The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 26, 1919, Page 9

m{;«@!&,.b:'m.a;-‘-&: £ o League Fights for Wisconsin Farmers Workers Whose Land Was Flooded by Overflowing of Dam for Forty Years See Relief When North Dakota Congressmen Promise Aid By Special Correspondent NEW hope of eliminating the high waters which for 40 years flooded their lands and destroy- ed their crops has come to 2,000 outraged farmers of northern Wisconsin. A year ago emissaries of the National Nonpartisan league brought the message of hope to these tillers of the Wisconsin lowlands. S Now the cry is being heard throughout the flooded valley, containing more than 200,000 acres: “The dam gates are open! The floods may not come this year!” At Menasha, Wis., a dam with five gates, or sluiceways, was built in the late '70s by a cor- poration known as the Green Bay & Mississippi Canal company. It had government support, as the original project was for establishment of a water route from the Great Lakes to / the Mississippi river for navigation purposes. _ The river at Menasha empties into Green bay, on Lake Michigan. Above the dam boats may ply via the Fox and Wolf rivers and canals to the Mississippi, but because of the lack of cargoes only one boat ever at- tempted commercial navigation and this was a partial failure. The government, as its share, was given control of the dam and' the waters above it. The Green Bay & Mississippi © Canal company was awarded the waterpower rights below the dam of “all waters not needed for navigation,” according to the word- ing of the deed by which the govern- ment obtained-.control. ; In 1880 hundreds of farms in Win- nebago, Calumet, Washara, Fond du Lac and part of Waupaca counties were flooded because the gates of the dam had been closed. Crops were de- stroyed and lakes and ponds remained in the middle of farmers’ fields. Ten of the outraged farmers banded together to bring a test suit for dam- ages against the government. In 1881, after a lengthy fight in the courts, they recovered barely enough to cover the cost of action. POLITICIANS TRAFFICKED ON FARMERS’ MISFORTUNE Politicians campaigned the flooded area and promised- relief. The farm- ers lined up behind them and elected them to congress and to state offices. But these politicians proved to be false prophets and nothing was accomplished by them. Various independent organizations of farmers, scattered throughout the district, organized to put up a fight to open the dam gates. These move- ments all were failures, for their organization was not powerful enough to force relief. ; The district engineers during these 40 years invariably excused themselves for keeping the dam gates closed on the ground that the high water was needed to supply power to the paper mills and electric railways in the vicinity. Arthur Neumann of Larsen, Winnebago county, Wis., was only a child when the flood waters first came. - He -grew up to fear the coming of June —flood time. His father was one of the original 10 who brought the test suit against the government in 1880. While - his father attended to the farm, Arthur Neumann went from homestead to homestead and town to town arousing the farmers against the common enemy. . . Then the Nonpartisan leagu organizers came. 7 Neumann delegated himself as a committee of one to in- vestigate the new doctrine. He did.- “The fighting farm- er” learned what the farmers had done in North Dakota through organization. He learned how they had taken over control of the state from the corporations. “If the farmers of North Dakota can do it “through the Nonpartisan league, we can do it here,” Neumann decided. He went from farm to farm and urged the fight- weary farmers to unite with the farmers of other states. “Join the League and we may get these dam gates open,” was his message to his neighbors. His message spread like wildfire through the surrounding country. Everywhere the or- ganizers went they were met by delegations of farmers anxious to learn of the new political movement. Within a few weeks the entire district was almost solidly organized. But the farmers were impatient for the relief they had sought so long. At a meeting they dele- gated Francis H. Shoemaker, field manager of the Nonpartisan league in northern Wisconsin, to go to Washington and interest the Nonpartisan con- gressmen in their fight. Shoemaker accepted their appointment and went to Washington a few months ago. He saw the farmer representatives in congress and was given - assurance that these congressmen would take up the fight for the Wisconsin farmers. With Shoemaker they went to the department of the interior. The officials passed the buck. The The whole-hearted co-operation of League officers and representatives to these farmers has had a salutory effect on the movement in other parts of the state, and word of what has been accomplished for these men who faced ruin because of the selfishness of a big corporation, has traveled over many townships in the vicinity. It has given to these other farmers the hope that the economic ills with which they are afflicted can be cured in the same manner as the purely local injury to these lowland dwellers. League representatives are spreading the gospel of economic freedom to the farm workers, and the organization in Wisconsin is growing steadily. - Although the help to the farmers in the flooded areas was gladly given it is not what the League is attempting. It is seeking to get at the roots of the political evil, instead of merely to relieve its effects, such as the Wisconsin dam affair. It is only through organization, such as the League, that the farmers can hope to gain their just portion, and in all states where the League is-organized the workers-are being made to realize it. - PAGE NINE Here are some exam- ples of the damage wrought by the flood- ing of the Wisconsin dam. In the upper pic- ture is shown a catch of fish from a flooded barley field on Arthur Neumann’s farm near Larsen, Wis. The lower picture shows the mail man plowing flivver over an inun- dated road. two of many examples of what the farmers of that section had to en- dure until the League promised aid. These: are congressmen and the League manager were re- ferred to the war department. Again the of- ficials passed the buck to the chief of engineers. “It isn't my fault. I can’t do anything. See the district engineer at Milwaukee,” the chief of en- gineers said. “Go back to Milwaukee and see the district en- gineer,” the congressmen advised Shoemaker. “If he doesn’t get into action at once, advise us and we’ll get busy in Washington.” Shoemaker saw I. N. Tompkin, district engineer of the war department at Milwaukee. “I have nothing to do with that proposition. It’s a policy of the department at Washington,” said Tompkin. ; Shoemaker telegraphed to the farmer congress- men and advised them of Tompkin’s reply. While the farmers’ representatives at Washing- ton were bringing pressure to bear on the war department, Shoemaker tackled Hoover’s food ad- ministration. “You're crying for food to feed our soldiers and our allies,” challenged the Leaguer, “and yet this govern- ment permitted its officials to hold back the waters of the Wolf and Fox rivers and Lake Winnebago so that 2,000 farms, containing more than 200,000 acres, were flooded.” FAILED TO GET RELIEF FROM GOVERNMENT The war department told the con- gressmen the water couldn’t be low- ered less than a level of two inches above the height of the dam at Me- nasha because the Fox and the Wolf rivers were navigable streams. They were told that the Paul L., a small freighter more than 30 years old, made a trip once a week from Fre- mont to Oshkosh with a cargo of hay. “All right,” said the farmers, “we’ll buy this boat and wreck it.” They dickered with the owner. He was willing to sell for $6,000. The farmers were ready to club together and buy the boat. “Ah,” said the engineers, “but you can’t do that because the government tug, the Fox, makes a trip once a jyear over the rivers on an inspection tour.” Thus the farmers were baffled again. Holding of a hearing was forced on the ‘district engineer by the League congressmen. The following facts were brought out: Arthur Neumann and his father own 220 acres near Larsen. Nine- ty-six acres of the farm were, completely under water for two weeks last June. The hay crop on 70 acres was entirely lost. Oats on 15 acres had to be replanted, but it was then too late for the crop to mature. Corn on 10 acres was a complete loss. The total damage was estimated at $3,300 for this one season. Charles Richter’s crops were entirely de- stroyed. He had no feed and had to sell 12 head of cattle and four horses. Henry Dooberpohl originally farmed 160 acres. Now he can plant only 40 acres. Last ‘June he lost $1,000 on the crop in the 40 acres re- maining and had to sell - four cows because of lack of feed. His haystacks were under water. Charles Huer’s home was surrounded by water, so he had to move his house to higher ground. He lost all his first seeding. All of these places cited are 30 miles by water from the dam. The intervening terri- tory suffered as much. Last week the gates of the dam were opened. League con- gressmen sent word that they would exert their greatest in- fluence to keep them open un- til after the high water period. in his A L R e o 2 2 S L4 -