Vagabond Editorials

(Continued from Page 6) this earth, except to conduct wars; and we still have all our unemployed; and in addition we now face a tax bill that generations yet unborn will have to stagger under. What can we do about it?

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Well, we might, for the first time, ear-mark all Government gifts and loans for the express, direct, and inescapable purpose of putting people to work. Take the farmers, for instance. It seems that we have definitely concluded that helping the farmer must become a permanent policy with this nation. The new farm relief law just passed so de. clares. We have abolished the law of Supply and Demand so far as agriculture is concerned. No longer shall the tiller of the soil have to depend on raising and selling crops to make a living. He shall be paid for what he does NOT raise, just as he has been paid for two years for NOT raising crops, for plowing under crops, for destroying food, animals, etc.

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The wisdom, or the lack thereof, of such a policy, I shall not attempt to discuss here. Apparently we are going to continue it, so why not take that for granted and see if there isn't some way to get some help o'ut of it? There are six million farms in this country. All of them have worked short-handed for years past, first because they had no money to pay help; second because the deliberate curtailing of crops made less help necessary. My humble opinion is that the farm curtailment problem has done more to create and continue unemployment than any other one conceivable thing. That men who plant and work only part of their land need less help, requires no supporting argument. Everyone knows that in the South the farm curtailment policy took countless tenant farmers from the country and moved them into the city-on the bread lines. *rf*

But, instead of saying to these six million farmers, "Here is Government cash for NOT planting," we might say to them, "Here is Government cash, but to get it you must put at least one man to work on each farm," think what that would mean. At least six million men would go to work, AND THERE AREN'T

SIX MILLION EMPLOYABLE MEN ON THE UNEMPLOYMENT ROLLS.

Such a program would wipe out all genuine unemployment, the additional help would produce enough to pay for their keep, the hopeless folly of the philosophy of scarcity would be reversed, and the unemployed would be employed at something REAL, namely, producing the necessities of life for a needy world.

Business generally ,, ;n:";g by leaps and bounds; but it is making little inroad on the unemployment situation. It may improve tremendously in the next six months; I think it wiil. But it still will only scratch the surface of unemployment, because the unemployed didn't come from that direction. The six millions of farms that are operating with a minimum of help have done more to build up the unemployment rolls than have curtailed mills and factories; and those same farms can solve the problem when they go back to a full time and full man basis.

,fx<*

A few million acres of idle farm land means a few million unemployed men. The planners haven't thought of that. They seem to think that cutting down the farms is a smart trick. That it cuts down the market of farm things, cuts dourn ernployment, and cuts down our normal balance between the farmer and his market, are things apparently not considered. I believe in helping the farmer. But I don't believe in paying any living man for NOT doing things. ff we don't get out of this NOT line of thinking we are going to have a permanent army of about twenty million people ON THE DOLE.

Bonus Payments By Countier

For California, the Congressional Record for January

1936, lists compensation payments of a total of $122,833,011.86 to 2N,424 certificate holders divided among the various counties as follows:

Bailey \Tickersham

Bailey Wickersham, l8-year-old son of W. B. Wickersham, district manager of the Chas. R. McCormick Lumber Co. at Los Angeles, passed away on March 4 after a brief illness following an operation. IIe was born in Los Angeles and was a senior at the Los Angeles high school. He was active in the Boy Scout movement, and in church work; being a member of the Friends Church.

He is survived by his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Wickersham. Funeral services were held at Los Angeles Friday afternoon, March 6, and were largely attended, many lumbermen being present.

East Bay Hoo Hoo to Meet March 16

Don Walker, of the Boeing School of Aeronautics, will be the principal speaker at the monthly dinner meeting of East Bay Hoo Hoo Club No. 39 to be held at the Athens Athletic Club, Oakland, Monday evening, March 16, at 6:39 p.m. Mr. Walker's subject will be "High Lights in the Development of Aviation."

Prof. Emanuel Fritz will give a short talk on ,,Applying Drying Principles to Air Seasoning."