The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 4, 1918, Page 9

s Al - v;’v - for unaccountable reasons. big part of the eorn so- fed was wasted—trampled into the muck of the pens. LATER THE YARD-COMPANY COMES AROUND AND SCOOPS UP THE MUCK AND THE CORN, WASHES THE CORN OUT AND RESELLS IT, AT OVER $1 ABOVE THE MARKET PRICE, to the next farmer who comes along and has to have feed for his stock. k! E This is some of the relatively unimportant testimony, interesting chiefly because it shows to what petty steals the trust will stoop in its dealings with farmers. Because most of the testimony at the feder- al hearings was important, the Leader with this issue starts a series of articles that will report the proceedings at St. Paul and elsewhere where the Federal Trade commission went to get evidence. AME Ry e, ’ ¥ THANK YOU, MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA! HE Leader has insisted that all business men and all Commercial clubs are not unfair to the farmers. From time to time we have . pointed out the busifiess men and business men’s organizations that are fair to the farmers. In faet, we believe that the busi- ness men of the towns who are friendly to the farmers in the farmers’ fight for justice and democracy GREATLY OUTNUMBER the preju- diced, unfair business men. Some have had a different opinion. Some have held that all business men—business men as a class—are opposed to the farmers and their political and economic program. The reason some people have got this false impression is because the unfair, prejudiced business men HAVE TALKED THE LOUDEST AND HAVE GOTTEN THE MOST PUBLICITY FOR THEIR TIRADES AGAINST THE ORGANIZED FARMERS IN THE PRESS HOSTILE TO THE FARMERS. Business men who are friendly to the organized farmers, or at least fair to them, even if they differ as to the merits of the farmers’ program, HAVE NOT BEEN TALKING LOUD ENOUGH. THEY HAVE NOT GOTTEN THE PUBLICITY IN THE GANG PRESS THAT THE OTHER, SMALLER ELEMENT OF BUSINESS MEN HAVE OBTAINED. Hence the wrong impres- sion that all business men, or most business men oppose the Nonparti- san league. ; s : Elsewhere in this issue we publish a set of resolutious adopted by the Chamber of Commerce of Mitchell, South Dakota. Don’t fail to read those resolutions. Don’t fail to call them to the attention of your friends among the business men or others who maintain that ALL business men are unfair and prejudiced. The resolutions of the Mitchell business men invite the Nonpartisan league to establish its South Dakota headquarters at Mitehell. They set forth the merits of Mitchell as a central location, ete. They offer the co-operation of the business men of Mitchell in finding the League suitabie quarters and in any other way that they can help in making the state managers, officers and employes of the South Dakota League comfortable. The business men of Mitchell are too modest to add other ad- vantages that Mitchell possesses. It has a newspaper, the Mitchell Re- publican, which is fair to the organized farmers. It has business men who, even if they differ with the political and economie aims of the organized farmers, are not blindly prejudiced and are willing to let the farmers have a hearing and a fair deal—and that’s all the farmers want. We recommend these resolutions to the banks in Idaho, which, through political prejudice, have refused to handle the business of the Nonpartisan league; to the mayors and business men of a few Minne- sota towns who have attempted to prevent the farmers meeting in their-towns; to the newspapers of many of the big cities which have sought to set the business men AS A CLASS against the organized farmers, and to foolish people everywhere who are attempting to make the farmers’ attempt to protect themselves and get a fair hearing a class~war. : § BAR BeR - SHave. THE GARFIELD ORDER "[\HE fuel administration order shutting down manufacturing plants for stated periods, to save coal, has done something-be- sides prove that the captains of industry, and their friends in congress and in newspaper editorial rooms, do not hesitate to, kick—and kick with a vengeance—when a government order interferes with THEIR profits. It has proved the inefficiency and positive ~danger of private ownership of the mines and the railroads. TFuel Administrator Garfield admits there is plenty of ‘coal. The hills- are still full of it. In many instances mine production was slowed down : The chief reason for the coal shortage, however, is the railroad situation, The railroads were unable to stand PAGE NINE R T e—— jammed and their executives helpless. And the country cried in vain | for coal. Government control of railroads had come too late to straighten out the congested railroads in time to avoid the necessity of the shut-down order. Of course, there is absolutely no .excuse whatever for the coal shortage. It is a simple case of the break-down of private ownership of public utilities, plus failure of the government to act in time. If we had had public ownership of mines and railroads before the war. it wouldn’t have happened. If the government, as the Leader and many thoughtful people advised when the United States became a belligerent, had immediately taken over the coal mines and the rail- roads, it wouldn’t have happened. The delay proved fatal. ‘But we had private ownership of publie utilities when the war broke out, and the government didn’t assume control of mines and railroads soon enough after we were at war. Nevertheless, this can not be helped now. Fuel Administrator Garfield is probably the best judge of whether the order he issued was necessary. And there can be no objection to the captains of industry kicking about it, if they feel their interests are hurt. But let them remember that when the farmers did much less than protest—in fact, merely discussed the price of wheat—they and their newspapers denounced the farmers as traitors. the stress of the war emergency. Their lines were clogged, their yards J SOME SHORT ONES - , . A farm paper sagely remarks that the Nonpartisan league can’t’ last because all such movements by the farmers have failed and are’ always bound to fail. Then why the sam hill are they fighting it? The reasonable course would seem to let it alone and let it die painlessly., ® % % e Some small-town -business men of Minnesota, in resolutions con-, demning the organized farmers, state that they don’t believe in *‘stir- ring up class hatred at this time.”’” If so, the proper course would have? been to have welecomed the League farmers to town and furnished them a nice warm hall to meet in, with free sandwiches and music, instead’ of closing all the halls and forcing the farmers to meet in the open’ in a blizzard. That would have looked less like ‘“class hatred’’ than’ the course the business men pursued. 3 . * * # » One of the big mnational magazines attacks Commissioner Colver- of the Federal Trade commission on the ground he bent his efforts to lower the priee of coal instead of to stimulate coal production. Heneé? he is responsible for the coal shortage. This is interesting, because we had been led to believe that the coal barons were simon pure pa} ) troits and didn’t care for profits at all. So how could the price of coafi,.-,% have anything to do with the falling off of production? Lo * ** * 1y T’ The New York World called the Northwest farmers the ‘‘ Amer2 ican Bolsheviki.’”’ Later it called the save-fuel, shut-down order of Fuel Administrator Garfield ‘‘the act of an impudent Bolshevik.”” Thé ‘World may be expected, in the near future, to call Secretary of Wai Baker a Sinn Feiner and President Wilson an I. W. W, For variety we also suggest to the World the use of the word ‘‘Nihilist.”’ H * * * Nobody denies the right of business men, newspapers and congress:- men to protest against the government shut-down order to save fuel- But remember this, gentlemen: Don’t call the farmer a traitor nex? time the farmer has something to say about a government war order® such as the order fixing the price of wheat. 5 * * * ‘We are told that when the farmers take a hand in politie that it is a ‘‘class’’ movement! What do you call it when the railroad: take & hand in politics? 'What is it when mining and water powe? - magnates unite to econtrol a state politically, and do it? What is 1 when a few millionaires furnish the campaign funds for a presidentia' candidate, and elect him? Patriotism: we suppose. It is only a ‘‘class” movement when farmers or working men go into politics. . * * * ! A farmer writes us that he is not against the Grand Forks (N. D.F Herald but ‘“‘only against its leaders.”” He says if Jerry Bacon will sel the paper to new owners he will subscribe for it. ANSWERS TO READERS Dear Editor: Is Teddy Roosevelt sincere? Please answer in thi Leader.—J. O. K. s : Yes; that’s the funny part of it.—THE EDITOR. Loy P # # & Dear Editor: Would it be ‘“‘tearing down the flag’’ from th, Minnesota state capitol to defeat Governor Burnquist for re-election| gy e e e . ' No; the state constitution requires that the state capitol shall a§ ways fly the American colors.—THE EDITOR. i ¥ i i { [ {