The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 18, 1918, Page 10

L % along with representatives of the farm- ‘committee on agriculture. -federal machinery already established. " the time is too short for any more or- Baer’s Bill Needs Help FromFalrmlers - U. S. and Allies Must Have Wheat to Win the War—Farmers Must Washington Bureau Nonpartisan Leader OHN M. BAER, backed by the farmers of the West is making the hardest fight ever known in congress for the right of the farmers to help save the world for democracy and justice. In the next six weeks the United States will de- cide whether to plant, or fail to plant, enough spring wheat to bring our 1918 wheat crop some- where near the 1,000,000,000 bushels needed to tide us over the coming year. Baer’s bill, providing for a fund of $50,000,000 to be loaned on the security of the new crop, to farmers who want to plant wheat but who are now without money because of two years of crop failures, is before the house If this fund can be se- cured, the unfortunate farmers will be enabled to keep their young cattle, buy feed for their teams, buy seed wheat and necessary machinery, and put into the ground the biggest crop ever heard of. Baer is not making a grandstand play for his own constituents in North Dakota. The Nonpartisan league farmers of North Dakota, even before they sent Baer to congress, elected a state legislature to represent them. The North Dakota legislature has met in special session at the call of a farmer governor, and has passed an act permitting the counties to finance the needed loans to the farmers of the state in this war emergency. 3 But no other state has yet had an election since the League was organized within its borders. Baer is trying to get congress to do for the farmers of all the rest of the country what the North Dakota farmer legislature did, at the suggestion of the Non- partisan league, for the North Dakota farmers. FARMERS 1N ALL SECTIONS SAY BAER'S PLAN IS RIGHT The Leader has published the facts about Baer's bill. As a result, the farmers’ local organizations in all parts of the West are sending petitions and memorials to congress and.to President Wilson, de- manding the passage of the Baer bill. The Farmers’ union of Texgs has sént in a memorial to the president and to all Texas members of the house and senate. These Texas congressmen have been calling in at Baer’s office and telling him that they will vote for his appropriation for the re- lief of the farmers. The Equity convention. at ‘Aberdeen, S. D., also sent in a memorial. Oklahoma and Kansas and Montana granges have responded. The number of petitions is growing every day. All the West is becoming aroused. Herbert Quick, the famous farm journal editor, now a member of the federal farm loan board, has indorsed the Baer plan, which calls ‘for an im- mediate distribution of the needed loans on the farmers’ crops through The heaq of the federal reserve board is interested, and when the house com- mittee on agriculture gives a hearing on the bill the food administration will be asked to send its own representa- tive to testify. Gifford Pinchot and Herbert Quick are to be witnesses, ers from all sections of the country. Since the bill was first introduced, two changes have been proposed. One ‘is that.the total appropriation be made as much as $100,000,000 because of the increased demands by the Allies for grain. The other is that the money be handled through existing federal machinery instead of through new com- mittees that would have to be organ- ized. The argument for this is that ganization. OUR ALLIES MUST HAVE HELP FROM THE FARMER President Wilson has issued his proclamation, calling on the American ‘people to reduce their consnmption of wheat by 30 per cent. The Allies want This tractor, snapped during the recent tractor " American flag. The farmers of the West want Have Help to Raise the Wheat READ THIS, THEN TELEGRAPH YOUR CONGRESSMAN John M. Baer, the farmers’ congressman, has telegraphed the Leader from Washington, D. C. Baer needs help to insure the passage of his hill to provide a fund of $50,000,000 to be loaned to farmers of the drouth stricken sections of the United States and to be used by them to buy seed and feed. This help, if granted, will enable the farmers to raise a record crop to help the United States and its Allies in the war. If this aid is not granted the farmers will be unable to give the give. aid to their country that they want to Congressman Baer asks that every reader of the Leader send a telegram to his representatives in congress, urging their immediate activity in behalf of the Baer Bill. The Leader joins in this request. Whether you live in North Dakota, Minnesota, Mon- tana, Texas or any other state, WIRE YOUR SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS. TELL HIM THAT IMMEDI ATE ACTION IS NECESSARY IF THE FARMERS ARE TO PUT IN A FULL SPRING CROP TO HELP THEIR COUNTRY. TELL HIM THAT THE BAER BILL WILL GIVE THE AID THAT THE FARMERS MUST HAVE. Do not delay this. best, night and day, in behalf of the farmers. DO IT TODAY. A fifty-word ‘“night letter’’ can be sent by telegraph for the same price as a ten-word day message, Baer is doing his He has come to the point where he must have the farmers’ help. GIVE HIM THE HELP HE NEEDS. wheat, but they are too far away from Europe, and there is a shortage of ships. America must tighten its own belt and send food to Europe; at the same time it must raise more grain than ever before. The department of agriculture says that the win- ter wheat prospect is now about 540,000,000 bushels. The food administration doubts whether the crop prospect is as high as 500,000,000 bushels. Latest word is that ice has formed over the wheat fields of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Vir- ginia, which means another serious blow to winter wheat prospects. ° 4 Spring wheat must be planted in every part of the country where it can be made to yield, and in acreages far greater than ever before. Farmers who are financially crippled by the crop faflures of 1916 and 1917 have been forced to sell "off their livestock and to give up plans for planting more wheat this spring. “Feed has cost too much. They have sacrificed their work animals or the young cattle that would be brood animals of their herd later on. They can not get credit at -the banks without security. They need loans on their 1918 crop. Unless they get these loans, and ‘get them very soon, the spring wheat will not be planted. The wheat crop -of America will be short; instead of being big enough to feed the Allies. The war for democracy in the world may be lost for lack of RAISE THE FLAG ON THE FARM parade at St. 'Paul, flies the ‘to fly the American flag on their this wheat—for lack of a littlé aid to the farmers of the West_ this spring. v NOW IS THE TIME WHEN REAL HELP WILL COUNT These facts, known to everyone in North Dakota, are being told by John Baer to hundreds of mem- bers of congress and other people in public life in Washington, day after day, to arouse them to help save the wheat crop. The flood of petitions from the farmers is putting “punch” behind his words. Congress is waking up. Now comes Secretary McAdoo with a bill that calls for the setting aside of $500,000,000 to be used by a government corporation to give needed additional capital to war industries. Farming is the biggest of the war industries, just now. Wheat is the most important item of munitions. Meat is the next big- gest item of munitions. Baer is going to call on the administration to write into that bill, when it comes before congress, a clear provision that farming shall be one of the first war industries to which this needed additional _capital shall be lent by the government corporation. If the administra- tion and-its committee in the house fail to do - so, Baer will bring the fight to the floor of the house. Then he will force a showdown of the willingness of ™ every member to stand by the farmers in their crisis. ; will settle the question of getting the actual money to the farmers, Baer is going to try to hurry his own bill along. - It is clear and direct and has only one purpose. Its purpose is to do what the mere reduction of the use of wheat at home will not do—enable,the -Amer- allied countries this year. It is big statesmanship. Big Business will obstruct it, as a 1 ° matter of course. z ¢ Watch for the rolleall. ——————— e Colfax, Wis, Editor Nonpartisan Leader: ‘others know how the work is' going here in Wisconsin. Farmers are join- ing the League right and left, so they will be there with the 800ds when election comes around, appear: that' the League organizers and farmers are disloyal. I know we are not so good at flag waving as the rest of them are, but the farmers are Just as loyal as the rest of them. The Meanwhile, since the next six weeks - ican farmers to raise more food for the WISCONSIN LEAGUE GROWING Will drop you a few lines to: let 'Tht_a old gang is trying to make it farme. They want. to .help the ‘United States-in a practica| way by “putting in the biggest crop on record. Over hundreds of thousands of acres of drouth stricken land they can not do this unless they get help from their government. Such help is provided in the Baer bill. Help Baer to pass his_bill, the farmers’ ~billl: Raise the American flag on every farm! . e i 4 PAGE TEN most of us have been too busy rais- ing crops to feed the boys who shall ‘carry. the flag of freedom for the . people to victory. - Firiatet ) . AP, VIGESAA, || at least 15,000,000 bushels of wheat i each month, and they will want more i, than that amount next year if the war - i goes on. Australia apd India have | ! ¢