Show I 1 Union Western Newspaper Released by OUR DEBT MORTGAGES US UP TO THIRD ONE WHEN FIGURES run into the billions billions bil billions bil- bil meaningless To lions they become any of us they are the more than ble They are no ciphers it takes to write such a number num num- ber Our public debt that of our municipal county state and federal feder l governments cannot be stated Incomprehensible in incomprehensible incomprehensible comprehensible terms unless some comparison can be given We as a people owe today approximately approximately approximately ap ap- ap- ap proximately billions of dollars That includes the bonded indebtedness indebtedness indebted indebted- ness of our municipal county state and federal governments It includes in includes in- in in-I in also the indebtedness of the the num numerous rous administrations corporations corporations corpora corpora- Hons and bureaus established by congress and for which we have guaranteed the accounts amounting to several billion dollars It in includes in- in I eludes the billions of appropriations made by congress which will be spent during the next 12 to 18 months in excess of any revenue with which to pay The total value of everything we as a people own is placed at billion dollars That is the value of all our land our homes farms livestock livestock livestock live live- stock crops railroads mines forests forests forests for for- ests factories machines merchandise dise everything including our bank deposits insurance policies and cur cur- rency We Ve as a people have mortgaged mortgage d everything we own to the extent of third one-third of its total value And the end is not in sight In 1870 the Germans defeated France and captured Paris The French people at that time ransomed ransomed ransomed ran ran- their country for what was then considered the tremendous sum of one billion dollars Today it would take times that sum to ransom America to buy of off our creditors The end will be for us as a people I just what the end always is for an individual when the indebtedness becomes becomes becomes be be- comes greater than he can pay greater than his assets will produce produce produce pro pro- duce when sold under the hammer bankruptcy And that means chaos for all of us S FOR DEFENSE DEFENE America needs mechanical equipment It needs especially new and big guns to defend defend defend de de- de- de fend our coast line planes and lotsof lots lotsof lotsof of them for the same purpose Grant the defeat of England which will not happen and the surrender to Hitler of the British navy it i would still be impossible for a German German German Ger Ger- man army to invade our shores Big guns and an abundance of planes will protect our coast line from naval or air attacks We Ve consider the city of Honolulu and the island of Oahu impregnable I Inot not because of the large force of soldiers stationed there but because of the big guns and the airplanes II To defend America against any attack attack attack at at- tack that might be made upon us for many years we need big guns I and airplanes along our coast line We need ordnance far more than quantities of manpower and such manpower as is needed must be technically trained to be effective SEEING IN ZANY MANY COUNTRY NEWSPAPERS departments COUNTRY by county agents recalls a Sunday spent with Howard Gross in the early years of the century Gross arrived at my home early in the morning before I had break break- fasted He had spent Saturday afternoon afternoon afternoon aft aft- and evening with James J. J Hill and was enthused over an idea Mr Hill had expressed for carrying agricultural education to the farmer as a means of producing more and better farm crops Through the day and evening we worked into a rough draft what later became the Smith Smith- Lever bill the final passage of which created the county agent system throughout the United States The following week an organization tion was perfected to back the I proposed proposed proposed pro pro- posed legislation Twice each month for a period of nearly five years that organization met at the Union League club in Chicago before before be be- fore it succeeded in getting the bill through both houses of congress It seemed strange to me at the time that the strongest opposition came from the agricultural department and it was finally passed despite that opposition It was insisted there was danger of the county agent becoming becoming becoming be be- coming part of a political machine used to control the farm vote Those of us who were attempting to secure enactment of the bill made every effort to prevent such a possibility James J. J Hill Howard Gross and the small group of men forming the National Soil Fertility league were responsible for the county agent system of carrying agricultural education education edu edu- cation to the farmer The idea was wa was s Mr Hills TRAVEL BUSINESS THE UNUSUAL JOB of a Chicago friend has been seriously affected by the war Mason Warner Warne r is a tourist scow scout t. t For years he has been seeking places for people to go who wish to travel for pleasure or personal enlightenment The war has practically barred travel throughout through through- out the world for Americans with the exception of North South and Central America and for the last two years and more his scouting has been confined to those fields |