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Show Speaking for the Farmer The present condition ot agriculture justifies special consideration from the government gov-ernment in an effort to bring prosperity . back to the J'armeis. Farmers are not alone in making thi.s suggestion. The former Secretary of Labor Davis, now Kepublican Senator from Pennsylvania, in a recent address emphasized the peculiar condition of the farmers which justified special consideration. Ik-said: Ik-said: "If the farmer's taxes could be reduced, and they should be decreased, de-creased, he would be In a position to more completely equip his farm and keep In full repair his buildings build-ings and barns. And, by a reduction re-duction in taxes, the difference could be used to increase the farmer's purchasing power, and when the purchasing power of thr. farmer, who constitutes the Nation's Na-tion's greatest consuming power, is improved it enhances an economic eco-nomic asset wliich is reflected i;. the manufacturing centers that must supply the comforts ant: necessities of life desired by tiu farmer, his household, and his dependents. Emphasizing the assertion that his plea for reduction of the farmer's tax burden should not bi construed as a proposal for "class legislation" Senator Davis said: "I am not unmindful of the tax load borne by the city dweller but I am constrained to believe that whenever his tax burden is in creased It is the fault of his cit government, which may be ex pending vast sums of money fo: municipal comforts and expansioi programs, the scope of which i: far larger than reasonable limitations limi-tations of tax-paying ability of it citizenry. Quite often, however, excessive tax burdens carried by city dwellers can be blamed the inefficiency, wastefulness, r carelessness of the administrators of the municipality, in their l penditures of public funds. "The fanner's problem is quite the reverse. Day in and day out he battles with the elements t wrest a living from the soil. He must haunted by the fear of sucl den and serious toil for long houi-j under a blazing sun, ever climatic changes, and the invasion of crop destroying pests. Few other fields of production activities, or business busi-ness endeavor carry with them such risk of uncertainly cn return re-turn for Investment and labor, as do agricultural pursuits. "For Instance, if a drought seizes a countryside in its ruthless ruth-less grip, the crops are damaged or detroyed, and, as a result, th farmer's revenue for his harvest returns, if any, Is either seriously curtailed, or totally eliminated, If. on the other ' hand he has ; bountiful harvest, he may find this condition prevailing generally through the agricultural regions, resulting in glutted markets and ruinous prices for his products. "It is my contention, therefore, that those who assess and compute com-pute tax rates for the farmers should never fail to bear his problems prob-lems in mind, for I repeat," wher the farmers prosper, he quickly shares his prosperity with th nation at large. The city dweller, dwell-er, as well as industry, commerce and transportation, profits thrc the business activities engendered by prosperous farmers, who spend freely for the purchase of cloth lng, furniture, shoes, machinery, radios, automobiles and so forth." |