The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, December 9, 1918, Page 8

\ 3 \ > . Wild Farmers of Canada” on Warpath | Agriculturalists of Ontario, Who Plan Political ‘Action to Secure Much - Needed Reforms, Get Same Kind of Abuse as League Members Do f § # ILD. farmers of Canada,” with paint on their faces and blood in their eyes, returned to primal savagery—such is the way the conservative Montreal Gazette sees the members of the United Farmers of Ontario. We are, of their atrocities and fortunate- ly the November 18 number of the Grain Growers’ Guide gives a full account of the wild men. This account fully justifies the Gazette editorial warning. Were the Gazette a Twin Cities paper, it would have called them worse names. They are undoubtedly bright red Socialists and bulldozing bolsheviki, using those names in the sense in which the papers of the Twin Cities use them to designate certain dangerous elements, especially the farmers of North Dakota. Here is what they have done accordifig to the Grain Growers’ Guide to date and worse outbreaks may be expected any moment for such an irrespon- sible and ignorant element. As a matter of fact they have planned a war dance to be held in Toronto in December, if in truth Toronto is willing to be so disgraced. Early in November their leaders met in Toronto to consider questions of national policy preliminary to the big convention in December. adopted three years ago was considered and several new planks added, and it is these ®ew planks that cause all the row. X PUBLIC OWNERSHIP ADVOCATED ; “Exception was taken,” reports the Guide, “to the action of the government in curbing the freedom of public discussion and it was recommended that the freedom of speech and of the press should be re- established. Exception was also taken to the ruling of the country through orders in council as being directly contrary to the spirit of representative government. ‘ “As a means of raising revenue a direct tax on unimproved land values, including all natural re- sources, was advocated, also the principle of a sharply graduated income tax, inheritance tax on large estates and similar taxes on the profits of corporations. In connection with the latter the taxing of watered stock was urged. “Other reforms indorsed were the nationalization of all railway, telephone, telegraph and express companies, and similar public utilities. , The gov- ernment was urged to refuse to alienate any more natural resources, but instead to bring them into use only under short-term leases. Direct legisla- tion, including the initiative and the referendum, was approved as well as publicity of political cam- paign fund contributions and expenditures, the = 7 4 { If any one thinks the Nonpartisan league plan is a freak idea i« to go across the Canadian border to find the farmers of another co-operative farmers of western Canada, shows that they ; . is trying to keep the toilers on farm and in f: of course, interested in learning The platform . One of the most hopeful things for the progress of democracy today is the fact that realization by the common people of the need of reasserting their political power as the means of bring- ing about fundamental changes in fa- vor of the common man is world-wide. - The forces of reaction and special priv- ilege are everywhere sitting on a very thin crust, if in truth they have not already fallen through. On this page is an account of some very significant steps that are being taken by our Ca- nadian neighbor. The yeast of democ- racy is working wherever there are intelligent toilers. abolition of the patronage system and Dominion prohibition. The stand was taken that Canada should not be tied up after the war by its represen- tatives to imperial policies without the people first - being given an opportunity to decide upon the mat- ters involved.” ¢ The question of putting up farmer candidates for the provincial legislature and the Dominion legis- lature was also considered, and for the time " being the majority of the leaders decided to follow the practice in western Canada where the farmers have been wilder than those of eastern Canada for some time. “In western Canada,” says the Guide, “the prac- tice has been where candidates of both parties agree to accept the farmers’ platform and where these men are acceptable to the farmers, not to take-any ‘part in the election but allow the .candidates to fight it out between themselves. Where one candi- date accepts the' farmers’ platform and the other refuses to do so, the farmers support the favorable candidate. Where neither party puts an acceptable candidate in the field, the farmers are free to bring out an independent candidate where they so desire.” Whether the Union abides by this plan or adopts the plan niow used by the Nonpartisan league in the States or helps to form an independent farmer- labor party will depend on what the other big farm organizations decide to do. The prospects are strong that they will take one or the other of the more radical plans. Thé old plan noted above works fairly well where vital changes in policy are not demanded and where about all the farmers ask is friendly administration. But the Canadian farmers are now demanding radical changes as or- ganized farmers and workers throughout the world are demanding, and the old plan of “letting the in= HOW THEY SEE IT IN CANADA Yoo cANT MiSLEAD 0S ! FARMERS AND WAGE - ——— _| EARNERS HAVE The R ; ¢ 9AME INTERESTS } — e —— e . 2 e e WE are ALL Twi m——g——— SAME PEOPLE . WE ALt HAVE ToE=N WORK FOR A actory apart that the special interests where there ., ada, but everywhere in the world tod terests do it provided their candidates are fairly decent” will no longer work. The point where the special interests can compromise is passed when farmers demand higher taxation of unimproved land values and public. ownership of utilities. The farmers, with labor and other classes which may be allied with them politically, must capture the nominations of one of the old parties, or they must - act independently. No candidate whom the special interests have a share in electing will carry out a platform that strikes at the roots of special privi- lege. The Canadian common people, in fact, are ad- vancing rapidly toward a close political organiza- tion of farmers, city workers and returned soldiers. Because ICanada has been in the war since 1914, there is a larger percentage of returned soldiers and these are 95 per cent organized already for political action. SEE COMMON INTERESTS - OF ALL TOILERS In the number of the Grain Growers’ Guide quoted above there is a powerful cartoon in which a special interest “agitator” is saying to the city worker and the soldier: “You have no interests in .common "with the farmers”; labor is replying, “You can't mislead us”; and the returned soldier says: “We are all the same people. - We all: have to work for a living.” And underneath the cartoon are the words: “The_thing for every man who labors to do is to co-opérate with his brother who labors and seek justice and equal rights for all and special privilege for none.” : Yes, the farmers of Canada are pretty “wild.” Like our farmers they have been tame under the ~exactions of special privilege so long that the re- assertion of their right to vote together for policies beneficial to themselves seems te some people like a return to savagery. . The farmers here and there, however, can well afford to let the pigs squeal bad names. The burden of bearing the bad names is a little thing compared to the democratic reforms that can be secured through these “wild” methods. v KINGS ARE KINGS 'The big press has been as busy perfuming some kings in recent months as it was in running down .- other kings previously. The distinction is rather hard for- the average man to get because as re- gards democracy it looks as if there was only one kind of kings. Now we are told about good kings or figure-head kings, but why allow the latter, to go about figure-heading at magnificent salaries? A good king or a figure-head king certainly doesn’t make democracy any more than a bad one, and it -would be much better for the world if we could read of them only in histories. Can any real demo- crat be satisfied with a good ' autocrat? 4 IN COMMON WITH THE FARMERS ! —Reproduced from the Grain Growe: which the farmers of our Northwest got into their heads without any special reason, he has only ' nation thinking and planning the same thing, This cartoon, taken from the official ' : hdye the big idea. . League farmers will have no g 2 trouble also in recognizing the silk-ha Not only in Can both classes effectivel