The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1928-09-12
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER -, 1928.
Hoover and the Farmer

Editorial from the Minneapolis Tribune)
THE resignation of j. F. Reed as presi-
dent of the Minnesota Farm Bureau
federation is unquestionably of politi-
cal significance. Its intent is wholly polti-
CAL 1t is timed and phrased for political
purposes. The letter of resignation is pain
stakingly designed to do Mr. Hoover as much
political damage as possible. With Mr..
Reeds personal political activities we can
properly have no concern. The political i'm
portance of his resignation has its existence
only in the office which Mr.. Reed held. Mr..
Reed takes the fullest advantage of this
fact.
There could be no quarrel with this if
Mr.. Reed were to confine himself to truth
full statements. This he does not do. Either
Mr.. Reed does not know what is a matter of
documentary fact and common knowledge,
and thus states a series of untruths out of
ignorance, or, knowing these facts, he choos-
es to ignore them and feels justified in Civ
ing furtherance to campaign falsehoods. We
shall gladly leave to Mr.. Reed and his fol-
lowers the selection of the alternative they
prefer, only submitting that in either alter
native Mr.. Reed conspicuously lacks those
qualities which we instinctively associate
with the head of the Minnesota Farm Bur-
eau federation.
The essence of Mr.. Reeds valedictory
to the farm bureau is contained in these
words:
During the food administrator
the partys candidate (Hoover) demon
strated his opposition to the best interests
of agriculture by preventing the farmer
from securing for his products a price
commensurate dad of
him for the commodities of other indus
What is the Hoover record as food adj
ministrator as far as the farmer is concern
ed?
AS food administrator Hoover wrote
many letters in his official capacity. These
letters are public records and are on file in
Washington. They have been printed in the
Congressional Record and for long time
have been available to Mr.. Reed
The purpose of Mr.. Reeds assertion
that Hoover opposed the best interests of
agriculture is to add circulation and con-
firmation to the notorious falsehood to the
effect that Hoover fixed the price of wheat
The Tribune cannot believe that Mr.. Reed
is ignorant of the fact that Mr. Hoover had
nothing to do whatever with fixing the war
price of wheat Mr.. Reed, as president of
the Minnesota Farm Bureau federation,
knows, or if he had been at all interested,
he certainly would have known, that Mr..
Hoover fought the British food ministry
and the French government on behalf of the
American farmer. Mr.. Reed either knows
this or he believes that o. E. Bradfute, for
mer president of the American Farm Bur-
eau federation, of which the Minnesota
Farm Bureau is a part, is not a truthful
person. Last March Mr.. Bradfute issued q
long open letter to the farmers of America
in which he reviewed the agricultural situa-
ton during the war period. His concluding
paragraph is as follows:
Both recognition of justice and well
deserved appreciation of service rendered
impells me to repeat that Herbert Hoover
has been one of the very best friends the
American farmer has had since the opening
days of the war.
On August 80, 1917, over IL years ago,
President Wilson wrote as follows to the fair
price committee:
The price recommended by that
committee (the fair price committee), $3.50
per bushel at Chicago for the basic grade.
will be rigidly adhered to by the food ad-
ministration Mr.. Hoover. at his expressed
wish. has taken part in the delbera-
lions of the committee on whose recon-
mendation l determine the governments
fair price. has he in any way intimated
opinion regarding that price.
All this was written IL years ago and
has been printed time and time again. 1t is
hard to believe that it could have escaped
the attention of Mr. Reed, yet he is obvious
ly seeking to support the falsehood that
Hoover fixed the price of wheat. Mr..
Reeds moral responsibility for this is only
increased by the ambiguity of his language.
He seeks to fortify falsehood by loose
generalities which will permit him to evade
a direct responsibility for the statement.
President Garfield of Williams college,
who was chairman of the fair price COM
mittee, wrote on October 80, 1927, year
ago, as follows:
Mr. Hoover had absolutely no part in