The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-06-24
Farmers Of Kansas Hear
Harding Recital Of Benefits

full text OF the Presidents address
fellewai
Mellow Citizens Of Kansas and Fol
low Americans AlE
"A half score of years or more
ago, I was making a number of adj
dresses In your STAKE. and had the
good fortune to make more or less
intimate survey of several thriving
Kansan communities While driving
in the outskirts OF couRty-seat
town, not a hundred miles from
here, we noted IN the distance II
structure rather more imposing than
the average home, and ! made In
o1iry as to It's ownership, My host
said; Well, sir, I'll have to apollo
Sise, That's the county poorhouse.
but Il Is out OF commission We dis
continued its public operation, for
we had no inmates omit the spol-
ogy,' 1 replied, and make 1t a boast,
l never saw an unocoupied aims
house before, II this Is a reflex OF
the nfe of Kansas, 1t is glorious
chapter in human progress
My host had spoken truly. More
intereSting still. before my speaking
tour was finished, saw Two other
county almshouses which had been
abandoned as public institutions, and
mada into eloquent monuments TO a
community's good fortune ciNiH-
cation without a public charge Is not
the supreme attainment In human
n~o~ress but IL is a lofty achieve
ment, and I know there cannot be
very much wrong with the funda-
nentals of the government under
which it is recorded.
probably the fortunes of agrioal-
tural Kansas are not today Pree'seiy
what they were a dozen years ago,
and AGRICULTURAL fortunes are inea-
riably reflected in the fortunes of All
others, because they are so cioseiy
related and interdependent that
there can be no good or ~ fortune
of one without Influencing the other,
The whole world has been In a So
cial. Industrial, financial and polit'-
cal upheavaI since then. The very
fabric Of civilization has been soreiS
tested, dynasties have fai1en. mon
archies have failed, revolution has
reigned in various sections OF tne
world. and disasters have exaceed
their toll nearly everywhere ana IN
nearly every way
LOSSES Are Admitted.
..The losses to American agricul-
ture ara universally admitted ana
deulored but 1t is not en- experiences
peculiar to American agracul,uIs
alone. Nor was the readJustment
following wars lnflaGons ,sa
to agriculture alone. 1t came 10 me
railroads to bankers, to manu1ae
trrers, and to the mercantile Wofiu,
The miracle is that we an esoapeu
with SO relatively little OF alsastet.
II is characteristic of human nature
80, Wa magnify our own ills ana
tno little appraise the ills OF others,
huf Tho ewes of the government are
attr.cted TO them all 1 hesitate 70
telJ YOU how seriously vast interests,
Presumably unendanseseo ny at
fecred- and at what sacrifices disas-
rers were averted- Looking oach
ward. I find my oonfidence IN ue
social and industrial FABRIC OIL ms
republic strengthened oy our ~
disaster
--E.ver since the earlier processes
~ defiation which began after the
World war we have been stuoyins
aud talking about the renaoiHts lion
md the better organization OF our
AGRICULTURAL Industries
Improved status Results
At confess a very frank pride In
the Governments part in bettering
situation against which you justly
complained and which All Inv PEI
al m
rnaration of all the governmental
, oTencies and with them the cooper
ation of the fine forces OF Leadership
which the great national iarni
f panizations have developed. maze II
nossible to secure a measure or neip-
FL results in this department of our
endeayors, which has been especially
yratifvine Moreover, 1t has touho
nrompt reflection in the improved
stains of every agricultural concern,
We have been officially ihiotM eu
that owing to improved conditions
the farm products of the country for
1879 we're worth $2,O00,000,000 more
than they we're in 1921. Clearly, we
are through the worst OF the oePres
sion and can reasonably expect grad
ual improvement
"rhe balance within the industry,
MS between live stock and grain pro-
sduction, has been restored: Inc us
turbance of that equilibrium SO
highly important to properly al
1usted agriculture, had been one Oh
. the unfortunate and unavoidable re-
suits of the wartime necessities
called to feed a world. American
farmers had willingly responded TO
the demand for spsCial efforts IN
certain lines of production heia-
tionships between supplies anu oe
mand for some staples were paoiy
disrupted and could not be instantly
e. restored when peace came That was
in considerable part Responsible for
the violent fluctuations which I'M
posed so much hardship on the farm
er. Along with this distortion OF
the production ratios went an even
more acute and difficult disturbance
of the factors which determine for
eign demand
While the war lasted there was
no possibility of overproduction OF
such staples wheat and cotton,
for example; and when peace sud
denly burst upon the world, the
farmer had plans for a long future
which he could not readjust instant
w. No human wisdom could pos
.sibly have foretold the course that
d would be taken by supplies and de-
mand; and 1t Is as futile as 1t Is OBJ
yious to us now to say that wisdom
would have dictated at least a less
precipitate policy in removing the
wartime restrictions and guidance
B in dealing with some aspects of pro-
duction and distribution.
Agriculture At Low Ebb.
When the present administration
came into responsibility, agriculture
was in the lowest ebb of depression.
The Immediate need was for meas
s ures to meet an emergency. There
was urgent call to keep open and SO
far as possible enlarge our foreign
markets, and this was accomplished
hy a prompt policy of placing neces-
sary credits at the disposal of those
engaged in finding foreign markets
for our foodstuffs; by arresting and
reversing the drastic deflation which
had the seeming, under the former
administration, of being aimed es-
-pecially at the destruction OF agri-
cultures prosperity; by recalling the
war finance corporation from its
state of suspended animation, CIV
ing It a credit of s1'oO0,OoO'Ooo in