The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1926-09-30

sAUK CENT
in cost of production here and in
the other countries of the world. And
therefore it is the law of the land
that the farmers of this country who
produce grains and meat, should
have an American price for what is
consumed of these products domes-
tically independent of the world price
for the surplus. This is another point
that want you to find a very definite
place for in your thinking. Keep il
before YOU. There is nothing eco
nomi cally unsound about urging thai
this tariff should be effective is there
There is nothing unfair about insist.
| ing that the benefits of this Law
should be received by the farm peo
pie of the country. These tariffs
were provided in the tariff act fo1
the benefit lof the farmer and not tx
fool him. Being inserted for the bene.
fit of the farmer they should be
made effective. Who is there THAI
would dare to urge that the farmers
of America were not entitled TO The
full benefits of the Haniff act.
Notwithstanding these tariffs upor
grains and meats the farmers have
not had the benefit thereof, and foa
many years have been compelled te
sell their products not only that par
that goes into export but as we'll al
of that part consumed domestically,
at price levels prevailing in the
European markets. Therefore the
tariff is IA delusion and a snare Sc
far as it applies to meats and grains,
because only in very minor de-
gree does it operate to the advantage
of the farmer. We ARE here remind
ed of the fable of the banquet ito
which the crane invited the fox. The
fox found that the broth was served
in tall slender vase. The tariff has
been disl1ed out to the farmer but he
is not able to take advantage of it.
The same tariff act together with
the other paternalistic Legislation to
which ] have called attention, en-
ables the other groups who sell ITO
the farmer, 20 secure the full benefit
of these laws. Advantage to the
other groups which is not Shared in
by the farmer creates a situation of
indefensible adjustment that has
crucifed the agricultural industry of
the United States. 1t presents "a SIT
uation THAT legislation is responsible
for and not the working out of eco
nonic law. These various acts OF
Congress have thrown across the cur
rent of the stream of the natural
flow of economic law distractions to
such an extent that natural economic
laws do not work and do not function,
except when the farmer sells.
So again / emphasize that the
farmer is in a Legislative. Straight-
Jacket from which he seeks to be ex-
taicated, in the only way i'm which he
can be extricated, and that us by the
means that were employed in put
ting tthe jacket upon him. This Jacket
is double rivited and electric welded
and no farmer in the United States
can with his own bare hands, remove
It. Propagandists, paid economists,
selfish leaders in other groups stup-
idly proclaim the fact that under
these conditions the farmer must help
himself. This situation is fraught
with the gravast perils to the he,
public. Tt threatens the business and
social welfare of THE country more
profoundly than amy other situation
that has existed in siNty-nve years:
I emphasize that the farmer was mol
responsible in any degree for being
in economic chains. He did not by
a, wiring that he has done or fail to
do, tie his hands and feet so that
when he buys he must pay the price
asked of him, and when he sells he
must pay the price offered to him. Be
fore the definite development of this
protective system the farmer got
along fairly well even though he has
always been compelled to take what
was offered him and to pay the price
asked of him. But now that the 9th
er groups have doubled their price the
farmer is forced to a situation of
that in no small meas
ure has embittered his soul and made
him resentful of conditions over which
at present he has no control.
And what has been the farmers
offense THAT he should be thus PEN
allied? By what fundamental law has
the right to- work out its own de-
termination been so rlIthlessly taken
away from the industry of agricul-
ture? This is a country of equal
rights and of equal opportunities, at
least these are the fundamental ideals
of this Republic. And yet the farm
people, while they share the common
burdens, yet they do not enjoy the
common benefits. They do not have
equal rights. And when it is re-
that the sacred shrine of
liberty is tine individual owned Ameri-
can farm home, and when it is re-
called that the farmers of this coun-
try made III what it Is in a large PART,
and when it is remembered that the
most conservative group in all our
national life ARE the farm people, land
when it is remembered that NO chain
can be stronger than its weakest link,
and that no nation can long endure,
when its most dependable group are
is situation of submergence, every
citizen under the flag should have no
difficulty in determining that here is
a situation that must be corrected
that has gone TOO long unsettled.