Mercedes News-Tribune (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, March 10, 1933 Page: 4 of 6
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MERCEDES NEWS-TRIBUNE
FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 1933
HLPrreDPz Nruts-Orthiitr
Published Each Friday Morning at Mercedes, Texas,
In the Lower Rio Grande Valley
By the United Printing Company, Inc.
SUBSCRIPTION RATE
$2.00 PER YEAR
ADVERTISING RATES UPON REQUEST
Entered as second-class mail matter at the postoffice at Mercedes,
Hidalgo County, Texas, Jan. 23, 1914, under the Act of Mar. 3, 1879
MEL BER
PRESS
ASSOCIATION
“When truth or virtue an affront endures
Th' affront is mine, my friend, and should be yours."
A BOLD INAUGURAL
I BOLD declaration of his intention to seek
A "full executive power” with which to act
to meet the problems of the crisis, if congress
does not itself speedily follow his recommenda-
tions, was the striking keynote of Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s initial address to the American peo-
ple a few moments after he had taken the oath
as their new president.
Action, quick action, he insisted, is the need
of the hour and the desire of the people. War
itself could not exert a more immediate or im-
perative need for decisive, disciplined action,
he stated. He will try to secure it through spe-
cific recommendations to the new congress,
which will be called into special session at once.
But if congress shows the least disposition to
delay, he will request a grant of extrordinary
powers which will give him authority and re-
sponsibility to act upon his own initiative.
An outcry against this threat of "dictator-
ship” is sure to arise in many quarters, despite
Mr. Roosevelt’s emphasis upon his belief in and
support of our democratic institutions and his
assurance that any such grant by congress
would be of a purely temporary nature, for the
duration of the crisis, to be relinquished as soon
as the need for it had passed. The people as a
whole, however, will be delighted with the cour-
age and forthrightness of their new leader. If
so, their approval will be reflected in the new
congress and any necessity of making the un-
usual grant will be removed by swift, disci-
plined action by the legislative arm of the gov-
ernment itself.
Indeed, there is no reason why Mr. Roose-
velt should not declare promptly what he re-
quires of congress, for he will have command-
ing majorities in both houses and plans are al-
ready under way to bind these majorities,
through a steering committee in the lower,
house and caucuses in both assemblies for un-
divided party support of any program the pres-
ident may recommend.
The rest of the inaugural address reflectec
Mr. Roosevelt’s unafraid acceptance of respon-
sibility and supreme confidence in his ability to
lead the American people to a complete con-
quest of their difficulties, both at home anc
abroad. He denounced in vigorous language
the corrupt “money-changers,” whose greed
and selfish leadership he indicted as responsi-
ble for many of our present ills. A strict super-
vision of banking and security financing he re-
vealed as one of his first considerations, with
one of its primary objectives to halt “specula-
tion with other people’s money.” He also re-
ferred to the government’s obligation to pro-
vide the people with “a sound and adequate
medium of exchange,” and his emphasis on the
word “adequate,” as heard over the radio,
should bring hope to those who have been in-
sisting upon the necessity for an expansion of
our currency.
“To put people to work,” however, he as-
reference to the nation-wide hysteria which has
partly brought on and now accompanies what
is in effect a nation-wide banking moratorium,
it seems a pity that he let slip the opportunity
to utter some assurance of the fundamental
soundness and safety of our financial system
so that frightened people might take heart and
hope in the confidence that the banks will soon
resume their normal operations. But perhaps
that was sufficiently implied in his warning
against panic and in his assertion that in every
previous "dark hour of our national life” frank-
ness and vigor of leadership had always
brought the country into the sunlight again.
For the rest, while Mr. Roosevelt naturally
spoke only in general terms, his brave chal-
lenge of adverse conditions and influences, his
confident promise that the needed action will
speedily be taken, undoubtedly will find a re-
sponse in the present temper of the American
people. Nor will they dissent sharply from his
analysis of some of the causes of our misfor-
tunes and miseries. What he had to say about
“unscrupulous money changers” will especially
find an echo in the hearts of timid and anxious
citizens who have been driven into doubt by
recent disclosures of unsound banking. They
will leap to the support of the president in his
demand that “there must be a strict supervision
of all banking and credits and investments;
there must be an end to speculation with other
people’s money; and there must be provision
for an adequate but sound currency.”
For the details of his program of recovery,
we must wait till the president submits them
to congress, as he promises that he will quickly
do. Incidentally, Mr. Roosevelt expresses his
positive expectation that he will be able to ob-
tain from congress without delay the legisla-
tion which he regards as necessary. But he
adds what some may regard as a hint that he
desires to exercise dictatorial powers. His ex-
act language is as follows:
“In the event that the congress shall fail to
take one of these two courses, and in the event
that the national emergency is still critical, I
shall not evade the clear course of duty that
will then confront me. I shall ask the congress
for the one remaining instrument to meet the
crisis—broad executive power to wage a war
against the emergency, as great as the power
that would be give nto me if we were in fact
invaded by a foreign foe.”
This must have been intended as a kind of
warning to congress, especially the senate, that
it must speed up the necessary work of law-
making, changing its rules, if need be, in order
to expedite the needful measures. For if more
than this was meant it would imply that Mr.
Roosevelt is so credulous, or illogical, as to ex-
pect that a congress which refused to enact the
laws he desired would grant him unlimited
power to do as he liked. In any event, there is
no likelihood that this theory will be put to an
actual test. With every evidence that the great
majority of the people are ready to stand be-
hind the president, there is every reason to
count upon the ample democratic majority in
both houses of the next congress working har-
moniously and efficiently with Mr. Roosevelt.
All told, the inaugural seems well fitted to
hit the country between wind and water. It is
still true that Americans like a man who is not
afraid. If there is a touch of Dantonesque au-
dacity about him, so much the better, especially
in such critical days as these. The president
has sounded a call to battle and pledged him-
self to lead a courageous army of his fellow-
citizens. In this sense his stirring appeal for
action shows the country that it has a high-
mettled president, whose nature it is to “incline
to hope rather than fear,” and to banish
Advisors of Two Former Presidents Are
Compared To Those Now In Their Place
By Arthur Krock in the New York Times
Washington, March 4.—This date,
which has meant so much in the his-
tory of the United States, will
I henceforth be an ordinary day in the
calendar. The hopes, the fears, the
triumph and bitterness which March
4 has represented will be the emo-
tions of Jan. 20, 1936, and quadren-
nially thereafter unless Congress
shall one day change the length of
the presidential term.
But this March 4, though the last
of its particular significance, is not
likely to be the least in the series for
importance of the change in govern-
ment which it marks. It has become
trite to describe the weight and
gravity of the tasks before the citi-
zen who was inaugurated today. The
story of the issues and responsibili-
ties which are upon him has been
told and retold, and will not be worn
further by repetition in this article.
But since every one in the capital
who is not giving his whole mind to
celebration or mourning over a lost
place is looking ahead in history, it
may be interesting to make some
comparisons with the personalities
which formed a political partnership
on two previous fourths of March.
The first president to have been
inaugurated in Washington on
March 4 was the presumptive source
of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s political
philosophy, Thomas Jefferson. It
does not constitute an indictment of
Mr. Roosevelt to admit that Mr. Jef-
ferson would probably be set furi-
ously to writing to Mr. Madison if
he could be acquainted with some of
his latest presidential stepchild’s po-
litical beliefs.
One hundred and thirty-two years
have passed since that March day
when Mr. Jefferson walked out of
his lodging house, on the corner
where the house office building
now stands, and began his trudge to
the place of inauguration. In these
years times have changed for the
United States, and there are many
policies which grew out of Mr. Jef-
ferson’s fundamental beliefs which
cannot sensibly have survived the
changes.
Ancient and Modern
Actually the first president to be
inaugurated on March 4 was John
Adams. But the place was Phila-
delphia and Mr. Adams was a fed-
eralist. So Mr. Jefferson, his cabi-
net and congressional leaders may
be taken for ancient, as Mr. Hoover,
his cabinet and congressional lead-
many an obstacle in the president’s
path).
There does not seem to be the
same possibility of dissension be-
tween Mr. Roosevelt and Henry T.
Rainey of Illinois, who will probably
be speaker as long as Mr. Roosevelt
is president.
For the first two years of Mr.
Hoover’s unhappy term the house,
under Speaker Longworth, was his
buckler and shield. The country
had remained prosperous for a part
of that time and did not believe that
the slump which came in October,
1929, was to be lasting. The house,
held firmly by a dominant speaker,
who generally cooperated with the
president, helped to atone with Mr.
Hoover for the growing non-coop-
eration of the senate.
Here the progressive republican
bloc began to exercise the balance
of power soon after Mr. Hoover took
office, and when the elections of
1930 took the house away from the
republicans, power and happiness
departed from the political being of
the chief executive.
Troubles With Congress
During his term the house repub-
lican leaders, in addition to Mr.
Longworth, with whom Mr. Hoover
was obliged chiefly to deal, were
Representatives Snell of New York,
ers for modern, comparisons
counselors.
In Mr. Roosevelt’s cabinet
in
are
some republicans and semi-republi-
cans, although he was elected on the
democratic ticket. But it required a
lot of republican votes to elect him
and he has felt it advisable and pro-
per to give representation to an af-
filiated and to a former wing of that
party in Mr. Woedin, who was a re-
publican until Al Smith was nom-
inated by the democrats for presi-
dent, and to Mr. Ickes, who is still
supposed to be a republican.
In this basis of selection Mr.
Mercedes 13 Years Ago
Lieut. Col. David Bruce, D. S.
Visits Parents Here
Lieutenant Colonel David Bruce,
D. S., who was here last week with
his bride visiting his parents, Mr.
and Mrs. John L. Bruce, has return-
ed to Camp Travis where he is traf-
fic officer of the Second Division.
Mrs. Bruce was formerly Miss Mar-
garet Kennedy of Washington. They
were married the latter part of last
month. Col. Bruce had not visited
Mercedes since his return from over-
seas where he gained the distinction
of advancing from a second lieuten-
ant colonel to his present rank.
Friends who welcomed him home de-
clare he is the youngest lieutenant
colonel in the army and point with
pride to the fact that he won his
oak leaves in some of the hardest
campaigns of the war, while with
the Second Division.
latter will operate an up-to-date
grocery and market under the firm
name of Capisallo Cash Grocery
with Mr. Kern and Mr. Blackwell as
active managers.
All three members of the new
firm are widely known in Mercedes
and in the Mercedes trade territory
and look forward to a large and
growing business.
Other Papers
Women’s Council Of
Mercedes Launched
Representatives from each of the
women’s organizations of the city
met at the high school auditorium
Wednesday to perfect plans for an
organization, the motive being the
promotion of any public activity in
which all women of Mercedes can
have a part.
This organization is to be known
as the
cedes.
Women’s Council of Mer-
It is not a federation of the
Tilson of Connecticut, Wood of In-
diana, Bacharach of New Jersey, clubs but an entirely new organ-
ization and had as representatives at
PALM PLANTING GROWS
The movement to plant palms and
otherwise beautify principal high-
ways of the state of Texas, launched
first in the Lower Rio Grande Val-
ley several weeks ago, is taking ,
foothold in other parts of South
Texas, the more tropical section of
the state. From Corpus Christi
come reports that highways in that '
portion of Texas are being lined
with palm trees under plans laid out
by Gutzon Borglum, internationally
famous sculptor and new parking
and beautification chairman for the
Texas highway commission.
That action should add impetus to
the work started in the Valley. It
should provide other parts of the
state with a zeal to carry out this
program as suggested by Borglum,
who knows whereof he speaks when
Ramseyer of Iowa, Mapes of Mich-
igan and Hawley of Idaho. They
were generally helpful and amen-
able.
He had his troubles with Repre-
sentative La Guardia and a bloc of
independent republicans who fol-
lowed Manhattan’s doughty Major.
But he could not justly blame his
house advisers or adversaries for
great responsibility in his defeat.
Here, as in the senate, however,
there was a complete lack of per-
sonal devotion on the part of the
leaders to the president.
Here once more Mr. Roosevelt is
more fortunate, though it will de-
velop within two years whether his
fortune can outlive political adver-
sity and the distribution of patron-
age, so far as congress is concerned.
Of the 127 new house members lit-
tle is known and much is feared.
But, besides Speaker Rainey, the
house party leader, Mr. Byrns, is de-
voted to the president, and the as-
sistant leader, Mr. Cullen, will be
good for a while, at least.
In the senate, Messrs. Robinson
of Arkansas, Harrison of Mississip-
pi, Pittman of Nevada, Glass of
Virginia, Barkley of Kentucky,
George of Georgia, King of Utah,
Wagner of New York, Byrnes of
South Carolina do not number in
their ranks one essential anti-Roose-
velt man.
Thus he begins his counsels amid
happier auguries than his predeces-
sor did, and, unlike Mr. Hoover, he
brought to his inaugural some of
Mr. Jefferson’s political skill. In
the last March 4 Washington in-
augural are many suggestions of
the first.
the initial meeting, members from
all clubs and societies.
Mrs. R. M. Winn was named tem-
porary chairman and Mrs. Robert E.
Lee temporary secretary.
On March 3 there will be a tea on
the balcony of the high school build-
ing. It will also be the occasion
for the election of officers.
* * *
Womans Council Formed
Women from nearly every state
in the Union attended the tea at the
high school auditorium Tuesday
when the Women’s Council of Mer-
cedes was formally organized with
Mrs. L. B. Caruthers as chairman.
More than 150 attended the tea. The
second floor balcony was outlined
with attractive palms, the work of
Miss Nannie Mer Buck, superinten-
dent, and high school pupils, and the
tea tables prettily decorated with
roses, ferns and a profusion of or-
ange blossoms.
Following a social hour a business
session was held with Mrs. R. M.
Winn acting as temporary chairman
and Mrs. R. E. Lee as temporary
secretary. The following officers
were elected: President, Mrs. L. B.
Caruthers; first vice president, Mrs.
Claude Armstrong; second vice pres-
ident, Mrs. Fleet Lentz; third vice
president, Mrs. 0. E. Van Berg; re-
cording secretary, Mrs. J. L. Vining;
corresponding secretary, Mrs. Neal;
treasurer, Mrs. Amzi Stuart; parlia-
mentarian, Miss Nannie Mer Buck;
press reporter, Mrs. G. C. Fittz.
he says that beautified highways’
will aid immeasurably in attracting
more tourists to the state. And at-
tracting tourists will be a major
task for Texas if it will only realize
the benefits accruing from such an
enterprise. They spend money,
plenty of it, and furnish income for
any number of caterers providing
for their entertainment or service.
—McAllen Press.
/
serted to be the first duty resting upon himself
and the government, and he briefly outlined
some of the projects he has in mind, with a
great public works program as the foremost,
in which not only would jobs be provided but
natural resources be harnessed for the use of
the people.
His phrase, “a good neighbor,” which he
used to signify the foreign policy of his admin-
istration, is one happily chosen, which should
find a cordial reception abroad, with its impli-
cations of sincere friendliness, coupled with
mutual self-respect and cooperation.
Taken all in all, Mr. Roosevelt’s inaugural
address will certainly be rated as one of the
most extraordinary in our history, for its
form of unmanly suspicion and
New York Times.
every
doubt.—The
A MARKET FOR VALLEY GRAPEFRUIT
FOR WARD-LOOKING citrus growers along
the Rio Grande are looking expectantly to a
time when the citrus acreage of the Valley
will be greatly increased, and are making ef-
forts now to provide larger markets. The two
argest cooperatives of the Valley and another
firm are bidding for the European juice mar-
ket with prospects of greatly increasing the
citrus export.
Then there are plans for a cannery to be
operated by the Rio Grande Valley Citrus Ex-
change, where grapefruit hearts and juice can
be canned. The use of cull fruit in manufactur-
forthrightness, courage and facing of realities. ..
It should go far to restore the confidence of the ing the beverages to be sold abroad will be en-
Roosevelt has taken much from Mr.
Jefferson’s book. Alexander Hamil-
ton had thrown his influence to the
Virginian against Aaron Burr, and
by his conciliatory policy toward the
federalists and the republicans
(democrats) who joined them after
the XYZ disclosures, Mr. Jefferson
made good his prophecy that soon
the federalist party would be “all
head and no body.” It is doubtful
whether Mr. Roosevelt expects to
sever the republican corporation
from its caput. But he intends to
hold on to that part of it he had last
November.
Hull and Madison
In the state department there is
hardly any doubt that Mr. Roose-
velt will have the same loyalty and
industry from his secretary, Cordell
Hull, as Mr. Jefferson received
from Mr. Madison, even though, in
this modern instance, the presiden-
tial sucression is not one of the indi-
cated rewards. William H. Woodin’s
talents for public administration are
too little known here to afford com-
parison with those of Albert Galla-
tin. It won’t be fair to do that for
at least two years. But Mr. Roose-
velt will be lucky if he eventually
can feel as easy about his treasry
department as Mr. Jefferson did
about his; and that is not intended
as the slightest reflection on Mr.
Woodin.
The same general observations
apply to the major members of Mr.
Hoover’s Cabinet, except that Sec-
retary Mills of the treasury came
to his post with experience and an
established reputation as an admin-
istrator and politician.
Tips On Taxes
Legislative News Service of the
Texas Press Association
New Firm Buys The
Capisallo Grocery
The Capisallo Mercantile com-
pany, one of the oldest firms in the
Valley passed out of existence this
week with the sale of its clothing
and shoe stock to Brownsville inter-
ests and the sale of its grocery de-
partment to R. H. Kern, Jr., D. A.
Blackwell, Jr., and B. A. Acker. The
American people in government and leadership
—Houston Post.
Had not death intervened,
couraged and thus a market for the inferior Roosevelt would have had an
torney general whose name would
not have been outshone either by
Mr.
at-
A SUMMONS TO ACTION
citrus products created, a great benefit to the
growers of Southwest Texas.
Grapefruit juice for the European market
Austin.—As a tax measure of ma-
jor interest, the sales tax which
was the subject of a great deal of
discussion during the early days of
the session, has given way to other
tax proposals. A suggestion, which
at the present time is claiming more
attention than any other single tax
measlure, is one which proposes a
radical departure in raising revenue
and controlling production of oil.
The proposal embodies a repeal of
the gasoline tax and the gross pro-
duction tax on oil as its major rev-
enue features. By a sharply gradu-
ated tax on oil production, begin-
ning, in some bills carrying the idea
into effect, with one cent per bar-
rel on production from wells with a
maximum daily output of five bar-
rels and scaling up to much higher
rates as the per well production in-
creases. The top bracket calls for
$1 per barrel tax on production of
well in excess of 1,000 barrels per
day.
$4,000,000 per year in taxes from
this source and at the same time
subjecting legitimate dealers to un-
fair competition by gasoline “boot-
leggers." This is regarded as
highly important tax measure.
* * *
a
TF in the inaugural address of President Roose-
1 velt anything is lacking, it is not courage. In
the boldest and most resolute way he called
upon the nation to join him in taking arms
against a sea of troubles. Without a particle
of blind optimism he recited the critical cir-
cumstances under which his administration be-
gins. But out of each difficulty he firmly de-
clared that a way of escape can be found. At
the very beginning of his address he used
words (apparently written in at the last mo-
ment) which are of great significance. “The
only thing we have to fear,” he said, “is fear
will help solve the problem of finding new cus-
tomers for the Texas product. England is now
taking a great deal of it from the Valley, one
concern shipping 17,000 gallons in February.
And other European brokers in Berlin and
Paris are interested in introducing the bever-
age on the Continent.
The drive for European citrus markets
should gain increased momentum during 1933.
There is no saturation point yet reached, and
the co-operatives especially are due to benefit
because their members realize that it is not
enough to grow citrus, that markets must be
found if their product is to return a profit. The
itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified ter- increase in acreage can and must be matched
ror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert
retreat into advance.” This seems an obvious
by an increased demand.—The Houston Chron-
icle.
John Breckinridge or Caesar Rod-
ney, who expounded the law for
Mr. Jefferson, and certainly not by
William D. Mitchell. The calibre
and record of Senator Walsh’s suc-
cessor remains to be discovered.
Leaders of Two Congresses
But it is seldom the personnel of
the cabinet which makes or mars an
administration. In furnishing coun-
sel and effecting achievement the
leaders in congress are of para-
mount importance in deciding what
record shall be made.
When Mr. Jefferson took office
Nathaniel Macon of North Carolina
became speaker of the house. They
had been friendly and so remained
for a few years. But Mr. Macon
was a political reversal of Patrick
Henry’s famous nationalistic doc-
trine, and it was not long before,
with John Randolph, he had formed
the “Quids,” a bloc of independent
republicans (democrats who thrust
The bills on this subject carry
into effect suggestions made by Er-
nest 0. Thompson, member of the
Railroad Commission, who claims
that problems of both oil conserva-
tion and taxation would be solved
by its adoption. The graduated tax
on oil production, would automat-
ically regulate oil production to the
market demand, supporters of the
bill claim, and at the same time pro-
vide an easy and equitable means of
obtaining revenue. The bill is fac-
ing determined opposition, and the
chief argument offered against it is
that it will place Texas oil at a dis-
advantage by imposing a serious
price differential. Hearings are be-
ing held, and the measure will
doubtless undergo considerable mod-
ification. Opinion seems to be that
while the proposal in its present
form has little chance of adoption,
there is a strong likelihood that the
state production tax on oil of two
per cent of its sale price will be
changed to a definite sum per bar-
rel. This would stabilize state in-
come from this source.
* * *
The house has passed a bill au-
thorizing the creation of a special
division in the Comptroller’s depart-
ment to enforce collection of gaso-
line taxes, as well as providing more
drastic penalties for evasion of
these taxes. It is claimed that the
state is losing from $3,000,000 to
The Comptroller at present has a
field force of only thirty men. Un-
til recently he had only twenty-five
men. The personnel increase was
made possible by reducing salries
and thus using the same appropria-
tion to employ a larger number of
field men. This force has the duty
of enforcing collections of the fol-
lowing taxes: gasoline, gross re-
ceipts, inheritance and cigarette.
Combined, they brought into the
state treasury about forty million
dollars last year.
* * *
The field men have many other
duties, such as auditing records of
county tax collectors and generally
protecting the state’s interests in
tax matters. It is obvious that such
a small force cannot adequately
deal with the thousands of different
“AMERICAN PREPOSITIONS”
Dr. Terrot Reaveley Glover of St.
John’s College, Cambridge, is a pro-
tectionist. He is alarmed by the
flood of imported American words
that threatens to submerge the
home vocabulary. In a letter to The
London Times he reproaches Stan-
ley Baldwin, Chancellor of his uni-
versity, with using there that dire
Americanism “to try out.” He asks,
in doubtless humorous indignation,
“Are we to accept it as English, and
Cambridge?” He, is something more
than a protectionist. He seems to
be an anti-prepositionist:
“Do you notice how ‘out’ creeps
in? St. Paul long ago told us to'
work out our own salvation; endless
people tell us to look out; “little or-
phint Annie” (she was American,
though, from Indiana) warned us
that “the goblins will get you if
you don’t watch out’.”
Pausing to compliment the wan-
dering scholar on the exactness of
his quotation from Mr. Riley’s poem,
so accurately named, we venture to
remind him that the fatal preposi-
tion crept in on Shakespeare, too.
King Henry V is permitted to say:
“There is no king, be his cause
never so spotless, if it come to
the arbitrament of swords, can try
it out with all unspotted soldiers.”
The taint of the preposition is
there. It reaches the professor
from many sides. He tries on his
clothes. His undergraduates try
for honors. They may even “try
back” in mathematics or classics, or
on the field, if they are hunting
men. Why shouldn’t Mr. Baldwin
“try out the possibilities of these
new methods,” as he said at Cam-
bridge, or “try out” anything else,
from a horse or an automobile to a
political or fiscal policy? “Stand
for” is another poisonous phrase to
Dr. Glover. Apparently, he would
restrict it to candidacies for offices.
He cites Lewis Carroll’s tale of
Hiawatha as a camera man:
“Stating that he would not stand
it.
Stating in emphatic language
What he’d be before he’d stand it.”
‘Today in America Hiawatha
would say, ‘He wouldn’t stand for
it. As a gentleman of the oldest
old American stock, he probably
would. Shakespeare and Milton, re-
spectable non-American authorities,
stand by, behind, with and for him.
—New York Times.
From Our Readers
persons,
county
state,
nue
, firms, corporations and
officials, throughout the
Serious leaks in state reve-
are inevitable. Comptroller
Sheppard estimates that at least
five million dollars is lost annually
in evasions of the gasoline tax and
cigarette tax, besides considerable
losses in inheritance taxes and
losses in advalorem taxes, because
of inability of the field men to make
regular and thorough audits. With
these evasions stopped, Sheppard
believes the state would now be on a
cash basis, even without any other
needed reforms in fiscal affairs.
* * *
Senator Moore of Greenville has
introduced a bill limiting benefits of
the Confederate pension to those
who are in actual need. There is a
large deficit in this fund and the
total claims are increasing, due to
liberalizing provisions of the law.
For example, payments increased
from $2,917,000 in 1930 to $3,562,-
000 in 1932.
The house has passed a bill re-
ducing the poll tax to $1. The sen-
ate is yet to act on the measure.
* * *
Proposals to reduce the gasoline
tax below four cents per gallon
were rejected by the house during
the past week.
COMMENTING UPON GOVERN-
MENT SEED LOANS
I cannot understand why our gov-
ernment wants to make seed loans
to farmers of the Valley for our fi-
nancial condition is not caused by
floods, droughts, or crop failures.
It is caused by low prices, high tax-
es, high rate of interest. Under our
high taxation, all farmers are forced
to gamble on vegetable crops which
are expensive to grow, and under
this depression he has strained his
credit until he can not pay taxes, in-
terest or anything else. Some of
them barely get along, would say
taking a seed loan will only put him
deeper in the hole. If the farmer
could pay for seed planted, local
seed dealers would gladly advance
the seed, but their experience has
been that the farmer can not pay it.
Now if it is required to plant basic
crops as cotton, corn and feed, every
farmer in the Valley knows that he
cannot pay taxes. Put taxes down
to $1 per acre and you will see
farmers planting basic crops. I
want no seed loans.—H. Wetegrove.
A new type of motor bus can be
turned into a sleeping car by night,
with two-story berths.
---------0---------
Colored tires are made by means
of a new liquid sidewall finish, clam-
ed to be sunproof.
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Mercedes News-Tribune (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, March 10, 1933, newspaper, March 10, 1933; Mercedes, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1630387/m1/4/: accessed July 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.