The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, January 27, 1916, Page 9

Ve, - Grain Growers of Three States in Convention : Rich in educational features and re- markable for its progressive action and, thought on marketing problems and in regard to abuses that have so long beset the. farmers of the Northwest, the annual convention of the Tri-State Grain Growers’ associa- tion came to a successful close last Friday in Fargo, after a four-day ses- sion. : This session of the association marked the close of the incumbency of John H. Worst, president of the association for 15 years, during which time he was its most active spirit and practically alone drew up the fiylendid programs of the convention. r.. Worst, who is president of the State Agriclutural college at Fargo, refused a new term as president and C. B. Waldron, dean of the agricul- tural department of the college, was unanimously elected to succeed him. ‘W. C. Palmer was reelected secretary and G. W. Randlett was named, vice president. Big Week for Farmers It was a big week in Fargo for farmers. Besides this convention, which brough hundreds of tillers of the soil from North and South Dako- ta and Minnesota, the Equity Cooper- ‘ative exhange stockholders of North Dakota held their annual convention in Fargo at the same time, and there was an automobile show, home-pro- ducts show, seed show, corn show end sessions of the Farm Managers’ gssociation and the Women’s auxil- iary of the Tri-state association. Visitors in the city-so-taxed the hotel sccommodations that the Commercial club found it nécessary to get its machinery busy listing rooms in pri- vate families for delegates and visit- ors. The meetings brought prominent farm experts and statesmen of the Northwest and of the nation to the city and addresses were delivered by Senator P. J. McCumber of North Da- kota and Assistant United States Secretary of Agriculture Carl Vroo- " . --»Worst Sounds Keynote The keynote of the_convention was sounded by President Worst in his an- nual address, published in full in last week’s issue of the Leader. While " no formal resplution was framed to express the convention’s thought on .marketing and allied - political and economic problems, the president’s eddress, the addressses of most of the ‘'speakers and the expressed opinions of the delegates gave great imretus to the cooperative ‘movement and sounded a battle cry for farmers in their move to get control of the po- ‘litical reins of the state for the en- actment of legislation for farmers. Despite the presence of Assistant Secretary Voorman from Washington, D. C, who ably presented the present national administration’s program for g‘;eparedness, and a speech by Rev. . K. Weaver of the Navy League of the United States, who urged a Roose- veltian preparedness program, the ‘delegates practically. unanimously adopted -by a standing vote a resolu- tion condemning these programs. The resolution, however, was not oppos- ed to reasonable preparedness, for'it advocates an increase in and better equipment of the militia of the var- ious sates and a mere edquate navy, obtained through cutting out the “pork” in present naval apppropria- tions and savings by government manufacture of armaments of all kinds. S iy o For Fair Preparedness The preparedness resolution was drawn up by Ray McKaig, secretary of the State Grange, who urged and secured its. rassage in a speech in which he said that the total strength of the various militia organizaions of the. sates could readily be made 700,- 000 through payment of a salary of $60 per year to militiamen, thus furnishing.an adequate reserve army of defense. He pointed, out that American navy expenditures for the 10 years pre- ceding the European war had actual- ly. exceeded Germany’s, but that at the beginning of the war the German navy was the second - in efficiency and size in he world and the Ameri- can fourth.. He attributed this dis- crepancy to “pork” in erican ex- penditures and said a greatly in- creased navy could be obtained, ans- wering all- purposes of defense, if “pork” were eliminated, instead of vastly increasing expenditures under other plans of preparedness. He claimed the frenzied cry for pre- paredness was due to a paid propa- ganda of munition manufacturers and advocated government manufac- tured munitions and armaments, to take the profit out of national de- fense and allow an uninfluenced, ~calm consideration of the problem. = Farm Profits Slim ‘Senator McCumber -in his address described the difference between: or- ganizing a farm and organizing_n a year salary for him; a general man- 7 1 THE NONPARTISAN LEADER John H. Worst Retires as President After Fifteen Years of Service--Marketing Keynote of Big Meeting--Pre- paredness Program Denounced in Resolutions Passed Unanimously by Farmers Present. business under present conditions. “When capitalists and promoters in the city get together to organize a es. then the rest of the common labor and clerical help hired at going wag- Then with these expenses the Grain Growers Name Offiers, Pass Resolutions New officers of the Tri-state Grain Growers’ association— C. B. Waldror, president; G. W. Randlett, vice presndeni; /. C. Palmer, secretary. New officers woman’s auxilinty—Mrs. W. W. Erewn, Amenia, N. D., president; Mrs. J. H. Sheperd, Fargo, secretary. The only resolution adopted, except those thanking the of- ficers and speakers for their work and the Fargo Commercial club for its help, was the following: : “Whereas there is being urged an armament campaign and a vast expenditure for frenzied preparedness for war— “Whereas, there is being urged a larger standing army and a huge continental army and, a plan to expend millions to private firms for a bigger navy— ' _“Whereas, such an armament program, we fear, may plunge this na- tion into needless wars and vast expense, and our citizens into great distress— .. “Whereas, the militia regiments of the various states were primar- ily organized to repel invasions and are as such fundamentally the nu- cleus of a volunteer army of the United States, and are thus by the prorosal of a continental army to be cast aside as useless junk— “Whereas, we feel that there is a paid propaganda working through- ovi::._t the Union to spend vast millions on incraesed navy and war prepar-, ations— g “Be it resolved, we farmers and others in assembly in Fargo, N. D., January 19, 1916, do hereby petition our senators and representatives at Washington to be calm and deliberate with care these proposals. That we ask congress to assist the malitia of the country to Ee equipped and, increased as our ideal citizen soldiery. That we ask, for an efficient navy without the pork barrel, and that we demand the government build its own warships and own and build its own factories for ammunit- ion, guns and ether equipment fo. the maintainance of an army and navy. business venture they elect a presi- business is expected to pay dividends dent and, let us say, provide a $3000 -of 10 per cent. “Say a farm is organized on that Fourth Man to Join the League ANTHONY WALTON, of Minot; and his wife.. - g g Anthony Walton of Minot, the fourth farmer “in" North Dakota to join the Farmers’ Nonpartisan Pbliti¢al “league, who had faith in the movment from the start, before the League ‘was the vast army of the farmers it now is, has ust returned from his “honeymoon” with Mrs. Walton whom he married 21 years ago. They have never taken time in their busy lives to have a wedding trip tll recently, when the returned from a tour -of eight states. RN Mr. Walton is a farmer from the ground up, intergsted in all movements for the farmers’ good, politically or' economi- cally . He is a member of the Society of Equity and one of the committee of that organization now looking for.a site for the proposed new cooperative packing plant of the organi- zation. : 23 : “I joined the League February 3, 1915, and only three farmers of North Dakota beat me to it,” says Mr. Walton. He is proud of that fact and carries his receipt for membership dues around with him in his pocketbook. “I have been in the state 12 years, all spent in_the north prairie country, and after my trip to eight states, just finish- ed, I want to say North Dakota beats them all. And it will be a better state when the League and the Leader sée their . program pushed through. The Leader is just right—it is tell- ing us the truth and what we want to know. If we can drop party politics and stick together we will win. I am confident the {.efigue will win, electing good men—farmers—to office “in North Dakota, who will give what we have begged all these years. of legislatures in vain, and what we are entitled to by virtue of our casting most of the votes and paying most of the taxes in this state.” A ager is named at a salary of $2400; 'plan. The farmer is 'présidpnt at & dgpartment managers or formen are salary of $3000, his sor general mans employed at other fixed salaries, and ager at v$24000, his ' wife "chigt of é .get and why don’t NINE household at $2000, his sons and daughters drawing adequate salaries as employes. The farm, if organized like a city business, must pay these salaries and then the 10 per cent div- idend besides. How many farms do it? None do—you are lucky to make one salary such as these I have men- tioned in one year. Should Get Wages’ “] want to see the farmer, as man- ager, and his family as employes re- ceive city salaries for their work, and after paying such salaries, I want to see the farmer able to declare a divi- dend upon his investment in farm ma- chinery, just the same as in other lines of business. I want to see the farm laborer receive just as much per hour for building a hay stack as the city masons receive for building a chim- ney. I want to see farming made a success through the earning capacity of the land rather than through the “everlasting saving of the farmer. I want to see the farmer able to spend just as much for theatres, for travel and for amusement as the merchant or manufacturer. I insist that the farmer’s wife is as much entitled te her calling and receiving days, her dressmakers, her hair dressers, her manicurers as her sister whose hus- may be engaged in city voca- cations. I want a more -equitable division of labor, a more equitable division of profits, a more equitable division of pleasures. Need Organization “Mr. Chairman, were I to express in the fewest possible words the most important present needs of the farm- ing world, and in the order of their importance, I should declare, first, the American market, shielded from un- due foreign invasion; second, such federal standardization and grading of farm products as will insure con- fidence in their character and prevent fraudulent and injurious practices; third, a system of rural credits, sim- ple of operation, and sure in benefits, that will minimize the rate on inter- est bearing obligations; and fourth, cooperation in the marketing: of farm products, including a closer relation between producer and ulti- mate consumer. ) “And, Mr. Chairman, were I to ex- press the only sure method, of secur- ing these benefits, I should sum it all up in two words, ‘Organized Effort.” ” Marketing Big Issus Former Congressman Manahan of Minnesota, attorney for the Society of Equity, gave a stirring address. “More important than land,” he said, “more imrortant than grain, live stock and bank accounts to the farmer is the manhood of the people. I mean by that what comes from hap- py and well-sustained lives in a pleas- ant environment. And, the most vi- tal thing that affects conditions that make for manhood is marketing. “Marketing is now more important to the farmer than cultivation. We have spent billions to improve the latter; the big problem now is the former. The consumer pays the farm- er, but between the two are the great handling organizations, middlemen, chambers of commerce. It is to the study of this machinery in between and to organization to right its abus- es that farmers must bennd their ef« forts. “And let me say right here that the greatest single influence on this marketing machinery is government, and that must be used for the farm- ers’ benefit. Business men who man- ipulate_this great marketing machin-~ ery and fix the prices and conditions under which farmers must live know the part the government plays and they are not slow to direct its hand: to their benefit. It remains fon farmers to do he directing.” Bacon Too Steep H E. G. Quamme of Finley, N. D., gofl to the root of farmers’ problems. He declared, for a great cooperative pack- ing plant owned cooperatively or by the state, and either for a coopera- tive or state operated system off rural credits. “I say it is not profitable to farm in North Dakota today,” said the speaker. “We have -40,000,000 acres of land in the state and .over $100,000,000 in mortgages—an average of -$20 to $35 an acre in land debt. I do not want to make statements that are derogative to our great state, but I am going to.give you facts. “We thought that we were growing rich in this country, but it is a mis-< take. When we of the Northwest are uring in our gold in interest rates, e people of the eastern states are reaping the harvest. For Packing Plant “Up my way we pay 35 cents per pound for bacon but we only get & cents per pound for pork we produce. Maybe somebody has can tell me where ‘the -difference goes. Now I don’t understand why we get even ' b cents a pound for our hogs. We have nothing to sa¥ about t we hese fellows wha