Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1925-08-27
IN OUR
VALLEY

ID ENJAMIN F. YOAKUM, one OF the
~ few surviving members of the old
generation of railroad builders, told
1000 farmers at Amarillo yesterday that
national cooperative commodity sys-
TENS of distributing and marketing
through central commodity ! selling
agencies is the only Solution OF the
manifold problems of the farmer.
Colonel Yoakum once was head of the
San Antonio & Arkansas Pass railroad
which is now seeking entry into the
Valley.
Later he. with the late Colonel Uriah
Lott, built the St. Louis, Brownsville g
Mexico from Algoa, near Houston, to
Brownsville.
Still later he became head of the
Frisco system and it was he who con-
ceived the idea of a railroad along the
coast. into Mexico and on through Cen
trail America to the Panama. Canal. The
plan failed when the Frisco went into
receivership, in 1913.
Since retiring from active railroad
affairs-Colonel Yoakum must be around
rs years old-he has given great deal
of study to the marketing problems OF
the farmer, and has been witness at
numerous hearings at Washington on
agricultural affairs.
Colonel Yoakums suggestion already
is receiving consideration in the Low
er Rio Grande Valley.
Farmers of this section have been
called to attend a general meeting to
be held at La Feria, at l o'clock the
afternoon of Tuesday, September 8.
Preliminary meetings will be held to-
night in La Feria, Friday night at Har-
lingen, Saturday afternoon at Browns
Vile and Saturday night at Harlingen.
These meetings will pass on the con-
stitution and bylaws that have been
suggested for a Valley-wide marketing
organization.
Whether the plans succeed depend
upon the farmers themselves. At least
they should hear the plans and the ar
guments in their behalf by attending
tthe meetings The information received
will be educational and informative.
The mission of the newspaper in the
presentation Of the news of the day
is often misconstrued.
People often forget that the news
paper does not make the news, is in no
way responsible for it.
The newspaper merely prints the
news; records the activities of the
people of the community, the county
the state, the nation, the world. 1t pre-
sents the history of community life,
of state, national and world activity as
the history is made, from day to day.
1t is the duty of the newspaper to
present this information fairly and with
out bias or prejudice, and as accurately
as is humanity possible. Mistakes are
often made.
The trained news writer approaches
his task impersonally, often too imper-
sonally. His desire is always to be fair.
If he has been unfair, he is the first to
rectify the mistake.
Commodore Louis Cobolini of Browns
vile once suggested that if every project
that had received columns of space in
The Brownsville Herald had material
lied, Brownsville already would have
been city of 100000 population.
In a growing, prosperous and am
bilious community there are always ma
terializing projects of one sort or an
other that, at first glance, should have
a place in the community.
The newspaper, being ambitious for
the town, lends its space literally to
spreading the news of the project. 1t
does not necessarily always advocate
the project, but merely gives the news
in fairness to the community.
If the project fails to go over it is no
fault of the newspaper. Also, 1T is not
the newspapers place to determine
whether or not there is room for the
program, if it is private enterprise
It is the desire of The Herald to be
fair to the community and to its readers.
Sheriff Sam Robertson calls attention
to the fact that dozen garages in Cam
Docr TxrnA