Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1934-12-13
ON RELIEF QUESTION
Editor AskOv American:

Editor Askov American:
I see in the papers that the Re-
publicans and reactionaries claim
that if you pamper the farmers they
will not produce anything and that
the farmers are inferior to the old
type as they were in the good old
days" In addition to this they claim
this idea of giving relief to the drouth
stricken farmers is all wrong; that
it would be better to let the cattle
and the farmers starve than to help
them. you may spoil them by so doing.
They seem to think that the farmers
themselves eat the oats, corn or hay
furnished them for their cattle.
Before we swallow all this, it may
not be out of the way to go into de-
tails and see what the farmers are
actually doing! We will take the
dairy industry of Minnesota for in
stance. In 1888 in spite of a severe
drouth, grasshoppers, bugs of all
kinds and the fact that the Republi
cans were very active, the farmers Of
Minnesota produced more butterfat
OF course when we refer to Repub-
licans we do not refer to the brand
Of Republicanism formulated by that
great master Lincoln, nor do we wish
to include that great square shooter
Roosevelt or the great LaFOllette.
We, when we think of modern Re-
publicanism, think of Harding, Cool
Df
local state Republicans.
Napoleon used to say that an army
marches on its Stomach-thereby
meaning that if man got enough
to eat he was able to do the things
expected of him. Modern civiliza-
tion as represented by the pseudo
intelligent seem to think that the
soul is more important than the stom-
ach, once when the governing class
of any country falls into this illu-
sion their usefulness has ceased
We have all got to eat. The human
stomach is not formed like some ami
mails that can eat a large meal and
sire for more food. The bear can eat
and get good and fat and live through
out the winter without food. How
ever, the average human being Is bet
ter off if he eats regularly three
times a day, we will say. Hoover
seemed to be under the impression
that people could stop eating regu-
larly until after the depression was
over, then he claimed they would get
a feast.
But the matter is serious, you will
notice that the reactionaries are
against feeding the farmers cattle
as we'll as themselves. They are
against all relief, because they claim
it costs money and they have already
got the country so far in the hole
that they don't relish any further
debt as they are afraid that they may
lose some of their ill-gotten wealth
in the deluge which. is bound to
come. You will notice that when
any relief project comes up they al
ways say, let everybody take care of
their own. They know that means
let the poor take care of the poor,
because we all know the poor always
live together. Lincoln used to say,
God sure must have loved the poor
because he made some many of them"
But all this is not insolvable; if
people will stick to those who are
trying to do something for them
tangibly then greed can be made 20
loosen up. The thing to do now is
think and they say people can best
think on an empty stomach-many
people are qualified.
S. j. SIMONSEN.
Askov, Mimi. Dec. 10, 1894.