Evening star., 1923-06-28
Harding POPULAR,
. p TOUR IS SHOWING
But Farmers Discomfort Still
| Leaves Political Effect of
Speeches in Doubt.
nv DAVID LAWRENCE.

HARDING, June 2S.-The first week
of President Harding's western trav-
els has demonstrated one thing above
all others-he is personally popular
and the people in the crowds snow
real affection for him.
Politically-well. that's another
matter Kansas, Colorado and Wyo-
ming were carried by the democrats
in the elections last fall for governor
in the first two states and for United
States senator in the third. Has the
situation changed much since then?
Many good republicans who wish Mr.
Harding the best of political fortune
think not and shake their heads omin-
ously.
The basic fact today is agrarian
discomfort. The farmer is still ag-
grieved The politicians liked very
much the speech Mr.. Harding made
at Hutchinson, and thought 1t would
make deep impression on the farm-
er mind. But of more lasting effect
will be the published stories OF the
ident and dirt farmer. who eX-
planned in detail how wheat was sell
ing around So cents a bushel, when II
costs more than a dollar to produce 1t.
Debt Critical Point.
After all, as more than one sage of
the agricultural west expressed 1t,
there isn't much hope for the future
when the farmer is simply given more
credits, indeed, more opportunity to
go into debt. The Hutchinson speech
was a recital of what had been done
by the administration to furnish cred
it's What the farmers want TO know
is how they can keep from borrowing
money to pay their losses. And when
the President answers that problem
or gets it solved he will have done
more to advance his polltlcal Tor
tunes than anything else ne could
possibly do in the west
MIR. Harding knows that's the crux
of the matter, because he said the
other day: Many people have been
inclined to be skeptical of benefits
which might follow the enactment OF
legislation to give the farmer bet
ter system of credit. They have said
the farmer needs better prices for his
crops and live stock, rather than
easier ways to borrow money. That Is
true, but these friends do not seem
to understand that prices of crops
and live stock are directly influenced
by credit facilities. l thoroughly
agree that what is needed is falI
farmer wants to get out of debt rath-
er than get further into debt. But
it's my opinion that both these ends
will be much more quickly accom-
plished through this new system OF
agricultural credits.
Recall Guaranteed Price.
unfortunately there is no way to
prove in the next sixteen months the
The farmers have been at a loss to
understand how a federal govern
nlent which could for three years
guarantee a price of 81 for a bushel
of wheat can't do something like that
now. The cry is still for a guaran-
iced or stabilized price of wheat, for,
while credits will enable the farmer
TO hold out for a certain length OF
time, and will protect him in time OF
drought, it will not remove the big
fact that the farmer today gets ap-
proximately one-third of what the
consumer pays for the products OF
the farm. The other two-thirds goes
to the railroads and the distributors
of foodstuffs.
This is the farmer talk today-it
helped turn several states upside
down politically last autumn. The
President has just scratched the sur
face of the agricultural problem.
Probably until he came west he didn't t
know how serious 1t was, and while
the farmers will be grateful for the
credit system established by the fed
eral government and the aid given
them by the War Finance Corpora
tton, this will not satisfy them. This
prediction comes from the republican
leaders themselves. who hope, of
course, for a steady Improvement in
republican stock between now and
the 1924 election, but who know that
unless farm prices are higher -.
agricultural vote will be one of
test and will be registered in Ia. :
of the Fords, the Brookharts, the La
Follettes and similar exponents of
agrarian socialism.
Eager About Rail Rates.
Had the President been able to
promise reduction in railroad
freight rates, had he been able to
present a comprehensive marketing
scheme Of national scope whereby the
farmers could bargain collectively both
in the domestic and foreign markets,
there would have been greater en-
thusiasm for Mr.. Harding's addresses
IN the farm regions. The tariff, to
which the President pointed with
pride, is looked upon as having been
eHectlVe at time when foreign prod
uetS were flooding America but the
price of farm products has neverthe-
less gone steadily down and the
farmer has had to pay dearly for his
protection in the increased cost of
goods he buys for use on the farm.
The tariff alone isn't apt to keep the
farmer in the ranks of regular re-
publicanism, because the acute situ-
alton which produced the tariff has
passed and the farmers are looking
for word of hope for the future.
The writer is convinced that before
the next political campaign is in full
swing the administration will have
recognized the necessity for some
thing much more definite in the way
OF farmer aid than credits, and that
the next session of Congress will
bring a renewal of debate about CO.
operative marketing, lower freight
rates and measure to guarantee or
stabilize the prices of farm products.
Copyright. 1921