Evening star., 1935-12-03

makes excellent range for livestock and
the Resettlement Administration Is
helping to restore It to that productive
use. This is the country where grass
grew waist high. where the great
herds Of buffalo lived and where the
traditional prairie fires menaced the
early settlers.
To make change now is less costly
than It would be to wait. Few people
realize how wasteful 1t is to misuse
land. Let me illustrate. A study
made In one county Of the Northwest
shows that the public is paying $1s5.6l
per family to transport children in q
poor-land area to school. The actual
tax collected from each farm con-
cerned average $6-less than per
cent Of each family's transportation
bill. The other citizens in the county
had to dig into their pockets for the
difference.
Economic Leak Plugged.
BY restoring misused lands to o
better disc, the Resettlement Admins
tration is helping to plug this eco
nomic leak. At the same time, we
are adding directly to the wealth Of the
Nation, for land which Is public
liability If wrongly used. becomes ma
tional asset If it is rightly used.
We will have bought about 10000 900
acres Of such misused land by the end
Of this year. These acres are located
in 208 different projects throughout
the country. About $4,000 farm FAM
lilies are in this way being given a
chance to move to better lands. The
tracts we are buying are being de-
veloped as forests, parks, grazing
areas and wild-life refugees. The mere
task Of preparing them for these other
uses can give employment to q daily
average Of more than $4,000 men under
the work-relief program.
This process Of land adjustment is
the basis Of a longtime program and
must be judged as such, and not as an
emergency relief measure to be aban-
doned with the first economic upturn.
But more than a million rural families
have been on relief. This means that
nearly 100000 people living on the
land. have had to depend upon outside
sources to provide them with food, and
helping them is our emergency task.
Many OF these were farmers on land
which ordinarily would support them.
Depression, drought, food, foreclosure
had robbed them Of their live stock and
equipment. often forcing them into
tenancy and sharecropping. 1t was
obvious that small amount Of finan-
cial aid would tide them over their
emergency and prevent them from be-
coming permanently dependent on re-
lief.
For example, a farmer with a good
record behind him-let's call him
Homer Grant-lived In the corn and
hog country. His small farm had
supported himself and family. There
was q mortgage on the place, but
he had been paying interest regularly
and, until 1930-31, had even been
able to lay little money aside. He
was counting on sending his children
to the State university. But farm
prices fell disastrously and Grant had
to go to the bank, not to deposit
money, but to withdraw his savings,
Soon his money was exhausted and
the mortgage holder began prodding
him for overdue payments. You know
the rest Of his familiar story. 1t has
been re-enacted In hundreds Of thou
sands Of farm homes in the United
States. His resources became COM
pletely exhausted and he had to ask
for public relief.
$500 Loan Recommended.
A visit from the county rehabilita-
ton agent prevented his misfortune
from becoming tragedy. Sitting down
with Grant, this resettlement agent
worked out q budget and farm man.
agement plan, and recommended him
for q rehabilitation loan of $500. With
this money Grant was able to buy live
stock, tools, fertilizer and seed. Re
settlement gave him o chance TO get
back on his feet. Once more his farm
is yielding him a profit and he is re-
paying, not only his rehabilitation
loan, but his mortgage as well. Incl
dental to his economic rehabilitation.
he has learned better methods of
farming, and his wife has learned more
economical methods Of home manage
ment. A good farmer has been saved
to continue the efficient cultivation Of
his own farm by o small loan, which
will be repaid to the Government, as