Home Photo Gallery Classroom Documents Dear Mr. President: Replying to your letter of September 23, I have the following remarks to make. Conditions in our immediate vicinity are generally good. There are, however, splendid men, heads of families and unmarried men, without work though they are anxious to obtain employment. This is regrettable. It causes suffering together with a lack of peace and security, conditions that ought not to exist in a country like ours. The neighboring country is, in a large measure, given to farming. My own ancestors came to Louisiana in 1721. From that time to this they have tilled the soil and up to a few years ago made a comfortable living. As a boy, I remember that a farmer with a strip of land could make a living. The plantation owners were prosperous. Times have changed. My own family, like some many others, lost their plantations. In most cases, the people worked hard but they returns for their labor were poor. The result was more and more losses so that on both sides of the Mississippi the plantations now belong to the banks and insurance companies. The government must give the farmer some kind of security. Money spent for relief gives no permanent help. The rehabilitation of the farmer would improve conditions for himself and for his employees. When the farmer makes a decent living, the small towns prosper and these in turn help the large cities. The government seems to be trying to help the farmer. The process, however, of obtaining help from the government is complicated and the money comes very slowly. For example, money that should have reached the cane planters months ago has not yet arrived. In the meantime, the families must live and the workingmen must be paid- a mere pittance but what can the farmer do? How can the farmer pay a living wage when he hardly makes a living himself? It is unnatural that man should be unable to make a living from the soil. Let the government give security to the farmer, let him be assured a fair return for his labors. Begging God's blessing upon you and your efforts to bring about better conditions, I am, Very respectfully yours,
Rev. M. Schexnayder
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