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Show THE WANTS OF THE FARMERS. They Vote Down the Proposition to Cede the Arid Lands to the States. Secaha, Mo., Nov. 12. In the farmers' congress yesterday, Congressman Heard of Missouri delivered an address on ''Railway Transportation." This subject he declared of supreme importance to the farmer. One of the solutions of this vexed question, he said, .was found in 6tate railway commissions. commis-sions. Another method of controlling railway rail-way corporations in the interests of the people was through the national railroad commission. Some rrofessed to believe that the railroad should be placed under un-der government management. Government railroading, Heard believed, would be a g-i g vatic failure. In the first place the govern-mert govern-mert would have to buy the railroads, and that would cost ten billion dollars. That would be an impossibility practically, because be-cause there 1s in circulation only $1,500,000. The purchase of the railroads would necessitate necessi-tate ncurringi debt of gigantic proportions, anjione else, wanted to go down : in 'their pockets and pay any more debt than they are now paying. Another great objection to government railway control was the increase of Federal officeholders which it would necessitate. ne-cessitate. Among the resolutions were the following: Urging congress to cede the arid lands in the various states to provide the states with systems sys-tems of irrigation; recommending that the president and vice-president cf the United States and United States senators be elected by a direct vote of tho people; demanding the extension of the signal service reports; requesting the federal government to aid the states in the irrigation of the arid lands. The resolutions were ail adopted except the latter, whic h was stricken from the report by a vote of 44 to 17. At the afternoon session more resolutions of thanks to Secretary Rusk for his work for the farmers were adopted. Th i committee recommended the adoption of resolutions pledging the organization to maintain its non-partisian character; demanding the passage pas-sage of laws distributing the burden of taxation tax-ation on all classes equally; declaring that the public domain should be reserved for the settlement of United States citizens to the exclusion of foreigners: declaring that national taxation should be limited to the needs of government economically and honestly hon-estly administered; requesting the secretary of agriculture to increase the number of agents abroad, to push the work of introducing intro-ducing corn as food; demanding the improvement im-provement by the federal government of the waterways and the harbors of the United States? renuestinsr the free delivery of mail among farmers, "and demanding control of all trusts, combinations and monopolies, so that they shall work no harm to the people. |