The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 16, 1920, Page 4

{ ' CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE NATION’S CAPITAL |- Farmers Present Views. Congress Hears Protests Against Return - of Railroads . Washington Bureau, Nonpartisan Leader. ENATORS and congressmen from the West have recently been favored by calls from the heads of principal or- ganizations of the farmers and wage- workers in their respective states. These farmer and labor spokesmen are working together against the Esch-Cummins railroad legislation. They favor an extension of the period of government operation of the rail- roads for at least two years. They have come long distances to the national capital to give their rep- resentatives their views, and to get pledges of oppo- sition to private operation of the railroads. ? On Tuesday, January 27, these farmer-labor forces went to the White House to deliver their message to President Wilson. As they could not see the invalid executive, they talked to his sec- retary, J. P. Tumulty, who promised to inform the president of what they had said. Frank Morrison, secretary ‘of<the American Fed- eration of Labor, headed this delegation. He car- ried a statement signed by Samuel Gompers and other labor ° officials, explaining why organized’ labor and the farmers are fighting for the two years’ delay of a return of the roads to private operation. The other speakers werepsBert M. Jew- ell, president of the railway department of the American Federation of Labor; George P. Hamp-' ton, director of the Farmers’ National council; Paul Schweinberg of the Wisconsin Society of Equity; Mrs. B. C. Kalb, secretary of the National Farm Women’s congress; H. O. Richardson of the Nebraska Triple alliance (comprising the Farmers’ union, State Federation of Labor and the railroad brotherhoods); William Coleman of the Wisconsin State Federation of Labor, and E. G. Hall, presi- dent of the Minnesota Federation of Labor, who represented also the Nonparti- san league and the Society of Equity in his state on this er- rand. President Welch of the j; Minnesota branch of the Society of Equity and George Griffith of the Nonpartisan league of Min- nesota, who had. interviewed the members of congress from their state with Mr. Hall, were unable to get to the White House. On the occasion of an earlier visit from farmer and labor spokesmen on the same railroad issue, Mr. Tumulty assured the visitors that “the president’s mind is open.” Some days later there was sent out from the White House the proclamation of the president that he thereby restored, “as of date March 1, 1920,” the railroad properties to ': the control of their private own- | ers. This time Mr. Tumulty was plainly worried by the forceful manner in which the farmer and labor delegates de- clared against this return of the : transportation system to private - hands. He told them no more, ! however, than that he would re- port their statements to his | chief. Messrs. Griffith, Welch and Hall talked to the congressmen from Minnesota both on the | railroad issue and on the Ster- _ling-Graham sedition bills, which are considered to be designed to break up organizations of labor and of farmers when these or- ganizations become active in ef- forts to secure changes in the - federal laws or the Constitution. They secured the direct promise of Representatives Steenerson, Knutson, Davis, Ellsworth, Kel- ler, Schall and Carss to vote against any’conference report on the railroad bill which does not provide at least a two years’ ex- tension of the period of government operation. They secured a pledge also that these men wouild oppose all sedition legislation. € ¢ It is said that some of the Minnesota congress- men afterward told their associates that they had been “driven’” to make these pledges. Nevertheless > they will probably vote as they stand pledged to the organized farmers and wage-workers. The members from Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michi- gan and Towa have similarly been visited and have gone on record on the railroad issue, as have the. senators from all five states. North Dakota and South Dakota are to have their turn also. A joint representative of the state Granges of Washing- ton, Idaho, Oregon and Colorado has had inter- views with the members from those states on the railroad bill. : 3 On the day that the last White House conference took place the house conferees on the Esch-Cum- mins bill announced that they would go before the house to' ask instructions upon the matters in dispute between themselves and the senate con- ferees. They desired instructions on the matter of higher freight rates to be guaranteed the pri- vate owners when the roads are returned, and upon the proposed compulsory delay or forbidding of strikes. The anti-strike clause was coneeded to be dead, but the private owners of the roads were demanding that generous guarantees of revenue be made in the bill, if they are to attempt to op- _erate their properties henceforth. They admitted that they would require higher freight rates for private operation than would be required this year for continued public operation. & These. farmer-labor delegations have been effec- tive in persuading a large number of congressmen that the people at home dc not want to pay a cent more in freight charges in 1920 than is absolutely- necessary; théy have informed them that the polit- ical future of any congressman who adds an unnec- essary burden to the freight charge against ‘the people’s food and clothing and fuel will be “clouded.” The national forests, “which contain what timber remains as the property of the people, are * well administered, in striking contrast with the criminal carelessness with which private holdings are handled. Note in this pic- -~ ture how underbrush and weeds, constant fire menaces, are removed. Sheep have been pastured here, thus not merely removing weeds but- » earning a ‘revenue for the government. In contrast most private holdings of timber Iand are allowed to go neg- lected and if they are not burned over before the tim- " ber is cut, fire invariably starts - later from slashings and spreads until vast forest areas are destroyed. A pic- ture in the Leader of Feb- ruary 9 indicates the condi- . tion of the ordinary for- est after logging. ‘PAGE FOUR Paper Famine 1n Sight Forestry Service Shows Dilemma Now Fac- ing the Country : e Washington Bureau, Nonpartisan Leader.: UR nation is not producing enough pulpwood to provide news print paper for our daily and weekly papers. Can- ada is furnishing one-third of our to- tal consumption, and her share of : what we use is growing steadily. Even at our present rate of using news print our forests and pulp timber will be all used up in less than 20 years in every region except the Pacific coast and Alaska, according to the United States forest service, which has been investigating the situation since news print paper has quadrupled in cost. _ The economic and political programs of the or- ganized farmers especially are affected by this shortage. Every day it becomes more difficult for the co-operatively owned farmer papers of the Northwest to secure news print paper. To the extent that the anti-farmer papers can outbid or otherwise get the available supply of this neces- sity away from the farmers’ papers, the enemies of the farmer will be able to monopolize the news- paper. field and mold public opinion. Hence the importance of thi§ statement by the forest service: “In less than 20 years 95 per cent of the ‘pulp and paper mills of the country, mainly those in the East, will have practically exhausted their sup- plies of spruce, hemlock and fir—the principal woods from which news print paper is made. - “The actual cutting of these woods in the New England states is approximately 38,262,000 cords, and at this rate the supply will last approximately 17 years.. The estimated supply in the Lake states, at the present rate of cutting, will last 18 years; for. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina the supply will be exhausted in 10 years.” There are almost no paper mills where the bulk of the supply remains—the Pacific coast and Alaska, The cost of moving the industry there is almost prohibitive. i L ‘What is to be done? S ~ “In the long run,” says the service report, “the country must solve the paper problem on the basis «f a permanent wood supply. To this end it is urged that the mill waste be utilized for paper making and that the forests of this country be regenerated and administer- ed on a more productive basis. Mill. waste is well adapted for paper making by chemical pro- cesses. The mill waste of spruce, fir and hemlock is esti- mated at 1,000,000 cords a year.” . On the regeneration of forests the experts testify that if we are to have a permanent supply of pulpwood we must stop, at once, the ruinous habit of cut- ting the forests and leaving lit- - tle or no - provision for future growth, New plantations near the pulp mills will become prof- itable enterprises, as the price of wood pulp increases, reducing the cost of logging and freight.: Sweden has shown the worlds - how to handle the paper situa- tion. Her paper mills employ technically trained foresters who calculate the yearly growth of pulpwood, and these reports de- termine the annual cut of tim- ber. Sweden -keeps enough ‘young timber growing to make her pulpwood supply permanent. Given the opportunity, the ex- perts of the United States for- est service can devise a plan - whereby the United States could produce each year enough pulp- wood to meet her printing needs, without impairing her forests as . a permanent productive asset.