
to make concerted effort to exercise their
best Judgment on many important ques
tons and to exert their best influence
upon civic affairs"
RESPONSIBILITY FOR
HIGH TAXES.
Speaking Of taxes he declared that if
the people had thought as much about
them some time ago as we are talking
about them now they would never have
permitted the wild orgy of spending for
improvements, a circumstance directly
responsible for higher taxes now. The
time to think inteliigently about our ex-
penditures is when debts are contracted.
not when the bills are presented for pay
ment, he said.
Mr.. Crawford declared the matter of
following Governor McCray's policy as
regards the work Of the State highway
commission was strictly q business prop
ositton and was being conducted as
such. The Governor and he commission
are working in complete harmony to
handle the affairs in the interests Of tax
payers, and to build and maintain mod
ern roads at least possible expense.
Our overhead this year is less than 81
per cent and the fact that we are be
sieged with requests from all parts of
the State to take more roads into the
State system makes US believe that the
results we are obtaining are satisfac-
tory"
WORK OF HIGHWAY
COMMISSION.
He said that the State highway com
mission is paying for all improvements
as work progresses. I've know lust
how much money we have to spend and
we are trying, and we believe we are
succeeding, in obtaining value received
for every dollar expended The install.
ment plan has no place in our work.
for we pay as we go, and If we feel we
cannot afford 1t on that basis We assume
we can't afford it at all. For that rea-
son We had q very modest program dur.
ing last year, centralizing on mainte-
nance and completion Of contracts pre-
viously let rather than awarding new
construction contracts"
Mr.. Crawford explained that Indiana
is to be congratulated upon its construc-
ton which does not permit bondNto be
issued against the State for road work
condition existent in some States where
elaborate and costly road building pro-
grams are in progress. These States, he
said, go ahead and build with money
from bond issues which necessarily must
be taken up later on. Hoosier roads are
repaired, built and maintained, but pay
ment is made on completion of the work.