The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1942-12-11
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No Santa Claus?
1t Needs No Holly.
Tariff Helped Little.
Was Some Response.
That Man! That Man!
So, there amt no Santa Claus"
/ Dare to talk that rank heresy to the
Youngsters at this season and see the
awed incredulity that dawns in their
eyes. They could tell you that his
tory is all against you. Along in the
fourth century there was a bishop of
Myra who became known as Saint
Nicholas" because he was the friend
of children. Who ever heard of
Myra? It's city in the province of
Lycia in what is now Turkey, and is
on a point on the mediterranean al
most equidistant from the islands of
Crete and Cyprus. So the children,
whom the good bishop loved, short
ened his name to Santa Claus, who
now comes in spirit each Christmas
with gifts to make his children happy.
He is not myth. His other name
is Love" and whether it be love of
children or of your neighbor he will
live as long as there is home on this
old earth.
That train of thought was evoked
by M. w. Thatcher's saying: This
is a Christmas bonus for northwest
farmers" He was referring to the in
for flax announced by the Department
of Agriculture The price was in
creased to $2.70, Minneapolis, from
the 1912 figure of S2.40. The acreage
was increased from a limit of Az
million acres to million with no
ceiling on that. That means 5,000,-
900 more for the flax producer next
year and if he increases the acreage,
he will get $25,000,000 in addition
Considering that more than 80 per
cent of all the flax grown in the
United States is produced in the
that package needs no hol-
ly wreath or glittering tinsel to make
it welcome to it's recipients. With
wheat acreage cut from 53,427 900, the
quota for 1912, to $52,500,000 in 1913,
the increase in flax acreage and price
has an added compensatory advan-
Lage.
No, Santa Claus did not bring this
Christmas bonusi But it has his
torical background the equal of any
Santa Claus has, if not quite so an
cient. More than a decade ago, when
was shipping into this coun-
M. w. Thatcher was busy in
working to get the Amer
can farmer a break in the price of
he product. He asked for-and got |
AN increase in the tariff duty, which |
helped. But even then the American |
armer produced less than 20 million
bushels Of the SIS million bushels the |
nation consumed. The duty was not |
high enough to balance the low labor |
cost of the Argentine producer. To
liant ships, and no flax can be
shipped here, the country's war NUM-
ions are short of the needed oil and
,ur livestock cannot get the meal re-
luired for feed.
That became evident last year, after
December 7, and Mr.. Thatcher de-
cended on the Department of Agri-
ulture and insisted that something
e done about the missing oil and
neal He started last December and
inally secured an order which lifted
he acreage to AZ million and the
rice to $2.40. Before that flax had
cen selling at $3.50. In response to
hat action, the northwest farmers
reduced 43 million bushels in 1912,
hitch was some response when you
ecall that they started from scratch,
lmost. Of course it was not all that !
le country needed or could use.
Watch them raise their sights next
pring and meet every requirement of
leir country for peace and war, for
,od and munitions. They should
ley have a stabilized price and the
d is off the acreage.
All that might prove a hindrance =
shortage of storage space next fall +
nd that is in a fair way to be taken +
ire Of But, that man, that mani
n. Thatcher is not yet satisfied +
q points out that flax is not covered Il
Y insurance, as wheat is; he wants g
ak growers given a parity payment 8
lch as wheat growers receive; he In
ants the flax grower to get the same a
, a bushel for farm storage that the I
heat grower is getting, when under Y
deral loan. In short, he wants to n
lualize things as between the flax q
over and the wheat grower, on the :,
cry good basis that we are short of
AK and long on wheat. 1t may be
at Santa Claus is an old fake, but :,
ere is no fake about putting money :,
the northwest farmers pocket =
hen the GTA manager sets his mind
! it. :.