Saturday, May-.". m
EDUCATIONS COOPERATION, LEGISLATION
TW1nn PnwW. .Ill rVvnnarattrvn In tlnHnh h Jt nn ill j . " : .
to Promote Equal Rights and Human Prcess -Plain Talk About Men, Measures and Moresaents Involved
: - -' '' " ' " ' , By CLARENCE FOE - " " " '
A Case JorS trict Construction
"advance all along the line in equal proportion. '
-' ' ' ..." ; . . ' - Wakinff UTI fmm the snnnri cWn nf criiriv -
t THF new rural, crearts om passea dv on- - r j t; -'r-r--' :
N lnB. new - . - J . we find today that the shoo xost of makiiur
m - w.
I rpsq. (Section 12). t is provided .that.no loan
shall be made to .any person wno is noi hi trie
time or who does not estate in -his application hfs
intention to become within six .'months engaged
in the cultivation wf tKe farm mortgaged." Fur
thermore, Section IS begins y saying r .
"Any person who shall borrow from a Fed"
eral land Hsrfikafor 4he 'purpose of ptmfhM'inrg
a farm for a home tinder the provisions of Sec
- tion 12," etc. . ..' '; ; -
.such a simple implement as a two-section "drag:
harrow is 32.4 -per centmore than it was yes- -terday
so to speak. It costs 34.5 per cent
more to make a 14-inch stee'l-toeam walking -.plow
than it did before. More than 26 per
tent -additional expense has been put into' the
ordinary riding -cultivator".
Nevertheless, as Mr. Blake points out - farm.
crops have also advanced in value, ."and the .busi-
tiess farmers realize that eveh at the necessarily
increased ;price farm machinerv will, still he far
What we wish to point out is the necessity for cheaper than expensive human labor. "A fraction
a very strict construction of the passages we have -of a cent per bushel on the products of the average
printed in boldface" type .above. Any provision farm absorbs any increased price the farmer, will
whereby money would.'be advanced at low inter- have to pay . for his farm equipment."
est rate to anybody who wished to buy land, with
out restricting such loans, to persons residing on
the land and "engaged in its cultivation," would
not only not help working farmers, but such a
provision would really injure . them beyond meas
ure. The natural .and - inevitable result would be
such an increase in speculative buying and such a
fictitious and unjustifiable increase -in land , values
as would impose a staggering interest "burden or
rent burden on the actual tillers of the soil.
It must be understood therefore (and we think
it highly desirable to have Congress make its lan
guage yet more explicit on this point), that no one
will be permitted to borrow on land unless he is
More Economical County Government
THE Wake County, N, C, grand jury set a
good example for other county grand juries
the other day by making a thorough investi
gation into the financial affairs of the county and
reporting its findings. Not all its 'recommenda
tions were wise, but we commend the following :
(1) That expert accountants 'examine all de
partments once a year. ? - , -
(2) That bonds shall ndt be issued by the coun
ty commissioners without the express approval of
the people or the Legislature
(3) That the chairman of the board of commis-
nprcnnnllv cninir to "enlace in the cultivation" of
it. Under no circumstances must any proxies be Sl0neurs employed for iiis whole time to look af
Thar U tn sav, absentee land snecu- ter the V the-COUnty-m Other WOrds, act
lator must be permitted to claim that he is going
to "engage in the cultivation of the land" whence
ie nnlv (minor fn liirp tenants nr tahrtrers tn pnaffe
w v v v - . 0 coin etiti b'dders ""
in its cultivation while he himself loolcs simply to; c mf I' e.rS 4 4 , , . ' 4,
i ii- r u ' r i.u (5) Near relations by blood or marriage should
"holding up" for yet higher prices the men who , t . , &
, . . , , - , T not be employed by officials. '
actually wish to become farm home owners. If r ,
yj x wcu ty-iuui ciupiuyccs were iouucl as com
as "county manager."
(4) Purchases to be made only upon written
requisition from the proper department and from
this restriction against .proxies is not to be ob
served, then indeed the last state of our farmers,
and especially the landless farmers, will be worse
than their first, because the gain from cheaper
money would be much more than offset by the in
crease in Qnfni1at?vA lanrl nrirps
We earnestlv hooe thatour Congressmen will yj n u
take the stand that the 'Government's'; aid must be
to help real farmers and not to -help land specu
lators rob farmers. Why riot restore the original
language in item 6, Section 12, saying loans were to
be made "to provide for the purchase, of a farm for
a home"? ' , ' '' : ' v:
The Increasing Cost of Farm Implements
and Why
AS A rule, it is said that only necessity forces
farmers into cooperative effort.. We were .
saying recently that we thought small farm
ers would be forced into'cooperative purchase and ,
use of improved machinery, by reason of two
facts: (1) the small farmer cannot profitably
wake products in .competition with large farmers
unless he has improved labor-saving machinery.
(2) The small farmer canno.t profitably use expen
sive machinery, cannot get a low per-acre cost,
unless he does so .in cooperation with his neigh
bors, and thereby" increases the -acreage covered
:: h' 'the machine.- r 'h ';:- -:. '
Just now, however, there is another , urgent rea
Son for cooperation in the purchase of farm ma-'
chinery and that reason is Vhe-rapid advance in
Price due to recent advances in' the. price of raw
VW4ai ys Mr. rrank u. tuake, of Ueere ifc
. o, Moline, Illinois: r. : -V , -,
Bar steel has already advanced 67 per cent, .
vuu jynotyci; Dar iron, iiu percent;
lg1Jrn 45 per cent; sheet steel, 96 per cent;
aphtha, 134 per cent; scrap iron, 45 per cent; '
its of all kinds, 85 per .cent; rivets, 75 per
l .nuts SO pen. cent; cotton .duck,- 60 : per
nn J el 78 cent:; high-speed tool steel,
colPe5nCent; nign" speed drills, 500 per cent;
Ke 30 per 4xnt.; borax,1 45 per cent. ;; Other ,
pared with only 107 inmates in the county home,
and the number of employees recommended re
duced. - . . '
(7) County officials were found to. have eight
more clerks than allowed' by law, costing the
(8) In the matter of courts, reduce the number
of criminal terms from eleven to six.
(9) Abolish the office of county treasurer, thus
saving the people $3,000 eaclryea"?. The entire re
commendation on this point is probably worth re
printing: "We recommend that the county commis-
sioners consider the advisability of asking the
next Legislature to have Walce added to the
"YOU HAVE GOT TO RUN FAST
-TO STAY WHERE YOU ARE"
A GREAT English statesman once said, "There Is
nothing so conservative as progress." In other
"words, the tree, that doesn't grow dies; the stream .
that doesn't flow dries up; the. man who doesn't go
forward falls behind. "Let well enough alone," says
the mossbaok or standpatter, not realizing that "well
enough.' never remains "well enough" If It Is wholly
let alone. The. Individual, the county, or the state
that Is not progressing is falling behind.
President Woodrow Wilson in an address before the
Washington City Press Club May 15, expressed this
Idea In language that should become proverbial. Citing'
the expression of "Alice In Wonderland" who with the
queen "ran. very hard, only to find themselves where
they, started, and learned that (hey had to run twice
as fast to get anywhere else," he added: .
"That is also true, gentlemen, of the world and of
affairs. You have got to run 'fast merely to tay where
( you are; And In order to jet anywhere you have got to
run twice as fast as that. That js what people do not
realize. - That la the mischief of these hopeless dams
against the stream known as reactionaries and stand
patters, and other words of obloquy. ' That is what Is
the matter with them: thepr are not even, staying where
they were." They are sinking further and further hack
in what will some time comfortably close over their
heads as the black "waters of oblivion. " I sometime
Imagine that I -see their heads going down, and I am
not Inclined even to 'throw them a life-preserver. The
sooner they disappear, the better. We need their places
for people who are awake." . v "
' . ; ::;-;'' .y ', (13) 709
counties which may designate a bank as treas-- -
lirer. A savino of annrnvimntlv rir thnfte. "
and dollars annually can be made by abolish
ing tHe office of treasurer. This has been done .
we are informed, in several counties in the
state;'; ,y. i-'O
And the. money saved from the abolition of the
useless office of treasurer would more' than furri
ish enough money to enable the chairman of the
board to give his whole time to lookinp: after the
business affairs of the county. The curse of coun- :
.ij guvcuiujcui is ausence oi responsibility, and -
the people in many sections are beginning to dis
cuss either commission government or "the coun
ty manager" 'system. - ' . -
t : Mcke Plans Now
NOW is the time to make plans for
(1) Cooperation in marketing cotton and
cottonseed next fall.
.(2) For a community fair, and also a county
fair, next fall. r.:-.
(3) For a : neighborhood picnic after crops are
laid by. '
(4) For organizing a credit union or farmers'
savings and loan association next summer or fall.
(5) For organizing a schoo or neighborhood
debating society. - . -4. ;
(6) For starting community baseball.
(7) For getting all the farmers of the commun
ity to join together in a trip to visit some county
or section where farmers , have distinguished
themselves for good farming or rural cooperation.
(8),. And finally it's a good time to make up.
your mind that among candidates and leaders in
" 'VOlir Dartv. VOU will e-ivp 'the nrpfprpnrp tn
J J, m f W " Q - -m m m m B-rVW -WaMVWW
candidates who have definite platforms for the
betterment of rural interests, and that you will
give little attention to the man who, dodging spe
cific issues, engages only in abuse of opponents
and glittering generalities about his own position.
A Variety of Comment
- - . i
'HY -not go "in with a number of your neigh-'
bors, buy paints together, and paint every
house in your community, after crops are
laid by? Don't you know that you would be
prouder of living in it ever after?- And where you
can't paint, whitewash. Remember, too, that paint
pays not merely in improved appearances but al
most' immeasurably lengthens the life of lumber
and lumber is getting higher all the time. Save
your house from decay, and have the distinction of
living in a painted house at the same time.
Don't forget that idea of having all the farmers -of
your section join together, after crops are laid
by, in. visiting some ottifef. farming section. It may
be a section where farmers hayeydeveloped dairy
ing or stock raising pflfalfa' growing or anything
else your section needs ;to iSow'.raore about. We
ftiiun ouiuv Vttsvs iuji y y.ai ju v.iii,ii utiUUU3l.iiVL.lUlt
agents worked up sujdhfeursions by, automobile.
See if you can't interest your agent.
'v';':'-' ' :.:,;V.". '.;-Xv . '..
"He is a friend of all just, men and a lover of'
the right, and he knows more than how to talk
about the ricrht he knows how to set it forward
in the face of " its enemies," So says "President
Wilson of Louis D. Brandeis, whose confirmation
;as a member of the United States Supreme Court
'is ; being so vigorously . opposed by organized
wealth. There are plenty of people, as the Presi
dent says, who "talk about the right" but we need
men with courage "to set it forward in the face of
its enemies." .'' ' . , ; ' ' . ' ..
"You have put rour finger on the signpost to
political corruption" said one thoughtful friend
after reading our recent editorial on "The Rich
Man in Politics."; "The people must be on guard
against candidates -who are trying to get office
with money, and you have given in one sentence
the one sure way to spdt such candidates that is
to say, look out for the candidates whose boosters
are men who -are known to be out for 'what there
is in it for them.'"- The test is certainly one worth
remembering. -"For wheresoever the carcass is,
there will the eagles be gathered together."
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