The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 1, 1920, Page 4

Farmers Denied Relief by GOVefflmGHt N\ 4 Millions for Speculators to Use in Profit Making; Not One Cent to Insure Cost of Production to the Farmer the West and South, meeting at Wash-~ ington, D. C., to ask the federal gov-~ fernment to take steps to prevent the robbery of farmers by organized com- mercial interests and food gamblers, have been refused aid. ~ The farmers produced proof that the primary producers of the country were losing money. on every important crop produced this year. Wheat, it was shown by southwestern delegates, cost $2.77 per bushel to produce in their territory, while the cost in North Dakota was close to $3. Cofton cost close to 40 cents per pound. Tobacco growers are being offered less than the cost of production by the tobacco trust and wool growers have almost no market-at any price. The farmers were told, in response to their re- quest for Relief, that the federal reserve system would provide sufficient money to “move the crop” but not one cent to hold it. b * By “moving the crop” is meant, of course, mov- ing it from the hands of the farmers to the hands of the %peculators. This statement was repeated to the farmers by Secretary of the Treasury David F. Houston and by Governor W. P. G. Harding of the federal reserve banks. Harding admitted responsibility for the in- structions sent to all federal reserve banks, and by these banks to their correspondent banks, asking them to curtail loans and to collect promptly from farmers, thereby forc¢ing them to dispose of their crops in a falling market. Farmers were told by Harding that they were wasting his time and theirs by asking relief 'and were advised to “market their crops in an orderly nianner.” e % “My God, have we got a government!” éxclaimed United States Senator Ellison D. Smith of South Carolina, at the close of an impassioned speech in which he pointed out that farmers of the South had decided to grow no cotton and no tobacco next year on account of the starvation prices th# they were offered for their product. Southern farmers have been driven to such desperation that in many in- stances they are burning cotton gins and tobacco sheds of interests gusing their power to force the price down unfairly. : ILLEGAL CONSPIRACY BY FEDERAL OFFICIALS CHARGED BY SPILLMAN . Senator Smith proposed a nation-wide strike of ) the farmers. Doctor W. J. Spillman, formerly of the United States department of agriculture; but forced out by Secretary Houstop because Spillman insisted on making public cost-of-production studies, raised the question of whether Houston and the federal reserve board had not been guilty of illegal con- spiracy to manipulate the market in farm products by denVying credit to the farmers when they needed it worst. : : Former Senator Butler of North Carolina declar- ed there was no doubt of illegal manipulation. Delegates of the Georgia division of the American Cotton G;owers’ association urged President Wilson to remove Secretary Houston from the cabinet on account of his manifestly unfriendly attitude to- and as secretary of the treasury. WENTY-TWO farm organizations of ward the farmers, both s secretary of agriculture had asked the federal trade commission and the de- partment of agriculture to start-an investigation to- While the farmers were in session the grain ~ learn whether speculators had used illegal means to - ‘gambler. were frankly apprehensive that their - showing of strength might result in some govern- ment action against speculators. Grain prices went up slightly from day to day. ’ ; At the end of the week, however, when Secretary Houston denied all requests of the farmers and de- clared no money would be advanced to help them get the cost of production of their crops, prices dropped with a bump again on the Chicago Board of Trade and the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce. The farmers made a number of specific requests. One was that money be loaned the farmers by the war finance board, which has authority to issue bonds in any case of emergency, a power that has been used previously on behalf of business interests. This plea was/denied by Houston. - Another request was that the federal reserve bank rules be changed so that the reserve banks amay rediscount more farmers’ paper. This was de- nied by Harding. Another request was that lower rates be granted on farmers’ paper and that credits be extended to Germany that would permit that nation to buy American produce. This country now owes Ger- “many more than $1,000,000,000 on account of alien property seized and sold during the war, but there is apparently no intention of allowing Germany to use this credit until after the farm crops are in the hands of the speculators. = The only result of the farmers’ meeting, however; was an-announcement by President Wilson that he ! EVERY HOG HAS HIS DAY l 7 an ’/////////// 1 i /s ~—Drawn expressly for the Leader by W. C. Morris, lower prices. That the speculators do not fear such’ an “investigation” was made plain by a renewed drop in the price of grain. In the first place the department of agriculture has been shown to-be consistently friendly to the speculators rather than to the farmers. ~Although the federal trade cam-~ "mission has been active against unfair business. many persons look for a change in attitude since W. B. Colver has resigned. In any event the find-. ings of such an investigation would not be avail-: able for months, by which:time the speculators will have farmers’ products. The drop in prices of farm products between July 1 and September 1 means a loss of $1,782,276,- 850 to the farmers on_six crops alone—wheat, corn, potatoes, apples, cotton and beef cattle. LOWERED PRICES PLAINLY DUE TO MANIPULATION BY .GAMBLERS ~ That there is no justification for the ‘lowered prices in wheat, and that they are due solely to the manipulation of the market by gamblers and to the withholding of credit from the farmers, is indicated ~by reports of agents to the United States depart- ment of agriculture. - " ‘These reports show that stocks of wheat held in the United States October 1 totaled only 608,000,- 000 bushels, as compardd with 747,000,000 bushels held a year ago. sisted of 477,000,000 bushels held by farmers, 102,~ 000,000 bushels at country mills and elevators and 29,000,000 bushels held at terminal elevators, flour mills and other points of accumulation. A year ago the terminals had 90,000,000 bushels, three times as much as they hold today. Flour mills at Minneapolis are working only five days a week because they can not get the wheat, in spite of the falling market. ; & The department of agriculture figures also show that during the first quartér of the pres€nt season —July 1 to October 1—the farmers marketed only 821,000,000 bushels, as compared with 450,000,000 bushels marketed in the corresponding period of 1919—a reduction of nearly 29 per cent. ; Adding the carry-over of the 1919 crop to the ~ 1920 crop gives’ only 798,000,000 bushels of wheat in the country, or 17 per cent less than last year. * The following table shows by states the estimated stocks of wheat on farms and in country mills and = elevators in League states in thousands of bushels: 5 Country mills’ : On farms and elevators . State . 1920 1919 1920 1919 ‘Wisconsin .... 4,300 5,900 " 600 900 Minnesota ....25,0000 31,300 2,800 3,900 ° Towa ... 6,900 10,100 1,300 2,900 N. Dakota ....50,200 42,200 7,900 6,500 S. Dakota ...17,400 22,500 - 3,100 6,000 Nebraska ....39,700 34,900 4,200 5,600 Kansas ... 83,900 93,800 22,800 23,800 Texas:: iusss 4,300 12,400 2,000 4,500 Oklahoma ...22,300 27,400 5,700 8,800 Montana ......15,600 8,400 2,100 1,300 Washington.22,700 17,600 8800 12,100 ~ Grain Gamblers Plan New Drive Against Farmers HILE representatives of farmers from all parts of the United States were at Washington, D. C., trying to get some relief from the government against the grain gamblers, the Grain Dealers’ National association was holding its national convention in Minneapolis, planning a new drive against the farmers, i P. BE. Goodrich, president, of the association, ad- - dressing the megting, made a number of recommen- dations, all of which were adopted. _Tha§e included: That steps be taken to see that no changes are made in grain grading rules for at least three years. The “Brand grades” adopted thiree years ago, as every spring wheat producer knows, are manifestly unfair to the grain grow- ers. This year, according to the depariment of agriculture, less than 30 per cent of the total wheat of the country graded No. 1. The fact that the great bulk of the wheat of the country fails to make a good grade allows the grain - ‘dealers to buy it much below its milling value. That the demand of farmers’ co-operative companies for the right of collective marketing without being subject to the Sherman anti- trust law be opposed. A A That the grain dealers establish a nation- wide propaganda to influence the people against the farmers’ demands for the abolition of - ‘gambling in grain futures. . e - PAGE FOUR That the grain dealers try to conciliate the farmer by “jollying” him along, without giving - any-real relief. It was decided “to dignify the farming business by a fair recognition of its im- portance and instill into the people a realiza- v The 608,000,000-bushel stock held this year con- ™ /7( tion of some of the blessings of farming and— farm life.” { The grain dealers declared that they must main- tain a powerful lobby in Washington to offset farm- er ‘activities, denounced the farmers for seeking - fayorable legislation and congratulated their own organization for having been so successful in this respect, President Goodrich stating: = - “That we have been fairly successful is evidenced j J. - _ by the steady growth in membership and the great .