The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 20, 1917, Page 10

BY RALPH L. HARMON ETERMINATION to serve the government in its hour of peril at all hazards; loyalty to the president and backing for the prosecution of the war, and insistence that the big industries be forced to reduce prices to the same basis that farmers have been compelled to reduce their's in the 1917 wheat crop, were the dominant notes of the conven- tion of consumers, producers and labor representatives, who gathered Monday, September 17, in the Fargo auditor- ium, under the auspices of the National Nonpartisan league. It was a history-making convention. Delegates were there from Montana, Minnesota, the DaKotas and New York. Never has such a representative indus- trial gathering been held in North Da- Kkota. The audience without partiality poured out its approval of Nonpartisan league addresses, labor addresses, and addresses coming exclusively from the consumers. There was complete har- mony and enthusiasm among the near- ly 2000 delegates at both afternoon and evening sessions. Not an entering rift was to be found in which enemies of the working classes could insert a wedge to divide the organized farmers from the organized laboring men. The resolutions that were drawn up during the afternoon and presented at the_evening meeting, with recommen- dations for lowering the cost of neces- sities to consumers of the cities, as well as cost of farm necessities to the farm- ers, were passed without opposition by the entire audience. Some amendments proposed from the floor of the conven- tion were incororated by the resolu- tions committee and adopted by the house unanimously. GOVERNOR SUMS UP CONVENTION PURPOSE =1 At the first glimpse of Governor Lynn J. Frazier, the audience went into a storm of applause, which was repeated when President A. C. Townley of the National Nonpartisan league, and Congressman John M. Baer, the first Nonps n congressman, ap- peared on the platform. In opening the meeting, Governor Frazier summed up the difficulties that confronted the spring wheat farmers by sayin “Many farmers had to buy seed this spring at $3 a bushel. Many had to borrow money, and all tried to put in a big crop in response to the call of The farmers did their but climatic conditions interferred. There are a dozen counties in this state that have not produced enough feed to enable them to keep their stock. Farmers therefore feel that they are deserving of some considera- tion, and that if a price is to be fixed " on the products of the farmers, the government should go down the line and fix the price on all other products, 10 the end that justice be done to all. We are here today, producers and con- sumers, meeting on common ground. We think we can assist our govern- ment by putting this proposition fairly and squarely before it.” Governor Frazier then introduced Dr. Ladd, who analyzed the cost of produc- tion, cited voluminous figures showing that it costs $22 to §24 an acre to pro- duce spring wheat, and quoting federal authorities who appeared before the price-fixing commission, of which Dr. Ladd is a member, and told the com- mission the facts. It developed from Congressman Baer's address later, that some of these figures brought in by de- partment of agriculture experts were emphasized by federal employes in the testimony before the commission, and that the department was much an- noyed when it was discovered that the full facts had been disclosed. LADD GIVES FACTS TO BIG AUDIENCE Some glimpses of the mass of facts cited by Dr. Ladd, all of which were listened to attentively by the audience, showed the following: That statistics kept carefully for 30 years on Cloverlea farm i Traill coun- ty showed the cost of producing one scre of wheat in 1916 was $22.74, and this year was $2441; That a mass of reliable data filed with the price-fixing commission showed the same general costs; That the figures of big yields brought from western states by opponents of farmers, in order to create the impres- slon of big ylelds generally, came from farms that were summer fallowed one- half to one-third of the time, so that the 40 bushel yields were really only 20 bushels a year, etc.; That there is an annual loss every ‘“There is mno doubt about the loyalty and patriotism of the farm- ers. We are here today to assist our govern- ment by putting this proposition fairly and squarely before it.”’— Governor Frazier. season in the United States of 9 per cent.of the land sown to crops, or an annual loss on 14,500,000 acres of land, amounting to $4.50 per acre, or 10 cents per bushel on this area; That the average farmer together with his wife and whole family work- ing_throughout the year makes only $318.22, while the average interest charge per farmer in the United States is $322.16, and many more similar figures showing the hazards and un- profitableness of average farming. GRADING OF GRAIN IS MERE GUESS WORK “The farmer's complaint is that the action brought against his profits, should be brought against all others,” said Dr. Ladd. He showed that under the present federal grades an expert grader can inspect only 10 samples a day, which makes it impossible for elevator agents to apply the grades, and reduces the buying to mere guess work of each agent. Men who work on the farms and in the cities join to give Uncle Sam the necessary backing in plan to compel war profiteers to disgorge—The people want justice to all classes to prevail at home during the war, so that discontent will not interfere with the vigorous prosecution of the war in Europe, and the boys “over there” on the battlefields be hampered by disorganized and ineffi- cient conditions that will delay victory and give comfort to the Kaiser and enemies of democracy. Dr. Ladd also brought a mass of figures to show that at the present price of wheat as fixed by the govern- ment, flour can be produced at $10.45 a barrel, including 25 cents per barrel profit, and all overhead expenses, and that the bread made from $9.45 worth of wheat sells to the consumer for $26. The consumers' side of the food problem was brought home directly to North Dakota farmers for the first time by Mrs. Panken of New York, Tepresentative of 30,000 allied women consumers, and her address got un- stinted applause from the auditorium packed with farmers. She read from board of health public figures showing that great quantities of food that spec- ulators had refused to sell to the starv- ing working men and women of New York, stayed on the wharves and rotted until’ the board of health had to order it destroyed. “MARKET SURPLUS" DESTROYED IN N. Y. These figures for the month of May, read by Mrs. Panken, showed that the following quantities of staple foods were ordered destroyed: 16,500 pounds. of potatoes, 15,000 pounds of raisins; 1480 pounds of various fruits; 700 pounds of beans and 2000 pounds of onions, although onions had been held at 20 cents a pound. The biggest item of food destroyed to keep up the price was 97,000 pounds of pineapples. “I want everything to be authentic,” said Mrs. Panken, “and I can stand be- hind every word I say here this after- noon. These figures are board of health statistics, and are designated in the report as ‘market surplus’. “I am glad to come 0 far to talk to brother farmers. It was farmers who gave us this government, and farmers who have given us our greatest presi- dents and congressmen. But since the increase of industry, capitalism has taken hold of the forces of government. and now controls your destiny, We in the cities are no better off. You are the producers of our food—we are the producers of the clothes you wear, the cars you ride in and many other things. Why is it we have not enough food and you have not enough clothes?” She then quoted figures in many in- The Resolutions Resolutions unanimously adopted by the 2000 farmers at the Fargo meeting included the following propositions: “‘Whereas, the average cost of producing a bushel of wheat in our state this year is over $3 a bushel, thus making a net loss to the farmer of $1.10 for every bushel raised, ‘“And whereas the farmers of North Dakota are willing to make this sacrifice and pay this tax to help our nation during the war, yet wishing to call the government’s attention to the fact that the price of steel, flour, meat, clothing, farm machinery, coal and other neces- saries of life have not been lowered to the consumer or fixed, ““Therefore we respectfully petition our government that it take over all of these great industries during the war, or fix the price so that these industries will be compelled to produce on the same basis as the farmer.”” Other recommendations were as follows: That the food administration take charge of the seed wheat situa- tion so that seed next spring will not cost farmers more than the pres- ent fixed price plus a reasonable storage charge. That the present system of grading be changed by the department of agriculture so that it will become practicable, workable and fair, That the government finance the farmers sufficiently for next year’s seeding and working of farms at the same rates of interest as it is lending financial aid to our allies, and That the food administration limit the profits of elevator com- panies to eight per cent and compel the pro-rating of all in excess of that back to the patrons of the elevators. In addition to these resolutions, stockholders of the Equity Co- Operative exchange present, passed a resolution calling attention to the effort of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce to double its com- mission charges on the 1917 wheat crop, and approved the offering of the facilities of the Equity to the government at cost for the duration of the war. PAGE TEN dustries to show the big. increases in profits due to the war. She told of the starving women last winter in New York, who became incensed. at the ar- bitrary raise in the prices of vegetables hour by hour, and how at last they poured kerosene on the vegetables they could not- buy and were clubbed by the police. She pictured the tenement ‘women with children clinging to their skirts, dragged to court and forced by the police and court officers to pay heavy fines, and how these fines had to be paid in pennies-and the people still further impoverished and made unable to buy food. HOW A COMMISSION INSULTED THE PEOPLE Mrs. Panken declared that she “learned a lesson in rotten politics” when she and other women went to Mayor Mitchell of New York to seek relief, and to Albany to seek state re- lief. “Mayor Mitchell told us he did not believe there was any starving and a commission was appointed to investi- gate,” she said. “This commission pub- lished a little book to sell at 10 cents each, telling the people how to work up their left-overs, including such things as left over turkey and chicken. The commission brought figures to show a great increase in bank deposits, and denounced some foreigners be= cause they had purchased imported ‘It will be only through your own representa- tives that you can get relief. The government has respect for people who are organized— Congressman Baer cheese. They should have purchased American cheese, the commission said. They condemned the extravagance of some families because they insisted on having butter to eat for sentimental Teasons. “The truth about the bank deposits was that a rumor got abroad that the Dbank where most of the East Siders had their savings deposited was about to fail, and they withdrew their sav- ings and deposited them in another Dank considered safe. Then the bank deposits of this other bank wero paraded by Mayor Mitchell's commis- sion as proof that the tenement dwell~ ers of New York were prosperous. “We in America must look again to you, the farmers. When the workers in agriculture, and the workers in in- dustry recognize-their common inter- ests, they can solve their problems. It Was you who gave us the honorable John M. Baer, who came to the defense of women persecuted at Washington, and Governor Lynn J. Frazier, who has come to support of the traditions of liberty.” BAER AND TOWNLEY MAKE SAME POINT The common ground existing be- tween consumers, industrial laborers and the farmers was emphasized by every speaker who appeared at both afternoon and evening sessions. Fol- lowing Mrs. Panken, President Town= ley, emphasizing her closing words, said: “The trouble with the farmers has always been that they lacked initiative, Citizens must learn to work together. ‘When the farmers and the workers in industry learn their community of in- terest, there will be no more beans dumped into the sea while people are hungry.” Congressman Baer touched the same subject in explaining a cartoon pic- turing the merchant, mechanic and farmer as goat, sheep and deer, and Big Business a wolf trying to devour them, “In. the past,” he said, “when the Wolf attacked the deef, the goat and the sheep: stood inactive. They said ‘what business 18 that of ours—that Great Fargo meetings organize public sentime; all industries to sacrifice profits during the w: forced the farmers to sacrifice profits on whe: conventions at St. Paul, enthusiastically indorses answers the unpatriotic and dishonorable attacks deer eats some of the green grass that we need And when the Wolf attacked the sheep, the goat and the deer stood by and said the same thing. Now the truth is if the goat and sheep and @eer had got their heads together they could have knocked that wolf into the middle of next week and saved them- selves.” Baer was greeted with an ovation ‘when he appeared for the first time in the afternoon. He told a few inci- dents of his meetings with representa- tives of Big Business at Washington, Hoover's attitude towards the farmer, and how the department of agriculture is out of touch with the farming in- dustry. One of Baer's biggest hits was his reference to the “reform school” conducted at Washington, where the “Washington spirit” is administered to all new comers and they are gradually weaned away from the purposes that animated them when they went to the capital. This was illustrated with a few chalk sketches which ‘“brought down” the audience. Baer declared he can not be “reformed.” In his evening address, Baer did not resort to his chart, but drove home to the farmers his impressions of the fight that is being made against them at Wash- ington, ~ which _frequently _aroused storms of applause, stamping and whistling. “John's coming up fine aim't he’— “Tll tell you he's the right man in the right place”—"Baer "ll stick all right” and other similar expressions were heard as the audience disbanded, BAER QUOTES HOOVER'S OPINION OF FARMERS “I want to tell you something about Mr. Hoover,” said Baer, in the course of his evening address. “I went in to see Mr. Hoover the other day to invite him to be present at the conferences in St. Paul. Mr. Hoover said to me: ‘T suppose the farmers up there will kick about the price of wheat, won't they? I want to tell you that the blooming farmers wouldn't have got more than 75 cents a bushel for their wheat if it hadn't been for the price- fixing commission’, “A little later a representative of some consumers' organizations went in to see Mr. Hoover, and he told me afterward that Hoover assured him consumers would have been paying a Pprice equal to $6 or $7 a bushel for Wheat, if it had not been for the price- fixing commission. “One evening I had the honor of be- ing the guest of Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota. I didn't think he would sail into me while I was his guest, and 50 I was somewhat off my guard, when be began: “I spoke from the same platform with Governor Frazier last fall’ the Benator said, ‘and he was then advocat- ing government control. Now yowve got government control, and I'm glad you've got it. You fellows up there are &1l hypocrites. “This took my breath away, but ‘when I came to, I.replied that the farmers of North Dakota do want gov- ernment control, but they want it by the representatives of the people—not of Big Business, and that they want government control, only at a stepping. Bstone to government ownership for all terminal facilities. PEOPLE ORGANIZED ° ARE RESPECTED “It is only through your own repre- Bentatives that you can get rellef, be- cause these fellows only have respect for the people Who are organized.” Mr. Baer told about the efforts of the League to get some members of the government to attend the St. Paul con- ferences of consumers, laborers and farmers, and the rebuffs he met in his efforts. Hoover declined to attend this big conference, but on the day it opened he went to Chicago to talk with Minne- apolis Chamber of Commerce members about their doubling of the commission for selling wheat. He promised to send & subordinate to represent the food ad- ministration, but later withdrew even this concession. When Baer asked Secretary of Agriculture Houston to send W. J, Spillman of his department to the conference, Mr. Houston refused, and said that “Mr. Spillman loses his head sometimes and says things he ought not to say, " things which Secre- tary Houston characterized as “dan- gerous.” HOUSTON IGNORANT OF IMPORTANT FACTS Secretary Houston had reference to Mr. Spillman’s statistics given before the price-fixing commission, that showed the tremendous annual losses to farmers and the small annual re- turns, It was Mr. Spillman who sup- plied Dr. Ladd with figures that corro- borated those gathered by the North Dakota Agricultural college, and who showed that every year there are 14,- 600,000 acres of seeded land that are not harvested; that average farm in- comes, including whole families, are only $318.22, and a mass of other data, which the department of agriculture did not wish to be made public. Mr. Spillman appeared before the commis- sion before Mr. Houston learned of it, Congressman Baer said. As further showing how little the secretary is in touch with general con- ditions, Mr. Baer told of his interview with Mr. Houston on the cost of pro- ducing North Dakota wheat. “When 1 told him that the average North Dakota yield was only a little over six bushels per acro in 1916, Mr. Houston said: - “‘That can’t be possible. Do you expect the government to do anything. to aid a business so unprofitable as that?' “I told him if he would look in his own agricultural department Year Book for 1916 he would find what it was, although T had not yet seen the report. He turned to North Dakota wheat, and found that the yield last year was only five and one-half bu- shels per acre, instead of six. What do you think of that as ah official admis- sion of the unprofitableness of farm- ing?” Leakages between producer and con- sumer were graphically set forth by Lynn Thompson, representative of union labor in Minneapolis, who show- ed Big Business influence is turned towards keeping up dissensions be- tween farmers and consumers. “Workers get about $50 for making the reapers that you pay about $160 for. The Industrial Relations commis- sion found that the workers are getting only 27 per cent of the wealth they pro- duce, although they produce all wealth, ‘It is our duty to stand by the president, but it is no less his duty to stand by the people. We are for government food control, but not dictated by Big Busi- ness.”’—President Townley. Even the ‘capital’ which goes into the production of wealth, was produced by the workers, “They used to tell us that the farm- ers are rich and independent. And they used to tell you that the laboring men in the cities raised wages and so made the manufactured things you had to buy so high that they had to ch: more. But we don't swallow that kind of dope any more. “The trouble is we always want others to do the thing that must be done. We say ‘dissolve the trust’, and then sit down. We'll do everything but do something to help ourselves. But Answer Attack on Frazier m N THE day the big Fargo meeting of League farmers was held, the Fargo Forum published on its front page an insulting at- ] tack on Governor Lynn J. Frazier. It was in the form of reso- Iutions, purporting to have been passed by the Minot couneil of the United Commercial Travelers, and it denounced Governor Frazier as being unpatriotic and not giving whole-hearted support to the gov- ernment during the war. This mean and uncalled for insult to the governor and to the farmers who placed him in office, published at a time when the farm- ers were holding a patriotic mecting to help the government in a fair price-fixing plan, caused considerable anger among the thousands of farmers at the meeting. Since the farmers’ administration has cleaned up the booze and vice gang at Minot, there has been considerable re- sentment there among certain classes who desired this lawlessness and immorality protected, and the farmers’ administration responsible for the Minot ““clean-up”’ has been vigorously denounced. At Minot and other aces in the state there has been a despicable effort on the part of political enemies of the farmers and of the gov- ernor to use the war as a pretext for attacking the governor—this, too, at a time when the united support of the people is needed back of BOTH THE STATE AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENT, in order that the war can be conducted to a quick and successful close. The. use made of the resolutions passed by the Minot commereial travelers by the Gang Press, which is fighting the governor and the farmers’ pro- gram, shows their real purpose—it was simply an attempt to get po- litical advantage of the governor in the sacred name of patriotism. The Fargo League meeting passed the following resolution in re- gard to the matter: ‘“WHEREAS, a little coterie of traveling men, representing big corporations within and without the state, through the Fargo Forum and other publications representing big business, have censured our governor, Lynn J. Frazicr, who stands without a peer among the gov- ernors of this nation for upholding the constitution and laws of the state, by prohibiting and curbing mob violence within the state, fear- lessly enforcing the law and calling upon officials to do their duty without favor or prejudice toward any, and whereas, the Fargo Forum and other such publications have given space and prominence to these paid representatives of big business and profiteers in their effort to discredit the farmers’ governor and our state administration, now, THEREFORE, be it resolved, that we, farmers and workers of the state of North Dakota, hereby assembled at Fargo, N. D., do hereby denounce and condemn the action of this group of men, evidently of- fended because of the administration’s law enforcement at Minot, as unpatriotic and contemptible, and wish to remind them that we will ‘uphold the governor’s hand in enforcing all laws and the constitution of this state. PAGE ELEVEN nt to back the government in a policy that will force ar, to the same extent that the government has at—Convention at Fargo, preliminary to three-day farmers’ administration in North Dakota and on the governor made for political purposes. we must help ourselves, We are in a majority in this nation and we can do anything if we take a notion. Why, you did do it up here at Bismarck, didn't you?” BIG BUSINESS FIG LABOR AND FARMERS Here the audience broke into pro- longed applause and laughter, as it did frequently at Mr. Thompson's hits, Mr. Thompson told of the efforts of Big Business to prevent the laboring men organizing with the farmers, “They tell us in the cities that the people who make all the trouble are the business agents who come around and take’$1 a month from the union mem- bers. And up here in North Dakota and everywhere the farmers are or- ganizing, they tell the farmers that the League organizer is their real enemy, because he comes and takes their $16 for two years membership.” TOWNLEY SAYS FARMERS WILL KEEP THEIR HEADS President Townley sounded the dominant note of patriotism and union of all classes of workers to take con- trol of government, in his afternoon address, “The only security that this country has today,” said President Townley, ‘against the day when men will arise and tear down things with their bare hands, is the organized farmers and workers. But I pray to God that there s, and I belicve there is, in these stal- wart pioneers of the Northwest that which will cause them to keep their heads and steer this nation into port, “This is the greatest crisis thi tion ever saw. Tt is your duty to a by the laws that have been enacted, whether you approve of them or not. As for me, T will go anywhere, any time, and do anything to uphold that law, so long as it represents the opin- fon of the majority, no matter how bad that law may be. “It is our duty to stand by the presi- dent, but it is no less his duty to stand by the people. It is the duty of the people to obey the laws enacted by the majority, but it is no less the duty of those in power to seek to find the will of the majority. FARMERS TAKE IT “OUT OF THEIR HIDES" “You farmers are taking the fertility out of the soil that you will one day have to replace,” he said. “And when you have taken about all of that, you take something out of your own hides— you work 16 hours a day year in and year out. And when farmers still can make no profits, they take it out of the women they married and promised to protect and don't protect. They take it out of their children, who are forced to stay at home to work on the farm when they should be going to school, and who are denied everything but labor. “We are willing to lay our cards face up on the table. All we want is for others to do the same. If you can get the real patriots tagether, this war will come to an end in a very short while, and democracy and liberty will be a great success. For we will not only have taken democracy and liberty to all the world, but there'll be a big- ger supply of it at home, TOWNLEY DEFENDS FOOD CONTROL PLAN “If you can prevail on the govern- ment to fix prices for other products on the same basis as it has been fixed for wheat, other business will call on the government to take it over. Their patriotism doesn't go so far that they will continue to produce at a loss. They have threatened they will not make the munitions necessary for war unless they can make those huge war profits—four billion dollars since the war began. If you do this, everybody in this country will be so enthusiastic in support of the war that Germany can't stand against us. “We still want control, but we don’t want control fixed by the grain trust from the steps of the White House. ‘We made a mistake—we ‘hollered’ for government control before we had the government.”