The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1923-03-15
SOME THINGS WHICH PATRIOTS
SHOULD REMEMBER
Bv G. R. Clodsmasher.

The relations of agriculture to all
other interests of our commonwealth
has never changed. The soil is the
main base of bonds, taxes and wealth
production. The farmer has never
been able to get away from keen
competition. He has been forced by
existing circumstances to apply all his
mental resource and physical energy
to reducing overhead expenses and in
creasing production, until now the one
man produces as much as four men did
formerly and still cannot get ahead
financially
The war came on and the farmer
was Immediately recognized as an i'm
portant factor by his government, but
it took away his free market and re-
quired him to accept fixed price. The
farmer did not complain, but raised
wheat. The government sold the ex'
port wheat at profit. No one seems
to be able to find out how much prof
it. 1t might be that Barnes lost tan
on his shipments.
1t was fully demonstrated to our
satisfaction during the war that our
government could do things if neces-
sary, even to feeding us on barley
bread We began to think it was GET
ting to be government "of the peo-
pie, for the people" The Colonies
rebelled against economic injustice,
After the Armistice was signed, we
looked with great interest to the per
iod of reconstruction. We remembered
through history, how completely the
special privilege was developed pm
mediately after the Civil War, when
there was no political chance for the
people to voice protest. During the
war there had been number of ex
periments in collective management
throughout the belligerent sections
The haggling of the market, holding
out for bargains, was to slow for wal
times. People were enthused with the
idea that in the reconstruction some
of these principles would be perpetu
ated in our economic program. But
Immediately the government began tc
let go of everything; pay the war con
tractors in full, and dump the accumu
lations of army goods on the public at
any price. 1t junked everything il
could. 1t seemed dangerous for the
government to own anything II
would be an awful sin to compete with
private enterprise. Our public treas
ury is so free it has not seemed neces
sary for the government to examine
the personal affairs of any of the war
contractors.
Has private enterprise succeeded OF
has it failed in serving the interest
and we'll being of the people of our ma
tion through the period of reconstruc-
ton.
In 1919 the special interests and
large industries were united and de-
termined to grasp these arrangements,
organized during the war, away from
the government, and the common PEG.
pie were dreaming about new state
of society planned almost entirely in
their interest and according to gener-
GUS ideas. Then came the general sell
ing off The common man felt cheat
ed. There was to be no reconstruo-
ton but only a restoration of the old
order in the harsher form necessitated
by the poverty of the day That rev
citation caused discomfort. The people
felt sore.
About that time Lloyd George made
a speech in the English parliament
recognizing the situation. He said in
part: tThere is new challenge In
civilization. What is itq 1t is funda.
mental 1t affects the whole fabric OF
society as we know It, There are
those who maintain that the prosper.
ity and strength of the country have
been built up by the stimulating and