The Mercedes News (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 63, Ed. 1 Friday, June 29, 1928 Page: 4 of 12
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Page 4
THE MERCEDES NEWS, FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1928
THE MERCEDES NEWS
SEMI-WEEKLY
Published each Tuesday and Friday morning at Mercedes,
Texas, in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, by the United
Printing Company, Inc.
SUBSCRIPTION: $2 per year in Hidalgo county; $3.50
per year elsewhere.
ADVERTISING RATES: Classified, full information on
classified page. Display rate? ^.pon request.
TELEPHONE 65 for news, advertising or job printing.
Entered as second class mail matter at the postoffice
at Mercedes, Hidalgo county, Texas.
THE KEYNOTE OF THE CAMPAIGN
In this issue we print in full the keynote
speech of the Democratic convention by Claude
Bowers of the New York World. It will be of
great interest to all our readers, especially the
farmers. It is a ringing call to arms for the en-
listment of all men and women who wish to give
the farmer an equal chance. It commits the
Democratic party to the cause of the farmer, as
the outstanding issue of this campaign.
The climax of his speech, and the outstanding
and most significant incident of the convention,
to be compared only with the incident of the
“Cross of Gold” speech of Mr. Bryan, was the
demonstration that followed his “demand that
the hand of privilege shall be taken out of the
farmer’s pockets and off the farmer’s throat.”
Reviewing the facts—that millions of farms
have been abandoned in this country; that with-
in the year two million men have been driven
from farms by economic necessity; that “the
hammer of the auctioneer knocking down farm-
lands has, sounded like the continuous bombard-
ment of a major battle”; that in five years of
the present administration there has been a de-
preciation in the value of farm lands and equip-
ment of thirty billion dollars; that the farmer
who for sixty years was on an equality with
every other industry is now “but a hewer of
wood and a drawer of water,” and that agricul-
ture as the great basic industry of the country
is faced with bankruptcy, he makes clear the
real issue of this campaign and says “The call
that comes to us is as sacred as the cause of
humanity itself,” and “We propose to tear down
the system of privilege and put the farmer on a
basis of absolutely equality with every other in-
dustry.”
This great cause of the farmers, and the issue
of honesty in office, he finds of such importance
that other issues have little place for discussion
in his keynote speech.
form brand, it has broadened the market and
will command premium prices. Its membership
will, and deserves to, increase very materially
and the volume of business should be very large-
ly enhanced.
It behooves, then, every Valley farmer to con-
sider very carefully the question of joining the
Exchange. In its success lies his future pros-
perity. If it should fail, he would have received
a blow from which he will not soon recover. It
has already been proved conclusively, that in
cooperative marketing is the key to agricultural
prosperity and the happiness and contentment
of every Valley producer.
SURVEYS FOR PROPAGANDA
We are informed, on what appears to be good
authority, that H. Kenneth Smith, formerly of
the U. S. reclamation service, has started a sur-
vey of the Rio Grande from Laredo to Eagle
Pass with a view of locating possible sites for
the dam which has been agitated by land agents
for several months. Mr. Smith, it is explained,
is to make this survey to relieve the interna-
tional water commission of the arduous task of
inspecting every foot of the river in that sector.
The fact that the Rio Grande Valley does not
want this dam, has no need for it and would re-
gard such a structure as a menace, does not
seem to deter the agitators from keeping the
project constantly before the public. Thus, there
is always the menace of a tremendously expand-
ed irrigated area, to depress the price of lands
already under irrigation and to depress the
prices of commodities grown on these lands be-
cause of the overproduction that would be in-
evitable if the plans mature.
Even though there is small prospect for the
dam project succeeding, we might as well re-
sign ourselves to the fact that its proponents
are going to keep it agitated day in and day out,
regardless of the damage this agitation does to
Valley interests,. Agitation costs very little and
the professional agitators who are employed to
produce propaganda wish to keep their jobs.
The columns of newspapers, to1 some extent, are
open to them. Thus* we have surveys to be fol-
lowed by other surveys—meetings of the inter-
national water commission to he followed by
other meetings.-
We should be delighted if the members of the
international water commission would disband
and each member address himself to; the prac-
tice of his profession'. But there is? small! likeli-
hood of that. The dam agitators beat the drums
ACTING AS IF IT’S A CANNON CRACKER
D'VA REALLY
TW\MK THAT'S
60M TO CREATE
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. , . ,, w at Washington and the bureaucrats of the recla-
In season and out, on every occasmn, the Mer- ^ ^ chance to spend Jome
cedes News has made this same contention, has
urged the leaders of the Democratic party to
take up the cause of the farmer, has contended
that no other issue is of any importance as com-
pared to that of the condition of the farmer, and
called for the laying aside of all differences and!
disputes on other matters, and uniting of all fac-
tions in support of a campaign for farm relief
and for honesty in office. This keynote speech
is a confirmation of all the Mercedes News has
expressed, and is what we have been urging for
months.
A CAPABLE SALES ORGANIZATION
In renewing the contract with the California
Vegetable Union for the sale of the commodities
grown and packed by its members, the Rio
Grande Valley Vegetable Growers Exchange, we
believe, took a wise step. This sales organiza-
tion has had so many years experience in the dis-
tribution of perishable vegetables, is so capably
officered and is so firm financially that it al-
ready has been of incalculable benefit to the
farmers of the Valley.
Furthermore, the California Vegetable Union
has so many representatives in so many cities,
that it can avoid, to such a degree as is humanly
possible, the glutted markets and place our com
modities in cities where a real demand exists.
For this reason it avoids ruinous shipments and
brings to the grower a better return than is pos-
sible when shipments are confined to a relatively
few, even if very large, markets.
Members of the Exchange, also, have come to
have a very great confidence in and respect for
Frank Hall, sales manager of the Valley office
of the Union. Mr. Hall has proved to be not
only a good executive, but his counsel has been
of value in the packing process. He assist-
ed very materially in the preparation of the
planting program which recently was sent to all
members of the Exchange .and through publica-
tion in newspapers became available to all ot tne
farmers of the Valley.
Through the work and guidance of the Union,
the Exchange, from the outset, has been a suc-
and has achieved remarkable results not
for its members, but for every Valley
farmer. By adhering to a uniform and attrac-
tive pack it has forced other shippers to do the
same thing. By commanding the highest mar-
ket price, it has forced cash buyers to pay more
than they otherwise would have paid.
Bv profiting by its experience during the past
season, the Exchange will have an even more
government money. Therefore we? have' the
constant succession ofi surveys with? attendant
publicity. And in the' meantime tM Valley
farmer is wondering whether his land is; gpiing
to be worth anything or not and whether,, in a
few years, he can realize anything oni tie; prodl-
uct of this land.
As a publicity enterprise;, the survey now’ un-
der1 progress probably will1 be very fruitful-
otherwise it is merely an opportunity for' some
one to spend some money without return:
Facts About Investments
By W. S, COUSINS, INS Financial Editor
New York.—Through the adjusttaensts’ and; “correc-
tions’7 in the stock market which accompany a' serious
crash In polices are usually beneficial to the technical
position of the market, they are generally disastrous to-
the poeketbooks of thousands of small; traders through-
out the country. Investors in high grade stocks db not
feet the sting of landslides in security valuas, though; at
times they become “loaded up" with high'grade'stocks
at prices which may not recur for a year or two.
Many of the small traders in stocks have, since the
first part of June, witnessed the crumbling away of equi-
ties' in. paper profits and the dashing of their hopes and
dreams of easy money. In many cases slender'margins
have* been irreparably wiped out, and with them the
wherewithal to continue the fight for the regaining of
lost fortunes* This is nothing new in the ■ speculative-
game;. but St is apparently a lesson not printed5 in the*
book, but available to most people only through the
school of experience.
Those who have followed this series of articles with
any degree of regularity in recent months will remem-
ber that it repeatedly urged and advised stock traders
to consider;, first and foremost, the earning power of the
| corporations behind the stocks they contemplated! pur-
chasing; and the relation thereof to the selling prices of
the stocks: Frequently compilations of current ; earning
capacity of the. steel, motor car, railroad, copper and
other corporations, were presented in an effort to aid in
COLLAPSE OF A BUBBLE
TRere are indications that the proponents of ! the selection of both speculative and investment stocks,
cess
alone
the four county navigation district have* about
concluded to abandon that project. In* reality
there was no other course they could pursue in.
view of the widespread opposition of Hidalgo
county to inclusion in it. Indeed, this? county
ha.R made its opinion plainly frit from the; day if
began to comprehend the nature of the plan.
The fact that we have asserted our opposition
to this method of financing a port at Point Isa-
bel, however, does not mean that we have not a
lively interest in the Harlingen port. We should:
lend every moral support tte» that very worthy
enterprise which has been conducted in the open,
without pretense and best of all, without at-
tempting to seduce other communities into
financing a movement which is distinctly a Har-
lingen affair. We may become involve! in it—
that is, we may find it advisable to extend navig-
able water from Harlingen to Mercedes—and
with this in mind we should conserve our own
resources against the time that we; may need
Now, Brownsville is talking about building its
own ship channel from the gulf to the city. That
is the manly way to talk* We should all rejoice
if our neighbor, in a spirit of enterprise, should
consummate such an engineering feat with her
own resources. It would be a laudable thing to
do and would add to the prestige and commerce
of the Valley, just as the Harlingen port will do.
But we cannot forget the Arroyo project is near
to us. We would be good customers of a port at
Harlingen until we should have built one for our-
selves In a very real sense the Harlingen port
is ours, while the Point Isabel and Brownsville
ports would not be ours because we are too far
away to use them.
The lesson to be learned from the collapse of
the four county navigation district is that it is
no longer possible to declaim about the merits
| and: f bv: the- mast part no encouragement was • given' to*
S participation' I® the activities of the pool-driven “mys-
tery stocks” about which little was known and therefore
could be said.
When; at the height of bullish enthusiasm, a few; of
| the speculative leaders endeavored to show that good
' gtocks were worth from fifteen to twenty times cur-
rent annual net earnings, we attempted to point out the
fallacy ©f such reasoning. Wherever a ratio; ofi:' more
than twelve-to-one in this very interesting equation: ap-
pears, ife means that either the market is generous in its
rating, or that there are other factors than plain cur-
rent earnings bearing on the case. If it were definitely
known* for example, that a eomporation now earning $10
a share* would1 have contracts and equipment sufficient to
make practically certain an income of $20 a share: next
year, if would be absurd to rate its stock on* the $10
basis* On the other hand, where there is a reasonable
certainty of decline in prices in the second half; of the
year (which is always true of the important motor car
industry) it is equally unwise to calculate earnings and
prices at twice the first half-year’s results..
A number of the oil and textile companies, which re-
turned satisfactory net earnings in the first half of
1927, for example, finished the year with; deficits, even
after wiping out the dividends to common, stockholders.
This was one of the greatest reversals in peacetime in-
dustrial history, and reflected nothing more than the un-
covering of a half a dozen crude oil gushers in various
sections of the country. Obviously, calculations of stock
prices made on the strength of the first half-year s earn-
ings would have been far afield.
Some of the bull leaders attempted to effect a general
acceptance of the theory that industrial stocks should sell
at fifteen times their annual earnings. This, however,
was not acceptable to skilled economists who have given
the matter very careful consideration, nor should it find!
acceptance with conservative buyers of industrial stocks.-
The theory belongs in the junk heap with most of the*
wild “new era” bunk propagated by bull leaders in the;
stock market as they were approaching the time for the'
usual unloading of speculative shares on the general
public.
Unless conditions change materially in the next few
years, and money becomes a drug on the market, there is
little' likelihood of a fifteen-to-one ratio of stock prices
to annual earnings being established. Ten-to-one earn--
ings ratio,, of which' sixty per cent goes in cash to stock-
holders and* 40 per cent is returned to corporation sur-
plus, must still be considered the safest and most feas-
ible yardstick for measuring stock values. On this basis
stock of a corporation that can earn $10 a share and pay
$6 a: share annually, is- worth $100 a share, no more, no *
less. Where there is perfect assurance, or at lease a
very good prospect of an, increase to $15 a share in net
earnings next year, the stock is worth more.
German Likes America
London:—(INS)—.Emil Ludwig, eminent German biogra-
pher, has returned to Europe filled with profound respect
for America and an “immense” liking for Yankees.
In an interview with’ the; Sunday Express, Ludwig ex-
ploded a few pet fallacies, the English like to believe
about America and. Americans* In particular he ridi-
culed the idea that Americans worship money and that
they have* no. sense* of hum®.
“Money as a driving force in. human affairs is unim-
portant only ini the new Russia,’* he said. “Since Ameri-
cans are saturated with money, they no longer find it
necessary to adore it.
‘It was among the richest and most powerful on the
o+her side that I found the: most modesty, the most re-
straint in, eating and! drinking,,, in dress and deportment.
The sensible type is no. more responsible for the few who
glory in their palaces than, we are for the 3,000 or 6 000
idlers who parade in Nice,, Baden or Ostend and cherish
the illusion that they constitute European ‘society/
“There are no idlers in America at all. Money is not
the god of the ambitious. Their god is success.
“The world of today wants fewer dreams and riiore
facts, less art and more health, fewer problems and
more happiness.”’
Many foreign observers of Americans are accustomed
to say that Americans, take bath work and play too seri-
ously. Ludwig* found, the opposite to be the case.
“America has more humor than we,” he said, “and that
is the best of all about the country. We too have wit
and spirituality but we take ourselves terribly seriously,
much more seriously than we ought to in the light of
our ironic history.”'
Ludwig said happiness was not a matter of country
but he believed there were more satisfied people in the
United States than in Europe.
“Europe has little reason,” he said, “to criticize a
country that, despite all its inconsistencies, towers above
us because it is united, sensible and wealthy. In ordi-
nary civil life we call this envy. Any man or nation
that succeeds must learn how to endure it.”
Summing up, Ludwig declared:
“Europe seems to me like a ship carrying too much
ballast for speed; America is a mast motorboat, new,
dazzling, fast, because it carries so little excess ballast.”
Qiipcessful year next season. It knows better no longer possioie to aecnum
bnw to conduct its various sheds and how to deal ot the Valley and in the atmosphere thus created
finance and cannot be beguiled into senseless al-
truism by an appeal to Valley loyalty. There are
no more loyal people in the Valley than those of
Hidalgo county. But they are expressing their
loyalty by building up their own farms and cities
and making their own acres more habitable and
more profitable.
We hope Point Isabel gets a port. We hope
Brownsville gets a port. But we are sure that
whatever they get they will have to pay for, just
as we will have to pay for a port at Mercedes
when the time comes that we need one.
PERSIA TO DROP BAN
Bagdad—(INS)—An obstacle to the Iraq-India air line
will be removed as soon as Persia withdraws the ban on
British aeroplanes on the eastern service flying over
Persia territory.
Soviet diplomats who negotiated a secret understand-
ing between Teheran and Moscow are said to be respon*
sible for this and other irritating features in Anglo-
Persian relations, which British observers are on the
way to becoming normal in consequence of a treaty now
being negotiated between Teheran and Downing Street.
Persia’s more conciliatory attitude is taken as a rebuff
to Soviet diplomats and a tribute to the skillful negotia-
tions of Sir Robert Clive, British minister to Teheran
since 1926,
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The Mercedes News (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 63, Ed. 1 Friday, June 29, 1928, newspaper, June 29, 1928; Mercedes, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth651662/m1/4/?q=%22~1%22~1&rotate=90: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.