420 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



One day a man was drowning in a stream on the edge ot a little town. 

 A gentleman was passing along the highway, and, seeing the fellow 

 drowning, jumped in and saved him. Then the little town saw an op- 

 portunity of getting a lot of free advertising, so they had a public meeting 

 and a testimonial in honor of this wonderful deed of this prominent Eng- 

 lishman, in saving one of their local citizens from drowning. In due time 

 the gentleman was called upon to respond, and he said: 



"Why, folks, I don't see what all this hullaballoo is about. I did 

 nothing more than I ought to do. I saw this fellow out there, drowning 

 in the river, and I jumped in, turned his face up, found it was not Lloyd 

 George, so I saved him!" 



When Lloyd George became the head of the British government, he 

 proceeded to select among his advisers the most conservative men in Eng- 

 land; only one or two of these men represent the radical and the liberal 

 elements. 



In this country we have not yet felt the touch of the war as it must 

 inevitably come. A few weeks ago I saw a little pamphlet, evidently issued 

 by some department of the government, seeking to encourage the purchase 

 of Liberty bonds. This little pamphlet said that during the coming year 

 the United States government will probably require twenty billion dollars 

 for war purposes. The total income of the citizens of this nation is esti- 

 mated at approximately forty billions. In other words, every person, on 

 an average, during the coming year, will be expected to contribute one- 

 half of his income to the government for war purposes, either through 

 the purchase of bonds or the payment of taxes. Think what that will 

 mean to you — to everybody with whom you come in contact. This money 

 that has formerly gone out into all avenues of industrial activity will now 

 be concentrated on the war. Consider how that will affect the various 

 industries of our nation. At this time we are warranted in taking all 

 necessary steps to see that organizes business does not force an unwar- 

 ranted tax burden upon the" American people. We are not only serving 

 ourselves in protecting our just rights, but we are helping our government 

 to prepare efficiently to meet this great emergency which is facing 

 America. 



While the war does constitute an interesting topic for discussion, and 

 is uppermost in our minds, there are other economic and business ques- 

 tions confronting us from day to day, just the same as they have in the 

 past, and as they will in the future. I am going to discuss some of these 

 concrete propositions. You people have employed me as your attorney, 

 and I am going to make a sort of report to you of the activities in which 

 I have been engaged during the past year. 



You people are not directly concerned in the revision of Iowa inter- 

 state freight rates on class traffic; I have kept you in touch with it 

 from year to year, however. Six years ago, as you know', I made a cam- 

 paign for railroad commissioner, on the ground that our interstate freight 

 rates should be revised, and that fight has been waged from year to year. 

 We have secured this concession and that concession, and finally during 

 the past year the Interstate Commerce Commission, on re-hearing, placed 

 the upper Mississippi river CTossings not only on an equality with St. 



