The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, December 27, 1920, Page 5

now goes to the house. A few more amendments - and it will be of little if any use in helping the « farmers, though it may help speculators, who hdve accumulated farm products in the meantime, to dls- pose of them. : Dozens of proposals to remedy the exxstmg situa- tion have been introduced by individual members of congress and committees. Representative John M. Baer of Neorth Dakota - and Senator Capper of Kansas have introduced bills to prevent gambling on the grain exchanges. Baer introduced thé same bill previously but congress paid no attention to it. Bills have ‘been introduced providing for an em- bargo on wheat and on wool, also bills levying a high protective tariff on wheat imports. The American Farm Bureau federation and other - - farm organizations are backing a proposal to ex- tend a billion-dollar credit to Germany to allow that country to buy Amencan foodstuffs and manufac- tures. Representative Steenerson of Minnesota has in- troduced a bill providing for an investigation of the activities of buying agencies for the British and other European governments, which have been de- pressing the price of wheat by concentrating their buying power and keeping individual buyers out of the market. - Other bills and resolutions provxde for the inves- tigation of the records of the grain exchanges, for extension of greater credit to farmers by additional rediscounts of agricultural paper, for using treas- ury department funds intended to retire Liberty bonds to meet the agricultural crisis, for limiting future sales on the grain exchanges and for many other plans of proposed relief. Many of these bills, however, will be glven only scant consideration. Most of them are introduced by their authors to win votes at home among the farmers, with no thought of their passage. : The measures that apparently.have the strongest chance of passage are those:providing for the re- vival of the War Finance corporation and the ex- tension of a billion-dollar credit to-Germany. In following these lines of legislation it is sig- nificant that congress is approhching the relief plans first-enunciated nearly six years ago by the farmers of North Dakota, when the Nonpartisan league was first organized and. its program formu- lated. The League insisted at that time, and still insists, that the only way the‘farmer can secure justice in marketing his crop is by the promlon of ample public storage facilities and provision of am- ple credits, so that-the farmer can hold his crop until it is needed by the consumer. CONGRESS SHOULD PROVIDE PERMANENT FORM OF: RELIEF By revwmg the War Finance corporation to allow necessary credits congress is adoptmg the League plan for emergency purposes. What is necessary, however, is not a merely temporary plan but a per- manent one, and this congress balks at. While it appears improbable that the Baer and Capper bills prohibiting gambling in food products can be passed, the grain exchanges are frankly wor- ried over the situation. If such legislation should be passed the Nonpartisan league would be entitled to full credit, for Congressman Baer introduced his bill in earlier sessions of congress, before Senator Capper had ever advocated such an idea. The Baer and Capper bills will force the Chicago Board of Trade and the Minneapolis Chamber o Commerce to send lobbyists to congress to combat them. They also have brought an admission from C. A. Magnuson, president of the Northwestern Elevator company of Minneapolis and former pres- ident. of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce. that future trading as at. present conducted allows manipulation of prices. Formerly the chamber of commerce brokers have always contended that the “law of supply and demand” was the only factor " that influenced prices in any degree. Magnuson proposes that to prevent grain gam- bling being wiped out altogether the brokers get ° together and propose a bill that would limit “short sales” to 500,000 bushels. He admits, however, that this provision could be evaded to a large de- gree by the use of dummies in making sales. . The bills to prohibit importation of wheat and wool for stated periods, or to levy high protective tariffs against these articles, are receiving consid- erable support. It is pointed out, however, that an embargo against Canadian wheat would throw this wheat on the Liverpool market, where it will alsc provide competition for American wheat. In spite of this undoubted fact it is undoubtedly true that Canadian imports have to some extent allowed manipulation of the American markets this year. prohibit imports. The statesmanlike way would be to prevent the grain exchanges from manipulating - prices, either on the basis of Canadian imports or on any other basis. . Officml Count Adds to League Vlctory Total Vote for Goyernor Passes 1, 200 000 Mark—F ive Tlmes as FFICTAL canvasses of the vote in League states show that 50,000 more people cast their ballots for League candidates for governor than the Leader estimated in its issue dated November 15, this estimate being made on the basis of the count two days after the election, - The total vote for League candidates for gover- nor this year is more than five times as large as the total vote for League candidates for governore in 1918, when the League cast 230, 082 votes. The following table shows the League - vote in the nine states in which the organ- ized farmers had candidates for governor, as the Nonpartisan Leader estimated it . and as the official count showed it: < Our Official State estimate count Wisconsin ...e.c.... 360,000 ~ 366,274 Minnesota .... . 260,000 281,402 Washington ........ 120,000 121,371 North Dakota ... 115,000 117,118 Colorado .............. 100,000 108,694* Nebraska . .~ 85,000 88,912 Montana -.... 80,000 74,875 South Dakota .... 35,000 48,426 Idaho ..ccccueeeenees 25,000 28,752 Total ...l 1,180,000 1,235,824 ¥Colorado figures complete but ‘anoflinal other states the count is official. A close study of the returns, state by state, shows convincingly the marvelous showing made by the League in the elec- tion. In two states—North Dakota and Wis- ' consin—League candidates ran on the Re- publican ticket. The League opposition, attempting to explain the League victory in these states, has said that it is due to the Republican landslide. Let us’ see if this is the case. 2 In North Dakota a number of anti- Leaguers as well as Leaguers were on the Republican ticket. If the League were really unpopular, and its victory due mere- 1y to the Republican landslide, the votes re- ceived by the anti-Leaguers on the Repub- lican ticket ought to be larger than the votes received by Leaguers. . Quite the op- In all Large as Vote in 1918 . posite is the case. Doctor E. F. Ladd for United States senator received 130,614 votes, leading all League candidates, and Governor Frazier was next with 117,118. The }ughest vote received by-any antx-Leaguer on the Republican ticket was 108,622 > for Hall for secretary of state, 20,000 below Ladd’s vote and nearly 10,000 below F'razier’s vote. In Wisconsin John J. Blaine, League candidate for governor on the Republican ticket, was not sup- ported by the Republican state central committee, - but received 366,274 votes and other League candi- E Nomaamsny Hi D ECGT%NNE /// states, Cartoomst Morns says. ‘PAGE FIVE 5 ANGREHY But lt’s “good medicine” for more than 1,200,000 voters in nine League dates received even larger votes. Senator Lenroot, also on the Republican ticket, opposed by the League but supported with generous financial aid both by state and national Republican headquarters, got only 281,576 votes. In #wo states——Colorado and Montana—League candidates ran on the Democratic ticket. Both these states are normally Democratic. Owing to the Republican landslide the entire Democratic ticket went down to defeat. In both states, how- ever, League candidates for governor received much higher votes than the vote for Cox for . © president. In Montana B. K. Wheeler, can- didate for governor, indorsed by the League but fought by Senator Myers and other Democratic politicians, got 74,875 votes, as compared with' 57,372 for Cox, who was supported by Myers. In Colorado J. M. Collins, League candidate for gover- were fighting Collins but supporting Cox. In two states—Washington and South Dakota—the League candidates ran on the same ticket with the Farmer-Labor party candidate for president. In both states the League candidates fairly snowed under the Democratic candidates for governor, although they were in turn defeated by the Republican landslide. In Washington Bridges, League candidate for governor on the Farmer-Labor ticket, got 121,371 votes, as compared with 66,079 for Black. Democrat. - In South Dakota Bates, Leaguc candidate for governor, got 48,426 votes, as compared with 81,870 votes for the Democratic candidate. In three states—Minnesota, Nebraska and Idaho—League candidates ran as in- dependents. In Minnesota the Leag'ue candidate for governor, running as an in- dependent, got 281,402 votes, as compared with 81,293 for the Democratic candidate. a lead of more than 200,000. The League candidate got 35 per cent of the total vote, as compared with 29 per cent of the total vote polled by the League candidate two years before. In Nebraska and Idaho the votes for the League candidates for gover nor were the highest votes ever receivec by independent candidates for any officc in either state, although the Leaguers fin- ished in third place. The easy way to meet this objection is to nor, ran 5,000 votes ahead of Cox, though in this state also Democratic politicians’