The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, January 10, 1921, Page 4

,'Go_ss‘ip and_ Gomment':on CurrentAfl’azrs F-'ARM, STOCK AND HOME, a farm journal published at Mfin- ILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, who once upon a time was pres- ident of the United States and carried two states when he N ran for re-election, some months ago wrote a newspaper .article upon the Nonpartisan league in which he referred to the president of the North Dakota Agricultural college as a “political’ professor named Ladd,” in spite of the nation-wide fame of Doctor Ladd, gained in part for his pure food fight during Mzr. Taft Is the Taft administration, when the pure food men Learning— Jere getting mighty little help from the adminis- g tration. : \ - p - : But Slowly Now that Doctor Ladd has been elected United States senator Mr. Taft seems to have learned rather _ more about him. In a newspaper article in® which Mr. Taft again discusses North Dakota and the Nonpgrtisan league the-former president says: L ¥ ; : ’ There is much interest in the course which the new senator, Mr.. Ladd, will take. He is an able man, with intimate knowledge of the farming conditions in North Dakota and similar states. We are glad that in this one instance Mr. Taft seems to have acquired some knowledge about North Dakota. The rest of his arti- cle does not display it. After lauding the work of Attorney General “YLangler” at great length, Mr. Taft says: : - The League had put'in at the head of the schools a man who abus- ed his power by introducing as a textbook and as propaganda some very pernicious doctrines ; 2 ' with reférence to the family and he was finally, beaten for the place by a woman who had at- - tacked his course. - 3 The superintendent of schools in North Dakota who preceded the present super- intendent was N. C. Mac- donald. Mr. Macdonald was inspector of rural schools and chief assistant of the state superintendent before |. the League was organized. He was promoted by a vote [l maemoen:t vave mave X y 2 lfer s ) of the people to the office of | B S tise Fot Basnet = —— S0 7TILLION D superintendent. He was never charged by any one with “introducing as a text- book and as propaganda’ some very pernicious doc- trines with reference to the family.” . Mr. Taft really ought to get his information about North Dakota from some- one with more regard for the truth. So long as he de-’ ) 5 % Vi . ] l‘m&k\ ::\Mllw) ) Z pends upon Attorney Gen- eral “Langler” and others of this stripe, Mr. Taft won’t bat much better as a polit- ical writer than he did as president. North Dakota leads every state, Congressma the grain buyer must either pay the farmer For a few months, at least, the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce prob- ably will be kept so busy defending itself that it won’t have much time to - waste in attacking the organized farmers. But let’s look forward to the day when the organized grain gamblers can be put out of their nefarious business “for keeps.” ’ : HE recent state convention of the Minnesota union, Ameri- can Society of Equity, adopted by unanimous vote a resolu- tion demanding that our government allow the resumption of trade with Russia. This implies no-approval of the soviet form of government any more than trading with Russia before the war ‘meant that we approved the czar’s regime. It is simply common sense business and a recognition of the fact that the people of Russia, and not the people of the. United States, should decide what fory: of gov- ernment Russia should have. There is also a strong movement in congress " to allow Germany to use the half-billion dollars, in round figures, held by the alien property custodian from sale of German property in this country, to,buy food and other supplies - urgently needed by the starving millions of that nation. i "Resuming trade with Russia and Germany will help American, farmers. It will help re-establish the world on a sound footing. But a reason greater than either of these is that it would bring to suf- fering humanity at least a partial relief from the hardships of war: that have not yet been alleviated, two years after the end of the war. : Wi Sl ! : S ; Resume Trade With Russia and Germany 1 - A NORTH DAKOTA CROP . The $6,000,000 that North Dakota farmers save each y‘ear in dockage is one cfop in which as stock feed. Other states have copied many of North Daketa’s laws, but net this one. Probably the grain dealers in other states wpuld_ raise too much objection. ONE of the lessons of the war has been that no country can- : neapolis, with more foresight than most of them, points out " that the American Farm Bureau federation is headed for dis- big business. Farm, Stock and Home says editorially: . The showdown must come some time and it might as well be now. aster if it follows its present pussyfooting policy of kowfidwing to. “Is the American Federation of Farm Bureaus going ahead to demand - “and get all it can for farmers, just as organized F B business and labor have done, undeterred by criti- arm bureaus cism or labels, or will it continue to pursue a “Please Need Better mist%r éf it is g‘liot asking to'? mml:lllz we wish’ yog'_ ' : : would do so” and so0”. course Will it go in and LeaderShlp pound on the table and ‘say: “We have a right to. ; E a greater share of this meal than we are getting.~ . We are going to pull up a chair. ‘Here ig our plate, fill it up”? " Or will it content itself ‘with looking in at the window and be satis-- fied with the smell; just because it will be thought’ selfish and -im- polite if it takes the former course? e - The Federation must look the fact squarely in the face that it can not put over its marketing program without hurting somebody. If it does not like to do that, then it must: abandon its program. . - Any. far-reaching fundamental reforms that will help agriculture ‘must come through legislation that is primarily for farmers. To that extent it must-be a “class legislation.” * * * - : : Sooner or later the American Farm Bureau federation, and its various state organizations as well, must come to this position or their > : : 3 s membership will - melt away. 'The farmer is in ~no mood to be put off with words. - It is becoming increas- “ingly. apparent to. thousands -of the farmers in the farm bureau movement, as well as to unprejudiced = observers = >; Stock and Home, that the = E farm. bureaus never can —— DOCKISE. -gerve while the national lead- ership is in the hands of re- I \'VE DBEEN HERe 30 \'ns ““"1["] AND NEVER GO¥ PAID f FOR IT BEFOREL - % M A nation-wide combination effect’ what it calls. the “open shop” plan and seeks public sup- port for it. What the “open shop” means was shown when Minne- apolis milk producers recently locked out all their drivers and re- they would sign a pledge to with- prises. This serves to show, not n Baer says. Under the North Dakota law" for dockage or return it to him, to-be used bl_lgin_ess and employing classes. rémain independent of the rest of the world. Whether the United States ever becomes a member of the league of na- - tions or not, our welfare is bound up with the welfare of all other ' countries. ! ; Qngb of the reasons why Europe is buying less of our ~'farm Why We Can’t ; 4 : Sell Our Farm dollar’s worth of American goods, at present Diodusis Abroad -rates of exchange,cost $1.39 in English money, $2°in Norwegian- or Danish money, $3.17 in - 'This situation noggg’;;hh;nsogsgvzggegsgff;npg ffl:'l(i:t!: l?luoyml'ley,food thaf it needs in America; it also has prevented American mafihfac— turers from selling their products abroad and has thus added to the” depression in this country. -'As one instance note the report of 80 tractor manufacturers, who in 1918 manufactured 132,697 tractors - and exported 86,351 of them, or nearly 30 per cent. In 1919, in ex- - -pectation of increased foreign business, these companies manufac- ‘tured 164,596 tractors, but were able to export only 19,693, or less - than 12 per cent of them. The United States government had no hésitatibnv_dlflififi'g"‘ the war in extending billions of dollars’ worth of credit to European countries, under the understanding that they should spend th money in this country in buying munitions of war. But our govern _ment now finds immense difficulties in the way of extending credi to Europe to buy food that it needs desperately. @ ~like” the editor of Farm, . achieve the success they de- actionaries like President J.- of employers is trying to put in - fused to take them back unless : " draw from their union.” Drivers. . also were. required to withdraw support from co-operative enter- only that the so-calleed “open shop” means a closed non-union _shop, but the falsity. of the friend- - ‘'ship professed for co-operation by products, as pointed out before by the Leader, .18 the existing state of foreign exchange. One e ;"7 ‘l L3