Interested in the Home Owner
I have often referred to Secretary Wilson’s statement that no man was ever known to hang the red flag of anarchy over his own hearthstone. Mr. Cox says:
“Multiply our home owners, and you will make the way of the seditious agitator more difficult. Bring into the picture of American life more families having a plot of garden and flowers all their own and you will find new streams running into the national current of patriotism. Help to equalize the burdens of taxation by making the holders of hidden wealth pay their share with those whose property is in sight. In short, remove the penalty imposed upon home-building thrift and thousands of contented households under the shelter of their own roof will look upon government with affection, recognizing that in protecting it they protect themselves.
“Common prudence would suggest that we increase to our utmost our area of tillable land. The race between increased consumption and added acreage has been an unequal one. Modern methods of soil treatment have been helpful, but they have their limitations. There are still vast empires in extent, in our country, performing no service to humanity. They require only the applied genius of men to cover them with the bloom and harvest of human necessities. The Government should turn its best engineering talent to the task of irrigation projects. Every dollar spent will yield compensating results.”