The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 27, 1917, Page 16

‘“If we are to have price fixing let it be effective, 1 down the line, or let us have none at all.”’—Former L. McLaurin of North Carolina. et it go right Senator John - THE PEOPLE SPEAK r (Continuel from rage 15). the expenses of war, and be it fur- ther “RESOLVED, that we call upon congress and the national admin- istration to cause the dollars of America to be enrolled for service fore be it JUSTICE FOR SOL and in addition thereto in many cases leave those at home who are more or less dependent on their earnings, there- DIERS MUST BE ENACTED just as the youth of this nation has been compelled and has gladly re- sponded to the call to enroll itself to fight and to die for human . liberty, and that when thus enroll- ed the dollars of America likewise be taken for the uses of war, in order that our government may live, and in order that autocracy may die, and in order that this may remain in truth and in fact a free, contented and prosperous land and a government in very fact and reality OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE. AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLV- ED, that as a means of raising war revenue we earnestly urge the con- scription of such wealth as it may be found possible to conscript without hampering the operations of industry necessary to the support of the civilian population, as well as the maintenance of army and navy to the highest effi- * ciency, and as regular war revenue sources we urge the levy of a two per cent tax upon the value of all unused or inadequately used land, whether in city or rural districts and income taxes levied upon all incomes in excess of $2,000 so that the total net income of any individual shall not exceed $100,000 per annum. : PUBLIC UTILITIES SHOULD BE PUBLICLY OWNED “WHEREAS, the only sure founda- tion of democracy both in peace and war is the establishment of ‘justice and equality in the distribution of the fruits of labor, and “WHEREAS, we believe such a con- dition to be impossible for accom- plishment ' with private ownership of the great basic "industries such as mines, timber lands, water power and railways, now therefore, be it _“RESOLVED, that we declare for the public ownership of public utilities, and that all of the great basic industries are public utili- ties, and be it further “RESOLVED, that we do em- phatically endorse the resolutions of the miners of Butte in favor of government operation of the cop- per mines. “WHEREAS, it is absolutely neces- sary that every means be employed to combat the high cost of living and to meet the serious situation arising out of the war. Therefore be it “RESOLVED, that we heartily en- dorse and commend all truly co-opera- tive organizations, both of production and distribution. “WHEREAS, our government has met determined opposition in its efforts to reduce prices and to conscript wealth for service in the war, be it “RESOLVED, that wherever the government’s plan of price fixing or conscription of wealth to pay for the war can not be made to operate successfully through the failure to co-operate of the persons or corporations engaged in the various industries, we urge that our government, following the course found necessary by our allied nations, immediately com- mandeer all necessary industries such as flour mills, terminal ele- vators, iron mines, coal mines, cop- per mines, oil fields, packing houses, railroads, telephone and telegraph lines, express companies, clothing factories, steel mills, ar- mor plate mills, ship yards and any and all other industries or public service utilities as may he needed by the government in the conduct of the war and to prevent the lowering of the standard of liv- / Ing upon which the strength of the ! nation depends. “WHEREAS, men who fight the na- tion’s war do so in any and all events at a great pecuniary loss as well as enduring suffering and facing death, ‘“War profits in raw materials “RESOLVED, that our soldiers during the period of the war be paid not less than $50 per month, and that they be protected by the government against foreclosures of mortgages and enforcement of con- tracts, effecting property and be it further “RESOLVED, that the govern- ment furnish life insurance for all soldiers at a low premium and also guarantee them protection in their jobs when they return, together with the enforcement of seniority rights in their jobs, as now enforc- ed by many labor organizations. “WHEREAS, labor troubles exist and continue to multiply in all industries in which profiteering is now permitted, therefore be it “RESOLVED, that in all basic in- dustries, wherein strike troubles are not speedily adjusted that the gov- ernment take over such industry and operate the same during the period of the war and one year thereafter. “WHEREAS, in our present indus- Lindbergh o trial and economic relations workers in industries are compelled to organize in order to protect themselves against the greed of unscrupulous employers, both in matter of wages and working conditions, therefore be it “RESOLVED, that we heartily endorse the - principle of labor unionism, and we urge that the closest possible affiliation and friendly relations be maintained between organized farmers and or- ganized workers in the struggles of each industrially and politically. WILSON'S TERMS OF PEACE ARE INDORSED “WHEREAS, there is a desire on the part of many employers of labor -to have let down the bars against im- migration, therefore be it “RESOLVED, that the present im- migration laws be strictly enforced and strengthened in every way to the benefit of our own citizens and .workers. “WHEREAS, the people have at present no effective way of expressing the will of the majority, be it “RESOLVED, that we favor direct political action through the initiative, referendum and recall of elected- of- ficials, with the right of all citizens to equal participation in all elections. “WHEREAS, in ‘response to an earnest appeal for peace by Pope Benedict XV our government has made a prompt and courteous reply which makes clear the purposes of the Am- erican people in the war, now there- fore be it “RESOLVED, that we emphatic- ally endorse as being worthy the support of every good and loyal citizen of our country, the reply of our government to the Pope's peace appeal, and we commend and approve of our government’s efforts to- inform the German people that our war is not g war for their injury, but for the es- tablishment of that liberty with- out which all liberty and democ- racy is unsafe, and we pledge our support and approval to all fur- ther efforts to unite our govern- ment and its allies behind this clear statement of our purposes, In order that the war may not continue one day longer than is necessary to attain the nobfe ob- jects of the American people.” average two to two and one-half times more than they were before the war. Great reductions can be made in the prices of all raw materials and still leave large profits. We must get at the raw materials first and we must make a clean sweep.””—Ray Vance, director Brookshire Eco- nomie service, New York City. ‘It is false logic that says you can pay for the war in the future.: The lives and material are being used now. If you attempt. to put off the payment to the future you merely add the interest on the bonds to the principal.”’—Former Congressman C. A. Conference Ends in Cheers (Continued from page 11) we have stood back everything has been all wrong.” Mayor Van Lear charged that em- ployers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to elect officials favorable to them with the result that when a strike occurs strikers are thown into jail on the slimmest pre- text. He urged that the control of politics is just as important to the workers as any part of industrial or- ganization. . WORKMEN JAILED ON SLIM PRETEXT to make it a business which you will be glad to have yours sons and daughters follow.” 2 He had occasion, said Mr. Colyer, to contradict false stories about the far- mers’ organization which came to hisg ears in Washington. “It has been a great pleasure to me,” he said, ““to correct false stories about you people out here that have come to my ears. They revealed, not mere misrepresentations, but lies about you, and 1 was glad of my opportunity to say, ‘I know. A hearsay argument doesn’'t get very far against an eye= witness.” “l have associated with union workmen for many years and | know that we don’t do and don't say and don’t feel as they charge us with doing and saying and feel- ing. Workmen too often are put in jail because the men behind the scenes who pull the strings want them put in jail. “They are not put in jail because they violate the law. We would not complain at that. Any man who vio- lates the law ought to be put in jail The farmer has found out that he is not listened to very much except when he says ‘yes’ Political liberty ought to give him the right to say ‘no’ once in a while. “When the time comes that the American people can not get up and express themselves as agreed to by the forefathers who wrote the consti- tution, then this is no longer a re- public. “The farmer,” said Mayor Van Lear, “is the greatest gambler on earth and has stood by the nation through thick f Minnesota. and thin, yet some people try to.ques- tion his patriotism.” CROWD WOULD EJECT LYING REPORTERS President Townley’s address was also an attack upon the war profiteers. “A group of autocrats in this coun- try,” he said, “resisting the govern- ment in its efforts to tax their profits, are prolonging the war. A group of multi-millionaires stands at the gate- way of world democracy and says you cannot enter unless you pay us. “I say to the American people: ‘Yours is.the greatest opportunity the world has ever had. God Almighty, I he- lieve, has said to you, you must win the world for liberty and democracy, but first you must prove your steel by conquering this autocracy at home’.” Mr. Townley denounced a local newspaper which, he said, had “lied by wholesale” in its accounts of the conference. There were cries of “put him out,” evidently referring to the rep- resentatives of the newspapers, which the speaker finally silenced. The spirit and purpose of the con- ference which concluded its three-day sessions tonight, was very similar to WORKERS WILL LEAD IN GETTING JUSTICE Mr. Colver spoke for united effort and patience with the attempts of the government to regulate prices. “We have entered the greatest strug- gle the world has ever seen,” he said, “and we have entered it, not near the finish, but at the most critical point. This is not going to be a short war, but a long war. feel the burden of it before we through, There is no one of us who will not have to sacrifice heavily. We are all going to are and to sacrifice “We are not going to get out until all are hit hard, and just about (jqu:llly hard. “I am going back with the convic- tion that you are the kind of people who will lead the way to fixing what is wrong with the situation.” Carl D. Thompson, secretary of the National Government Ownership league, gained enthusiastic applause for his declaration in favor of govern- ment ownership of railroads, telegraph and telephone lines, and mines, and for municipal ownership of municipal pub- lic utilities. STATE OWNERSHIP IN EUROPE SUCCEEDS “Public ownership will introduce a new motive into the conduct of these public utilities, that will be the motive of public service,” he said. . He declared that the ‘“burden of ex- ploitation” in the shape of net profitg of transportation and public utility corporations in the United States is ten billion dollars a year. How government ownership ha§ been adopted as a war necessity in European countries, extending to government operation of mills and factories, and has resulted in tre- mendous savings and increase in war efficiency, was told in a paper by Marian Wharton, read by Jo- seph Gilbert, League manager. James Manahan, former congress- man from Minnesota, indorsed the principle of government operation of the flour mils, which, he said, would save the nation millions, “We have now upon us the heaviest burden and the biggest responsibility men have had in thousands of years,” said Mr. Manahan. EQUITY MAN ALSO SPEAKES TO DELEGATES “Our first duty is to free the world from the power of military autocracy, but we must not only do that but must rrotect our government and our flag from the spirit of greed, o( hypocrisy, ‘‘Kansas farmers don’t like the wheat price. But they will like it if the saving is allowed to flow, without diminution and with- out reduction, to the consumer.”’—President H. J. Waters, ' . Kansas Agricultural college. that expressed by President Wilson in his letter to business men of July 11 of this year, according to W. B. Colver of the federal trade commission, for- merly a newspaper publisher of St Paul, who addressed the afternoon ses- sion today. CONFERENCE IN LINE WITH WILSON’S IDEA “I have attended several of your ses- sions and I have heard a number of the speeches,” said Mr. Colver. “I want to say that I haven’t heard any- "thing which seems to add to or to con- tradict what the president said in his letter.” Mr. Colver then read extracts from the letter of the president, which con- tained the famous statement that “pat- riotism and profits ought not to be mentioned in the same sentence” and that ‘“real patriotism leaves profits out of the question.” Mr. Colver referred to the Nonparti- san league in complimentary terms, “l have watched very closely,” he said, “the beginnings of this move- ment of the farmers. It is a move- ment to dignify the business, the ancient profession you follow, and . PAGE SEVENTEEN and of sneering wealth, more danger- ous than any material injury.” J. Weller Long, secretary of the American Society of Equity, proposed a better union of farmers’ societies and a compact union with workers’ organi- zations, F. M. Coffey, president of the Ne- braska State Federation of Labor, pleaded for closer cooperation between union men and farmers., He told the audience that one of his sons already was in the army and another about to go. Judge EIl Torrance of Minneapolis, addressed the conference, urging sup- port for the second Liberty Loan of 1917, soon to be issued. Judge Tor- rance was given respectful attention and enthusiastic applause. WOMAN MEMBER OF CONGRESS SPEAKS He spoke of his own experiences, serving as a private through the Civil war, and of the difficulties faced by the government at that time from disaf- fection in the north. Regardless of personal feelings to- ward the administration, the speaker (Continued on page 23)