The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 11, 1918, Page 5

We will shortly have one of the biggest, finest armies in' the world, so - far as men are concerned, with untold man power still to draw upon and train. We have now, in less than a year since we entered the war, all that an extensive system of training or conscription before the war could have given us. - ; But where are we in regard to that other and ‘equally important kind of preparedness—ECONOMIC? We are facing a food shortage and a coal famine. Our railroads are congested and almost helpless to handle the situation, Our factories are unable to produce army supplies of all kinds fast enough. We are as yet lamentably unprepared with merchant ships and facilities for building merchant ships, although almost superhuman things have been accomplished in that line in less than a year. z Do you see the point? Where we are the most unprepared, where we are falling down the most is in ECONOMIC preparedness, not in the kind of preparedness that universal military training or conserip- tion in time of peace would help. +By all means, let us be always prepared for war, ECONOMICALLY., Let us, now and after the war, work for an economic system that will - not- fall down so completely as ours has since war was declared. Under private ownership of transportation, both ocean and land, we were un- prepared for war. Under private ownership and exploitation of coal and mineral deposits, we were unprepared for war. Under a foolish land policy and agricultural policy, we were unprepared to produce the amount of food needed when war came. Let us remedy these things with the coming of peace, so we will be prepared for war on the ECONOMIC side always. ) Failure to have a big, conseript army and a trained citizenry, ready to go at once into the army, has not hurt our efficiency in this war a tenth part as much—no, not a hundredth part as much—as the break- down of our transportation system and the failure of our food and coal supply. ; When it comes time to discuss the less important matter of universal training or the purely MILITARY policy to prevail after the war in this country, we will have something important to say along that line. But the Leader has already begun and will continue to carry forward, the matter of starting right away to get our ECONOMIC system in proper shape, not only for the war, but for the peace that is to follow— a peace during which, above everything else, we must be ECONOMIC- ALLY prepared for the next war, when it comes—and we hope it won’t come through a militaristic sentiment, based on a military system like that which drove the German people into a war for world conquest, and domination. . THE CONSTITUTION IN MINNESOTA a- S WAS to be expected, the persecution of the farmers of Min- nesota by small-town commercial clubs, so-called local ‘“‘safety”’ commissions and county and town officials, has given the Non- partisan league great impetus in Minnesota. Denial of the con- stitutional right of peaceful assemblage and free speech in America can have no other effect than to discredit those who attempt to deny these rights. Already in many localities where the farmers were denied i halls in which to meet, or were ac- tually barred from meeting even in the open, those responsible for these outrages are running to cover. They are attempting to pass on the responsibility to some- body else. The pretense generally given for stopping farmers’ meetings in Minnesota was that they were ‘‘hindering the war,’’ or were ‘“‘disloyal’”” or ‘pro-German.’’ This is so patently absurd that, despite the fact that the big city papers have refused to carry the truth to the people, there is now scarcely. anybody "in Minnesota who believes it, Every League meeting held in Minnesota has . ; ‘ started with a collection for the Red Cross. Every meeting has ended with strong resolutions pledging the support of the farmers and the League to the government in this erisis, and placing the farmers and the League squarely back of Presi- dent Wilson in his statement of our righteous war aims. The speakers discuss the League program and the necessity of the farmers organizing.. In one town members of the fire department were called upon by a ‘“citizens’ committee’’ to -attend a League meeting and break it up ‘‘immediately anything of an unpatriotic nature was said.’’ The chief of the fire department and a committee of firemen called on the League speakers after the meeting to apologize for the use of their names in eonnection with any. attempt to break up the. meeting. They said they never had attended such a patriotjc meeting—it was REAL patriotism, they said, something more:than flag waving. i B At another town where some business men failed to get the mayor and sheriff to order the meeting stopped, the Women’s Relief corps of the G. A. R. was requested by the commercial club to attend in a body to ‘‘shame’’ the speakers and take notes of the ‘‘disloyal things’’ said. These women, with tears in their eyes. wrung the hands of the League speakers after the meeting and in ehoked. voices tried in some way to make up for the false position in which the anti-farmer gang of the town had placed them. They declared the mceting rang with American- “ism and patriotism and they ‘‘only wished every town in the United States could have such meetings and hear such speakers.’’ The firemen and the W. R. C. were deceived by the gang press of Minnesota, and innocently believed that the League was ‘promoting sedition. But the great majority of cases where the farmers have heen denied their constitutional rights are the result of a deliberate con- spiracy to misrepresent the meetings. With full knowledge of the patriotic nature of these meetings, knowing how false the charge is that the League is ‘‘hindering the prosecution of the war,’’ small town autocrats, dressed with temporary power as mayors or sheriffs, have stopped the meetings at the behest of the politicians and the big inter- ests of Minnesota who are fighting the farmers’ political and economic program, and who are so filled with hate and prejudice that they imagine persecution of the farmers will help their cause. T money direct from'the government to put in big crops, is con- fessed by a majority of banks and bankers. In the sections where crops failed last year, there will be little or no crop this year, unless plenty of government money is made available to lend the farm- ers who were practically ruined in 1917. Recently thie Leader received a copy of a notice being sent out by a South Dakota bank, which is typical of the inability of the local banks to handle the situation, except to a limited extent and then only at rates of interest higher than the farmer can afford or ought to be made to pay. This bank admits the stress of the money market in its announce- ment. It says that this condition makes necessary the making of new ‘‘strict rules’” by bankers governing loans to farmers. We are going to quote this bank’s statement. It follows: All loans must be merchantable. To make the loans of this locality merchantable, they must be secured by either first mortgage on farm land for periods of three or five years; or secured by first mortgage on cattie for periods of not more than six months. Crops, machinery, hogs and horses do not constitute security for a merchantable loan, except that horses may be included with cattle at the rate of not less than three cattle to one horse. The interest rate, based on the present money markets, will be 10 per cent on first class merchantable paper. This rate, of course, will vary according to conditions. The amount that will be loaned on tattle in the fall and winter is from $25 to $30 per head on grown stock, while the amount per head on grown stock in the spring and summer will be from $28 to $35 per head. The ahove schedule will vary somewhat according to the prevailing market conditions. Should the bank have a surplus of uninvested money, the manage- ment would be permitted to make well-secured loans for cases of abso- lute necessity, but in no case for re-investment. The rate on this class of loans where the security does not come up to the schedule outlined for merchantable loans, will be 12 per cent. " Our reason for the action taken in these matters is chiefly caused by the condition of eastern money markets. If you will give them careful study, you will find that we are justified in our action in these matters. N . This shows how country banks, under existing conditions, have ‘been compelled to tighten up on their loaning rules. This bank’s state- ‘ment is frank and undoubtedly justified, but does it not show con- clusively that something must- be done to make money more available for farmers? No business can succeed when conducted on capital bor- rowed at 10 and 12 per cent. Few farmers wanting loans to put in the big acreage asked by the government can -comply with such terms as WHY HESITATE? HE need for action by congress at the earliest possible moment on the Baer bill, making it possible for farmers to borrow A DIRTY J0B, BT 1T MgST this bank offers. We are not blaming this bank. It is as much the vietim - . of the present financial conditions as the farmers. Why should congress hesitate over the Baer bill? Write your congressman and senator and ask them. _ : ‘““TOM BARKER BUNKUM” Tom Parker Junkin was hired by Jerry Bacon, owner of the Grand Forks (N. D.) Herald, to ‘‘break up the Nonpartisan league’’ in North Dakota. The League is still in North Dakota but Junkin has resigned _as editor of the Herald and has pulled out of the state. He is now in St. Paul running a ‘‘publicity bureau’’ which-sends out attacks on the organized farmers and endeavors to get them printed in country papers on promise of advertising from mysterious “clients.”’ Somebody with a sockful of money has probably let Junkin econvince them that he can break up the League in Minnesota with this kind of a publicity stunt, but judging by Junkin’s ‘‘success’’ in North Dakota in breaking up’ the League, somebody is badly stung. But Junkin should worry. There is plenty of money in fighting the League even if there is little glory or success in it, and Junkin makes good wages, no doubt, by butting - his head against a stone wall. S S P