The Cedartown standard. (Cedartown, Ga.) 1889-1946, July 27, 1922, Image 1

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.TTTT^^V-. J ---• Volume 36. Cedartown, Georgia, Thursday, July 27th, 1922. Number 27 ( SPEECH OF SENATOR W. J. HARRIS Delivered Before the General Assembly of Georgia on Tuesday. Senator^W. J. Harris was given a great ovation Tuesday when he de livered an admirable address before the General Assembly of Gorgin. It is so full of vital information that we are presenting it to our readers. Senator Harris’ Address. It is an honor to address the Gen eral Assembly of Georgia, and I am' 1 grateful for the privilege. As a mem ber of this body I began my public service, and because of the friends a- mong the members, many of whom were life long, it was the most agree able work of my public career. As this is the first opportunity to address you since I entered the Unit ed States Senate on March 4, 1919, I shall speak only of my efforts in be half of legislation and measures di rectly and vitally affecting all of the people of Georgia, as you are familiar with my record on national questions. I shall not make excuses for what I have failed to do because of a Repub lican Administration, but will relate to you what I have in my humble way accomplished in spite of these obstac les. I shall be disappointed if the re sults of my efforts have not been felt by those who must labor to support their families. In all matters I have had the active and helpful co-operation of the Sen ators and Representatives from Geor gia with whom I have served. My relations with them have been cordial, which enables us better to serve our people. In the organization of the State, I am a member of the Committees on Appropriations,Immigration and Ter ritories and Insular Possessions, and the Vice President has this session ap pointed me on three special commit tees. Under the present budget lows and a change in the Senate rules, all appropriation bills are now framed by one Appropriations Committee, mak ing it the most important in Congress. I am assigned to the following Ap propriation sub-committees, w'hich directly touch our people: Depart ment of Agriulture; Department of Commerce and Labor; Department of Interior; Post Office Department, in cluding good roads; War Department, including rivers and harborB,and Leg islative Establishment. These sub committees handle three-fourths of the billions Congress appropriates. Of the twelve members of the Com mittee I am on more sub-committees than any other Senator, except one who has the same number. It has not been many years since a few small New England States dom inated Congress. Senator Aldrich,of Rhode Island, was chairman of the Finance Committee; Senator Frye, of Maine, Chairman of the Commerce Committee; Senator Hale, of Maine, Chairman of the Naval Affairs Com mittee; Mr. Dingley, of Maine, Chair man of the Ways and Means Commit tee in the House. Thomas B. Reed was Speaker,arid many other able men from that section were in high positions. These men were not orators and did not make long speeches, but they were the most influential men in Congress. They honestly believed in a high tariff for manufacturers of their section, but they could not un derstand the great injustice this did to those engaged in agriculture, who had to pay high prices for everything they bought and received no protec tion on the products of the farm which they sold. The New England States years ago realized the importance of continuing their Senators and Congressmen un til they could become Chairmen of Committes or ranking members, as a new Senator starts-at the bottom of Committees. Senator Carter Glass, a very able man, who had been in Con gress twenty years and Secretary of the Treasury, came to the Senate shortly after my term began,and had to go to the foot on committees. Al though I was a new member,I was se nior to Senator Glass on the Approp riations Committee, and will continue to advance on the committee as other Senators above me retire. A ranking Senator on committees has more in fluence than others less fortunate, as most of the legislation is framed in committees and relatively few chan ges in their recommendations are made when the bill is before the Sen ate. As Georgia receives more appropria tions than any State in the South, my position on the Committee is very im portant. Within a year after my term began in the Senate, I visited J every place in Gorgia which receives special appropriations from the Gov ernment, among them the river and harbor work of the const cities,Snvnn- nah, Brunswick, Darien and St. Marys; Fort Benning at Columbus, Fort McPherson, the Federal Prison, and the Public Health Hospital at At lanta, and the Arsenal at Augusta. Georgia is one of the foremost ag ricultural states. The wealth of the country is created principally by the farmers. When they cannot sell their products at a profit all lines of busi ness suffer. Every section of our country is dependent upon the other. That is the situation which brought into existence the so-called “agricul tural bloc” in the U. S. Senate, with which I have been actively identified since its organization. It is compos ed of members of the Senate, Repub licans and Democrats, who are spec ially interested in legislation that will | help agricuture. Since the boll wee vil has seriously interfered with the j production of cotton, it has been j necessary for our farmers to raise other crops. Our marketing system of agricultural products is obsolete and docs not meet present conditions. The trouble is due largely to our lack of storage and marketing facilities, unreasonable freight rates, the high rates of interest and insurance. Crit icism, unless constructive, is worse than useless. Legislation alone will not remedy everything, but in order to overcome some of the difficulties mentioned, I introduced measures a- mending the Federal Warehouse Act i Hearn Academy. Oldest School of Its Kind in the South. Established 1838. Stands for Christian Education. Offers, in addition to Standard Four- Year High Schhol Course, work in Bible, Book - Keeping, Stenography. Typewriting and Music. This season a course in Public Speaking. Every Faculty Member a College Graduate. Athletics directed by an A-l Coach. For further information, write IRA D. HARRIS, President, Cave Spring, Ga. and Federal Reserve System Act, that will in my opinion be most helpful v he farmers and merchants and do much towards remedying the defects ? n our system. If all farm products are marketed ns soon as harvested, the price invariably goes down below the cost of production. It is essential that part of the surplus crop be held in storage in barns or warehouses. If products are shipped in less thnn car load lots the freight rates are so high that it takes all the profit. By co operation the farmers can proven; this loss. A warehouse with Federal license gives them lower insurance and interest rates. These warehouse receipts can be used to borrow money at low rates of interest. The Federal Reserve Banks give preference in re discounting paper to loans secured on products in Federal warehouses. The eight amendments to the Fed eral Warehouse Act in a bill offered by me have been ngreed to by theSen- ate, and the legislation is pending in the House. It is proposed to broaden the present law, which only allows cotton and tobacco stored in these warehouses, so as to permit the stor age of any agricultural product des ignated by the Secretary of Agricul ture such as cottonseed, peanuts, pe cans, syrup, and other products now excluded. The Federal Reserve Banks make loans to small member banks at the same rate of interest as the large city banks. About half the State banks of Georgia are not eligible to join the Federal Reserve System,because they have capital of less than $25,000. To remody this I introduced a bill and it passed the Senate, which allows the small banks in Georgia to join pro vided they will Increase their capital stock annually an amount equal to 20 per cent of the annual net earnings until the capital meets the present re quirements. This will strengthen the system and give the banks more cap ital to accommodate their customers. I am a firm supporter of the splen did Federal Reserve System. It was created by a Democratic Congress,on the recommendation of a Democratic President, who realized that the old banking system supported by the Re publican Party was a Wall Street sys tem. Except for this change we would have had a panic in this coun try before and during the war which would have shocked the world’s fin ancial foundation. Senator Owen and I were the first Senators to pro test and direct attention to the ruin ous deflation policy of the Federal Re serve Board. That policy destroyed values in agriculture and commerce amounting to billions through their unnecessary advance of discount rates and restriction of credit, mak ing it unprofitable or impossible for banks to extend credit to the legiti mate business industries of the coun try. I introduced bills amending the Federal Reserve Act in reducing the interest rates,making the same in all Reserve banks; allowing loans on ag ricultural paper for twelve months instead of five under the present law, and requiring the consent of Con gress to the erection of Reserve Bank buildings above $260,000. The Republicans defeated the first three, but the Senate parsed the last one. While we were fighting for lower dis count rates the Federal Reserve Bank building under construction in New York cost over $20,000,000 —more thnn any two Government buildings in Washington. Such extravagance was inexcusable at any time, espec ially when they were charging high discount rates. The discount rate in the New York bank is 4 per cent to day, while the bank in Atlanta and other agricultural sections must pay 4 1-2 per cent.* There is no reason for this discrimination. Two bills introduced by me to make more accurate cotton produc tion estimates and reduce speculating and gambling in cotton have passed the Senate, and a third is pending with a favorable committee recom mendation. The first would cause the Census Bureau to gather esti mates from the ginners of the a- mount of cotton remaining, in the field to be ginned at the same time they collect statistics on the amount actually ginned. The second bill di rects the Department of Agriculture to publish their estimates on the cur rent cotton crop at the same time the Census Bureau announces their gin ning figures of the amount of cotton actually ginned. All of these reports, announced on the same dates, wouldr provide a better estimate for the total crop for the year than at present. These figures are vital factors in the market price, and their accuracy will deter the Wall Street gamblers from manipulating the market. A third bill, which has the approval of Sec- INFORMATION MUNDY IS VICTOR In House for Biennial Sessions Bill. For—143; against—38. That was the way the vote stood Thursday in the House of Represen tatives on the bill of Hon. W. W. Mundy to have the Georgia Legisla ture meet every two years instead of annually. If the Senate will have the wisdom to follow the lead of the House in this matter, the State of Georgia will be saved many thousands of dollars a year, and taken in conjunction with Mr. Mundy’s bill for the budget sys tem passed last week, will put the tax payers of Georgia undorg great and lasting obligations to him for his con structive and efficient work. Mr. Mundy led the debate on the bill, and in his masterly address poin ted out that some of the matters which used to consume much of the Legislature’s time had now been tak en out of their hands and vested in the people —the election of United States Senators, and of Judges and Solicitors. He said: “Annual sessions of the legislature have multiplied our laws until nobody can understand them. They disturb the tranquility of business every year year when business ought to be left alone. They cost the state about $125,000 a year, which ought to be saved. The expenses of the state are mounting enormously. The burden of taxation is almost more than our Ppoplc can bear. We hear the de mand for economy on every hand,and we profess to be in favor of econmy. The greatest economy that could pos sibly be put into ecect would be to do away with annual sessions and meet every two years.” Only five States in the Union have held on the old annuul session plan, said Mr. Mundy; one State has a ses sion every four years, and forty-two have the biennial sessions thnt he ad vocates. Mr. Mundy is one of the recognized leaders of tho House, and his earn est and successful championship of such meritorious measures shows that the confidence of the people has not been misplaced. A BIG SINGING NO END IN SITE In Great Coal and Rail Strikes. The great coal strike is forcing a shut-down of manufacturing plants all over the country, nnd two of our local factories—the Paper Products. Co. and Blue Spring Dyeing & Fin ishing Co.—hnd to suspend yester day on nccount of the coal shortage. President Lewis, of the United Mine Workers, insists on n national settlement, while the operators want agreements with local conditions con sidered. President Harding has ordered troops to guard mines, hut the union miners have not broken ranks. Tho Interstate Commerce Commission will direct the movements of coal from non-union mines nnd will try to pre vent profiteering. In the Shopmen’s strike, it seems thnt nil other questions can ho set tled easily except that of seniority. Those roads that employed men to take the places of the strikers feel in honor bound to retain them, but tho men who walked out insist on getting their old places back. This docs not enter into conditions hero, as tho- j Central will hold the jobs open for I the men just ns long ns it possibly j Mnny of the roads have tilled vn- | fancies in the shops, but are begin ning to feel the coni shortage. RADIO OUTFIT Being Installed by the Club. The radio outfit being installed by the Cedartown Club will prove a very popular attraction there. The proximity of the Telephone Exchange interferes ns yet with ils complete success, but it is expected that this condition will be overcome in n few days. The Club is giving the public the benefit of city concerts these evenings by opening the windows for the mag- nn vox, nnd this is both njoyed and appreciated. Maj. Hunter Harris TRANSFERRED TO ATLANTA AS RECRUITING OFFICER. RAILROADS PASS ON LESS THAN HALF OF WAGE REDUC TIONS TO PUBLIC. Since 1920 wages of railroad em ployes have been reduced to the tune of $1,000,000,000, the operating ex penses of the rnilroads havd been re duced by over $1,500,000,000, but they have reduced rates to the tune of less than $450,000,000. The own ers are asking the employes to make sacrifices for their profits, not for the benefit of the public. In 1920 by Decision No. 2, the Railroad Labor Board increased the wages of railroad employes to the ex tent of about $000,000,000 per year. The Interstate Commerce Commis sion increased railroad rates to the extent of this amount nnd a billion dollars additional, making a total in crease to the railroads of $1,600,000,- 000 per year. Since 1920 the railroad employes have seen their earnings reduced by Decisions 147, 222, 501, 630, 707, 725, 1028, 1036 and 1074, and also by unemployment. The total amount 1 of these reductions shown on an an nual basis is as follows: Amount Taken Away Since 1920. Shop Crafts $371,817,990 Maintenance of Ways, etc. __ 315,803,835 Clerks and Station Em ployes, etc. 140,000.147 Signalmen 10,373,108 Stationary Firemen and Oil- ers 2,145,235 Other Railroad Employes 90,352,490 Total Loss to Employes $943,191,871 Including the unemployment a- mong other classes not noted speci fically, the total wages of railroad employes have been reduced $1,000,- 000,000 since 1020. Compare this with the total reduc tion in ruilroud revenue through rate reductions, which to date total less thnn $450,000,000. r E31ici employes have been called upon to give up more than twice as much as the rail- roafls. As a matter of fact, the railroads have also secured additional reduc tion in their expenses to extent of more than $500,000,000 ns the result of reductions in the price of supplies. Altogether then the railroads have secured savings totaling over one and u half billion dollars since 1920, nnd have given back to the public in re duced rates less thnn one-third of that sum. FEDERATED SHOP CRAFTS C. OF GA. AdvertiHement. Notice to Teachers. Examination will be held August 4th and 5th. It will be at the new High School building, and will begin at 8.30 on Friday morning. Rending course examinations will be on Aug. 5th. The colored teachers will meet at the colored public school building. WM. JANES, C S. S. retary Hooper of the Department of Commerce, provides a world census to determine the amount of low grade cotton on hand, which is supposed to be large and depressing the price. It would include the number of bales of cotton tendernble under the law on Sept. 1st, Dec. 1st and March 1st of each year for the whole world, in stead of reports for only the United States under the present law. Last year the cotton crop estimate of the Agricultural Department was $6,500,000 hales. Before the season wns half over, the Census Bureau’s report of cotton ginned was to be is sued, and on account of the unusual warm dry weather most of the cot ton was ginned, and the report would show three-fourths of the estimated crop ginned. The gamblers had ex pected to run down the price of cot ton on this report. I presented the matter to < the Secretary of Agricul ture, and urged both Departments to issue a statement with the ginners’ report informing the public that more of the cotton crop had been ginned earlier than ever before, showing their first estimate of a small crop was correct. This was the first time either Department ever issued a statement of this kind, and it is said it kept the cotton speculators from depressing the price of cotton at the time. Until I changed the Census Bureau reports of cotton ginned while Direc tor, and separated the linters from cotton, the reports always showed more cotton on hand than was cor rect. (To be Continued) The Polk County Singing Conven tion, with President S II. Lewis in the chair, held the biggest and best “songfest” in its history Sunday,and good singers came from all parts of Polk and adjoining counties. Judge John W. Davis of Rome, Hon. S. W. Ragsdale of Dallas, Hon. Thos. A. Hutcheson of Buchannn, nnd other notable song leaders were there, and everyone enjoyed the occasion to the fullest extent. The convention was held at the Court House, and it was voted to meet there again next year. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year:— Prest.—B. F. Weaver. Vice Prest.—Wm. Waddell. Sec. and Treas.—A. L. Weaver. Buy it in Cedartown. It will be good news to the many Cedartown friends of Maj. Hunter Harris here in his old home town t© know that he js getting nearer home. He has been -transferred from the Los Angeles district by the War De partment to Atlanta, where he has been assigned to duty as city recruitr ing officer. Rubber Tires. Best Goodyear Wing Rubber Tires put on your buggy for $11. Work guaranteed. A. L. WEAVER, Rfd 8. at Sutton’s Mill. Judge Ben. H. Hill, of Atlantn, one of the Justices of the Court of Ap peals and one of Georgia’s ablest jurists, died lest week. Judge R. D. Bell, of Cairo, has been appointed to succeed him. SEVENTH DISTRICT A. & M. SCHOOL Reasons for Attending This School: 1. Large, commodious buildings on 240- acre farm. - 2. Electric lights; good water from 300 foot bored well. 3. Hot and cold water; sanitary sewerage system. 4. There were 300 students last year; 41 graduates; 28 received first grade teacher’s li cense. 5. Course of study includes English, His tory, Geometry, Algebra, Literature, Physics, Chemistry, Agriculture, Domestic Science, Do mestic Art, Teacher Training, Piano, Voice. We give 16 units’credit. 6. The moral and spiritual side is not neg lected. A Christian faculty lives with the stu dents. 7. Tuition is free. Boaid, lights and fuel, $12 a month. Send for catalog. Address, H. R. HUNT, Principal, Powder Springs, Ga.