La Grange Journal (La Grange, Tex.), Vol. 46, No. 17, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 23, 1925 Page: 1 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Fayette County Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Fayette Public Library, Museum and Archives.
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• Opposite Masonic Building. Published Every Thursday Moruing and Entered at the Post Office as Second-Class Matter
By B. F. Harigel
Democratic in Principle and a Worker For LaGrange and Fayette County
Volume 46
LaGrange, Fayette County, Texas, Thursday, April 23, 1925
$2.00 Per Year
Number 17
THINGS IN GENERAL
Remarks by the Editor
Drouth conditions prevailing at this time
may have a tendency to create that feeling of
unrest—relative to the crop outcome only—that,
seems to be shown so much here of late. This
will serve as a charitable acceptance of opinion,
but it shall prevail, it would never do to en-
courage the idea that because we have a delayed
season, very little rain, and little growing, that
farming has lost all of its charm. Yet, it is dis-
couraging, much as we would like to paint it
otherwise. As one farmer recently said: “This
is going to be my last year on the farm. I am
still standing where I have stood for the past
ten years. What I have made in good years, I
have been compelled to use the following years.”
Which may mean that every year has not
brought to this man the proper fruits of his
labors. He was not a man who had joined a
farmers^olitical organization, hence that left
nothing to build upon. But he was thrifty, he
was honest and he was diligent. A new pic-
ture, one that has not been cited in these col-
umns before, a picture that tells a story quite
different from that which is so often told by
those who would have you hear what a farmer
should do, and what he should have, but which
seldom materializes. *
When the farmer fails to make a good crop
and get good returns for what he has grown,
the business man, it matters little in what line
he is engaged, will feel that loss. That is an
old and ever true argument. What happens to
one farmer does not happen to all of them; gaze
upon the prospective conditions as they are
presented in the fields pf the farmer today.
When one loses confidence in the pursuits he
has been laboring zealously with for years, the
handwriting is perhaps more plain than ordi-
nary argument can make it. Dissatisfaction
with one's work and returns ever has a tenden-
cy to curtail Interest and energy, and the Wt
that could b»> adopted under such conditions is
to determine what other avocation appeals the
strongest, and give that a fair trial. Such em-
phatic statements that this will be the last
year on the farm, because of conditions that
tend to encourage dissatisfaction, is- partly res-
ponsible for the desertion of the farm and the
influx in the city, hundreds may adopt the
plan and succeed, thousands will fail. But, just
what advice to give is the great stumbling block
at this time. Man loves to work if the returns
are satisfactory; he declines to work if it be-
comes a drudgery, and the returns of the pre-
vious year have to be filed away and held in
readiness to meet the obligations of today.
What is wrong with the farming conditions
of the country? Where the wheat growers are
supposed to be in clover there exists the objec-
tion to the fixed price of the product. This is
tenable; man does not, or he should not, have his
commodity priced for permanence, and thus
eliminate the ever influence of supply and de-
mand. When the crops are abundant, a stipu-
lated price might be acceptable, commensurate
of course with the cost of labor and time to
produce. If the crop is cut in half that same
price cannot, in justice to the grower remain as
it was before. The cost of production was
greater, labor scarcer and engaged In other sec-
tions, and demand exceeding the supply. .In
the fruit—citrus sections—the balance, of the
crop could have been purchased at the fruit
farms, cheap; but the shipping of the product
was not encouraging; the fruit was too ripe, it
could not be disposed of in time to prevent the
ripeness, and the trees should have a rest for
the next crop. Truck growing received several
shocks, and cabbage growers received a pittance.
All in all, what is the matter? We have to pay
high enough for the product here and elsewhere,
outside of the trucking districts.
The case cited above may be, as another has
said, isolated. This does not change the argu-
ment. Were we to go back to the days when the
farmers received four and five cents for cotton,
four cents for eggs, and very little chance to
get that, no market for potatoes that were
dumped to the porkers, scrawny teams and
rickety wagons, it would not be satisfying to
our friends, the farmers. True, in the great
strides forward all humans have sought to keep
pace, we have forgotten the things we slaved
for, and have accepted the new ideas and chang-
es with a willingness that is startling indeed.
We have accepted every new political move and
OUR WEEKLY POEM
DECIPHERING
The railroad folder I peruse don’t satisfy a bit;
Somehow the dope it has any my intelligence
don’t fit,
For it won’t tell me what I seek;
It’a like a scroll of ancient Greek,
And I’m darn tired of it.
What do I care if by a star, train 742
Shows stops on signal at Mud Creek and also at
Bazoo ?
Or that a dingus like a P
Shows trains that meet 223
Unless scheduled as through ?
Long rows of figures light and dark run up and
down the page;
I study them; but learning don’t improve, some-
how, with age,
For when I want to take a trip
The column shows a half-inch skip
That makes me wild with rage.
I look and look to get it straight, and search that
thing in vain;
I know somewhere within its folds they’ve hid my
longed-for train,
And I aift driven to despair
To find the train I want’s not there,
And have to search again.
Why can’t the time-card makers show just when
the fast train cornels
Without their working it all out in long-extended
sums,
With lines drawn through from side to side
The very train I want, to hide—
In other words, what does it show?
Search me! that’s what I want to know.
—By Harry Lee Marriner.
HER DREAM IS PASSING
From The Chattanooga News
Quite a Diversion to The Average
Man of Affairs
This district meet which was held in La-
Grange last week-end, drew together a goodly
number of people from the five counties rep-
resented or included in this district. And to
the man who seldom has the time to leave his
business and take a look-in at what is going on,
there has been a real revelation. In this way:
Devoted to the management of his business af-
fairs, he has neglected to take into considera-
tion the work of the teachers, and the advance-
ment of the pupils. Let us go back just a few
France is experiencing a sort of rude awak-
ening. She is slowly arousing from a dream
and is beginning to realize that those who daned
must compensate the fiddler. In other words,
France is coming to understand that world
power ambition is expensive. And that the
cost of its gratification cannot simply be called
down out of the air. To maintain big armies
and navies and a large fleet of airplanes, neces-
sary to the upholding of a dominant position
in Europe, costs a vast amount of money. And,
as a. perpetual policy, borrowing the required
-funds has its limitations. »
To state it more frankly still, the French
are beginning to understand that they must pay
taxes, greatly increased taxes, or modify their
ambitions. And they have a perfectly human
aversion toward paying taxes. Creditors keep
tab on the borrowings of a nation or an indi-
vidual. When these exceed a certain proportion
of the assets, solvency is impaired. After that
stage is reached, security must be progressively
increased until credit is automatically exhausted.
Loan obligations become correspondingly less
valuable, the ensuing condition being termed
inflation.
The people of France were led, by their
politicians, to expect the impossible in the mat-
ter of reparations from Germany. 'They are be-
ginning to realize that German ability *to pay
is limited as well as their own. The Dawes plan
promises something on reparations, but in no
such volume as was expected. France is “loaded
up” with debts to outside nations and people.
Those creditors are calling for their money.
The country, therefore, is and has for several
years, been plowing through a crisis.
It is a perilous proceeding for a French
cabinet to propose new and heavier taxes. T)»t
was one of the overthrow.
actually labored under the impression that we
were going to save the country from utter ruin.
We have seen the curbstone orators reap hi the iferriot, who is somewhat lbss imperialistic, is
sheckels and heard little complaint. And now. * “ ...
with conveniences heretofore not even dreamed
of, with transportation facilities in our own
garages, curtailing distance as quickly as the
pruning shears do the suckers on the trees, we
are confronted with the statement that some-
thing has to be done or the farm will become
isolated. Our friend need take no offense at
this, but he can study it, and get something out
of it. Happiness, like civilization begins and
ends with the plow. '
Our congressmen who have been wrestling
with so many problems that could have been
wafted aside, could take the time to investigate
farming conditions, could have gotten the lay
of the land, and acted accordingly. Elimination
of the vultures who have so willingly preyed
upon the credulity of the farmers could have
been their first task; then on down the line the
labors could have been continued until the real
causes could have been found and remedied. We
do not make this a local issue entirely, we take
in a wide scope of territory, for the demon of
unrest is roaming abroad, in every section, and
leaving his footprints visible, and seldom ef-
faced by time. We are all experiencing the
same effects that the farmer is experiencing,
only we do not have to deal with the elements
so long as money is in circulation. The man who
makes his money as a day laborer, or the man
who makes his money as a banker, capitalist or
general business man, is studying the situation
with a keen eye, is preparing to have his re-
serve handy in order that the businesses may
continue. After all, reverses will come. Honest
labor, honest production and honest values in
return, will ever remain, it is only now and
then that the shoe pinches a little more than
usual. After a time, all things will assume a
normal attitude. When the drought is broken,
the smile will come again. Let us hope so.
challenging the same hazard. He is quite a
resourceful man and may put through his finan-
cial reorganization, though he is beset with
other, complications. France is in a state of
transition, as is indeed the entire world. The
services of safe pilots are almost beyond price
because of the latter’s rarity.
years, and contemplate the scene of those days.
We had no declam&tions arranged in contest;
we had our little schools, and while there was
good learning and knowledge, we did not have
that shoulder rub that these county and district
meets provide. The boy or the girl who at-
tended the little road-side school encouraged a
timidness when brought in contact with the boy
or girl of the better schools, and the so-called
city schools. It should not have been, but it
was. Now, with the rural school child, appear-
ing before the same judges, with the same op-
portunity at hand that the city school child en-
joys, the declamations are made and heard and
the interest is shown by those who have hereto-
fore not known them.
Thursday night of last week, the contest-
ants came from the counties of Lavaca, Gon-
zales, Colorado, Lee and Fayette. They stood on
the same planes of excellence, and they made
good use of the grants that were given. From
the little girl in the rural section, emboldened at
the thought that her voice could be heard with
that of others more fortunately situated, to the
girl who was reared in the smaller cities, with
better advantages, with better environments,
perhaps, we saw the eagerness in the eyes, the
happiness in the face all wrinkled in smiles.
And from the stage where the contestants were
seated, we turned our eyes to the parents who
came from the rural sections, and watched with
increasing pleasure, the interest that was shown,
and the pleasure that was obtained at the
knowledge that the child, boy or girl had won.
The same judges passed upon them that passed
upon the children of the high school. This, may
we be bold enough to state, establishes the new
idea, the era that will eventually stamp out
illiteracy and create in the hearts and minds of
the boy and girl on the farm the desire to learn
and stand upon equal footing with the boy and
girl from the high schools. And this, in full
defiance of the parent who believes that a little
of the three ris is sufficient.
The scene of Thursday and that of Friday
passed the state of revelation; there was fo-
cussed the strong lens of the optic, and an in-
ED1TORIAL SENSE
From The Dearborn Independent
“Reconstruction days are upon us, and the
newspaper that makes its fight for right rather
than circulation, for Americanism rather than
communistic experiment, for character rather
than sex slush, will find the great public rallying
to its banner. That newspaper will prosper best
which serves best.”—R. C. Snyder, Norwalk
(Ohio) Reflector; President Associated Ohio
Dailies.
At first glance it seems that the famous
curtain speech “that's all there is, there is no
more” is applicable to Mr. Snyder’s summariz-
ing of the sphere of newspapers. He might
have expressed one more thought, which, how-
ever, is implied: “and the editor who wants to
serve best will say T am the public, what do I
want to see in the newspapers ?’ ”
Mr. Snyder’s utterance is significant be-
cause he is the official representative of a press
that has a tradition of influence and service.
He speaks from a position of familiarity with
both the business and editorial concerns of the
newspaper. It is frequently the case that edi-
torialists fail to understand the problems of the
business office, and that circulation and adver-
tising men fail to understand the ideals and.
principles of the editorial force. But this ut-
terance has both sides in view, and the conclu-
sion is that the paper which serves the enduring
elements in the community is the paper that will
be served by the patronage of the community.
This does not always seem to be the way
it works out. The writer has in mind a city
where the noisiest of the newspapers seems to
be the most successful. Its red headlines and
its shouting appeals are seen everywhere in the
downtown district. Staid citizens shake their
heads over the astonishing invasion of the
journalistic field by this sheet which frankly
assumes that men and women are ini
the fact is, that paper is,the only one in 6
that is losing money. It seems to overshadow
the whole field. But in reality it does not. Its
only hope lies in spoiling the newspaper taste
of a sufficient number of persons to make its
work profitable.
But, a combination of editors on the plain
platform of American decency, a declaration of
independenee against the wire propaganda that
steals newspaper space for the dissemination
of un-American ideas, a widespread editorial
practice of newswriters in putting themselves
imaginatively into the home to which their pa-
pers go, this would be sufficient to swing the
whole situation.
It is insensely significant and highly pro-
mising thpt the President of the Associated
Ohio Dailies should say with such forthright-
ness—“That newspaper will prosper best which
serves best.”
terest aroused that cannot well be defined at
this time. Despite the contention of one of the
instructors—a very learned man—that it is hard
to get the timber for declamation and debate,
the influence is great, it is greater than it has
been in years. Rural entertainments, where the
one school teacher used to prod the children and
finally get the scholars lined up for a few dia-
logues and a few speeches, has had its effects.
From the small acorns large oaks have grown.
There was an abundance of good talent in evi-
dence ; the rural children spoke loudly and
clearly, and from these declamations one has the
right to judge the future public speakers and
after-dinner talkers. The declaimers, as they
sat upon the rostrum and became the cynosure
of all eyes, were not abashed, they found it not
too difficult to rid themselves of the ever annoy-
ance of stage fright, and presented themselves
in a manner that met with the hearty approba-
tion of every member of the large audience.
LaGrange, as the mecca for the contestants,
provided amply for the accommodations of the
visitors, and all were made comfortable. The
new school building received careful inspection,
and in all, we felt the better for having had the
visitors with us. There remains only one bad
feature yet to be overcome, and that feature is,
to educate the elders to the good loser spirit.
Apparently*.from the brief observation that was
ours, the grown-ups who witnessed the varied
contests were the heaviest losers, while the con-
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(Continued on page four)
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La Grange Journal (La Grange, Tex.), Vol. 46, No. 17, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 23, 1925, newspaper, April 23, 1925; La Grange, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth998969/m1/1/?q=112th+cavalry+: accessed June 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Fayette Public Library, Museum and Archives.