The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 4, 1917, Page 9

on, I would warn you, however, not ta expect too much of the newspaper boys here because this is their first ! lesson, maybe; and they may not get it all today—though they are a good, bright looking bunch of fellows. WHAT FARMERS AND WORKERS ARE DOING - The farmers and the workers of this nation have not been doing much of anything lately. All they have been doing, is working at the business of producing corn, wheat, barley, oats, flax, rye, potatoes, mus- tard, custard and every other—steel coal, iron, shoes, clothing, guns, mu- nitions, bullets, battleships. All the workers these last several months, since this nation got into the war, have been doing on the farm and in the city, all they have been doing is to provide the necessaries of life and war, to feed the people of ; the world and its armies of liberty. While they have been doing that, eertain other gentlemen, not so busy, This is the other half of the panorama picture of the convention delegates. sessions, and does not show the labor delegates who were unable to attend leaving this less important work of _ providing beans and bread for every- body to eat—leaving this for the farm- ers—who know how—these other gen- tlemen who have not been so busy, have spent a good deal of time an- nouncing their patriotism. They have gotten a little the start of us. That is all the difference. Five or six billion dollars of war profits will pay for a pretty good sized an- nouncement. But the corn is—how does that go? The frost is on the pumpkin and the corn is in the shock. The beans are taken care of. The ships are being built, the farmers have provided for the feeding of the world, and the armies of liberty. The farmers and svorkers in all the cities have provided hmply for all ‘‘those material things necessary to win- the war, and have given up their sons to fight the war, and you, their delegates, are here to- day to make an'announcement of your patriotism, You know when a man works 16 hours a day, raising the wheat for the government to commandeer to feed the soldiers and ‘win the war—and when he works long hours in the steel mills or the coal mines, producing the things that the government of this na- tion needs to win the war—at the end of the day he has spent so much of his energy in the patriotic effort to actu- ally DO something for his country, that he doesn’t have much energy left to wave the flag and TALK about it. He GOES TO SLEEP! (Laughter). NOW FARMERS SHOW THEIR PATRIOTISM Others who leave the little busi- pess of producing all these necessi- ties to us—whose hands are white and whose skins are soft—have more time to wave the flag. If we spent as much time waving the flag as they do, we would all starve to death—they and we alike. (Applause). I repeat, we are here today to make as much of an dnnouncement of our patriotism as what practice we have had enables us to male, and I predict that if we continue to im- This is the speech of President Townle press did not dare to print in full—th with presents a stenographic r y at the St. Paul conference. Itisthe speech the controlled at they call “disloyal” and unpatriotic. The Leader here- eport of the speech. Carry the truth to the people. —————— prove in the next two or three years as the farmers of North Dakota have in the last year, we, at the end of that time, will be able to make pretty nearly as much noise as they do. Providing, however, that we get enough for our wheat and our leath- er so we don’t starve to death during that time. We are not afraid of the compariscn either of business ability or patriotism, with any of these gen- tlemen with coal and iron and steel. We have invited them here today to compare theirs with ours, and they DIDN'T COME, PATRIOTISM AND PROFITS DO NOT GO TOGETHER The kept press, the newspapers owned. by those who make four or five BILLIONS of dollars a year, and the mouths of some gentlemen have been full of professions of patriot- ism; but many of those profes- sions of patriotism come from men whose pockets bulge with gold stolen from us. They are not patriots, because they possess billions and billions of war profits 'wrung from the agony and sweat and toil of starving men and women,: the possession, I say, of these billions of dollars of war profits in the pockets of these profiteers— their arms red to the elbow in ' the blood of this nation—is proof that they are not patriots. For, in the language of the high- est authority of these United States, “patriotism and profits do not go to- gether.” Then, in a time of the worlds crisis, in a time of the na- tion’s needs, if they are not patriotic, what are they? Get a German helmet, prace it upon THEIR head, and YOU SEE THE ' KAISER himself. (Cheers and- applause). It is absolutely the only conclu- sion that you can come to. Patriot- ism consists in doing something for the good of the NATION; patriotism consists in sacrificing something for the Nation's good. A Voice: That's right. Patriotism is based upon Justice —NOT UPON ROBBERY. A Voice: Absolutely. Well, I want to say to you ‘that if these men and women; here today, will tell the truth about this thing as you see it, I won't ask them to tell it as I see it—as you represen- tatives of some two or three million people, who have been toiling night and day, for their country. If they will tell the truth about this thing as YOU see it, THE PROFITEERS WILL HAVE TO GO OUT OF BUSI- NESS, for they can not stand the light of truth. No criminal can stand the light of truth. DEFEAT AUTOCRACY AT HOME AND ABROAD At the time when this nation needs every ounce of its energy, when {ts very LIFE hangs in the balance, when liberty and democracy over all the world hang by a thread, these vultures are sucking our life- blood, and they have so far succeed- ple that we call them patriots! And a farmer out here, who thinks that he should not be docked 20 cents per bushel because a bushel of wheat has five pounds of barley In ft, IS PRO-GERMAN. (Applause.) I hope — I hope we are going to make & changs. I believe we are, with your assistance, and with the aid of brothers and sisters of the boys who are going to the battle front, we may yet defeat those al- lies of autocracy here in our own midst. You and the people at large have been led to believe that this is a pro- test against the price the govern- ment has fixed upon wheat. It is not. You have been led to believe that we want the price of wheat raised upon the same basis with the price they are charging for what THEY have to sell. We have not got the nerve to ask that. If we should get as much for wheat according to what it costs to produce it, as they are getting This picture was taken at one of the morning the day-time meetings, for coal and steel, we would have so much money we could not carry it around. We ‘are not used to handling so much money. More than that, we have got to spend our time plowing and seeding and feeding the calves. THE SAME RULE SHOULD ‘APPLY TO EVERYONE So we are not here this afternoon to protest either against the price fixed by this government for wheat to the farmer in the Northwest or against the law that authorizes the government to fix prices. We be- lieve there is a better way, one that can more easily be explained—and men that work sixteen hours a day need their propositions put in ‘plain language. One that can be more easily explained; and that is this. 'That we accept the government’s proposition to fix the price of wheat as it has, and all on God’s green earth we want, everything we ask, is this. The thing we pray for night and day is that the government may be able with YOUR help and my help and the help of a majority of PAGE NINH The Big Business press, fearing the pressure of public opinion for conscription of wealth during the war, which was solidified at the great Producers’ and Consumers’ conference at St. Paul, has branded this patriotic confer- ence as ‘“‘disloyal”’, despite the fact that the onlly action of the 5000 earnest delegates present was to pass resolutions approving the government’s war aims, pledging support to the government in fixing fair prices and urg- ing the heavy taxation of war profits. Here is President Townley’s speech at this meeting. Read it and see how “disloyal” it is! the people of this nation—we pray the government may be able to fix the price of everything else on the same basis as it has fixed the price on wheat. ‘We are not at all selfish in this mat- ter, We don't want the prices you are getting for what we have to sell. We want YOU to take the prices we are getting for what WE have to sellL Come on in, you gentlemen 'of coal, and iron and steel and flour. Come on in with us. THE WATER'S FINE! (Ap- plause). For, according to this American - democracy as I understand it—I may be mistaken—a rule that should ap- ply to one group of citizens ought to apply to the others likewise. I refuse to believe that America has been Prussignized yet. Until I am compelled to stop, I am going to con- tinue to shout from the house tops. But it is our duty to support the govern- ment in its program to fix prices. And I am going to continue to be- lieve, as I do now, that except for the influence of those over-patriotic gentlemen of coal, and iron and steel, we would be GETTING a square deal today. But the only method you can follow to get a square deal is to bring to bear upon your government an influence that will beat theirs. You have got to out-do them at their own game. Oh, no! SOMEBODY is mistak- en. This is not a protest at all. We are gathered here today to sup- port the government in its pro- gram to lower prices. We are gathered here today to bid Godspeed to the agents of the department of justice in THEIR WORK, urging them as soon as they are through with us to GO ON DOWN THE LINE. It is difficult to hold meetings these days. But the city of St. Paul seems to be very progressive, and I believe if the representatives of the grain trust and the coal trust and the steel trust and the sugar trust and the leather trust and all the rest—want to get together and do as we are doing, I believe if there is not any other place in the United States where they can get together and do what we are doing here today, that ST. PAUL will. let them come here and do it. And I want to say further that if they don’t want to take any chances at all and have not the money to do it, we will pay the rent. The Nonpartisan league will do that. (Applause). PROFITEERS SEEKING LARGER COMMISSIONS Not because we have got so much money, but because we believe it would be a good investment. We will mortgage our farms to pay the rent, I hope the resolutions committee is present and will take note of some of the things I say, and embody some of these things in a communication to these gentlemen. They are in Chicago today. But not doing what WE are doing here today. Oh, no. They are making a mighty effort to convince the administration that they need two cents a bushel com- mission when they always got along with one cent before. And I don’t know but what they MAY succeed. I hope we have not come to that pass where they shall succeed. If they must have two cents a bushel, let us make a treaty with them and have them wait until the war is over, be- cause we need that money now. TO PAY FOR THE WAR! It is your duty to support the government and see to it that (Continued on page 17) RS A et S