The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 7, 1921, Page 3

. Came to Get . with buyers. iN 'I'HE INTEREST OF A SQUABE EAL FOR THE FARMEBS tered - as seeond clags matter at_the .postoffice at . Mlnnenx&olls nn under the nct nf Mnrch 8 18’19 Minn, reu remlmnoau m The Nonpumm Leader, Box 2075, mnnelpol!l VOL. 12, NO. 3 Ilonparnsan Tader === Official Magazine' of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Two Weeks ‘é“ ”plll;gmonmus!fi.;ge;l AAmm Bu o' geh- LIVER S. MORRIS, Editor. - MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, FEBRUARY 7, 1921 A MAGAZINE THAT DABEB TO PRINT THE TRU' One yenr ln ndvance 2 50 slx mnn'.hs $1.50. Clas- ssifie ven.lsln nte reau ldvaruslnz renreaen Louis, Kansas Clty. e WHOLE NUMBER 265 C clowi tatives, New York, Chi The Baruch Plan dnd the Kansas Situation ; N PAGE 8 of this issue of the Leader is a statement by Ber- nard M. Baruch on what must be done to put farming on a modern business basis. It is interesting to note how Mr Baruch happened to prepare this statement. : few years. ago Mr. Baruch, known popu‘arly as “Barney” Baruch, was a well-known and successful trader on the New York Stock exchange—in other words, a gambler on the Wall street market. But while Baruch: built up his private fortune playing the market, the easiest way he knew, he retained an interest in the wel- fare of the country. With "the outbreak of the war he offered his services to the president.- He did.not go to Washington, as did other “dollar-a-year” men, How Baruch Interested "hopmg to do a dollar’s worth of work for the government and a million dollars’ worth for their firms. entered government service, that he had severed his connections with all active business, had turned his wealth into bonds and had put them in a safe deposut vault in New York. Baruch escaped the scandal that attached itself to the names of other “dollar-a-year” men who .used their government positions to get increased profits in their private grain, packing, coal and railroad businesses. He helped the government find out what was 2 . the matter with American busi- - g o \u"' «m\\‘” ness and helped make it more effi- , \_\" °“:,»"‘" =, 5‘\% cient. And at the same time, ap- L 24 parently, he found out that some- thing was fundamentally wrong with the biggest of all American businesses—the farming business. R. BARUCH finds that what is needed to put the farming busmess on a ’ businesslike basis-is: (1) Ware- houses free from gambler control, in which farm products can be : stored until the Mr. Baruch’s R Beeds hem; cheap Plan and the loans on these League Plan farm products; (3) a system of market information by which farmers can be placed on a par He points out that the presertt system of market in- formation gives buyers all the in- formation about the crops that are” being produced, but gives sellers almost no information about where the crops can be _marketed. : .. In its essentials the program outlined by Mr. Baruch is exactly Baruch announced, when he I3 o the same program for which the Nonpartlsan league has fought for,' -for six years—public warehouses and elevators, rural credits at cost, free market information. In some details the Baruch plan and the League plan differ slightly. Mr. Baruch would have eleva- tors and warehouses built by private capital, if possible, but under public control. Before he goes much further Mr. Baruch probably will find that private capital is not going to rush over itself to build elevators for farmers. He admits that if this is the case (and we can assure him it is) the warehouse facilities should be provxded by public funds. After all, it is the essentials that count. In all essentials Mr. Baruch agrees absolutely with the League program. Baruch can show us that in its details his plan is more workable - Jthan ours, we will welcome the information, as we welcome all con-. structive criticism. | “THINGS ARE COMING.OUR WAY” | A lot of people are getting the League idea these days, Cartoonist Morris points out. Cartoonist Baer has a cartoon on the same subject on page 8. And if Mr., spirited man to realize that the League plan is right.” Recently we referred to the fact that former Congressman A. F. Lever now a member of the federal reserve board, had advocated almos exactly the same plan—public warehouses and cheap loans to farm ers. Canada, South Africa and Australia all have their public ele vator systems and find them successful. So hav« An Idea That Seattle and New Orleans, an(ii nov&}'1 even the state Politicians of New York is planning to adopt the same system. Do Not Like IT IS interesting to note that Mr. Baruch is not the only public- It is also mterestmg to note that Mr. Baruch made his suggestions in response to a request from the Kansas state board of agriculture. Ap- parently the Kansas state board of agriculture didn’t think much of his suggestions. They sounded too much like the program of the Nonpartisan league. Instead of printing Mr. Baruch’s plan and : sending it broadcast for the bene- fit of the farmers of Kansas, the Kansas board of agrlculture left Mr. Baruch to cxrculate his letter himself. HE politicians of Kansas are not willing to let the farmers of Kansas. learn the truth about what is the mat- ter with the farming business. Not only did they throw cold wa- ter on the Baruch ‘nor DPlan, but Governor (S;fovoels" S Allen of that state Flatliies put out a statement urging the Ameri- can Legion mem- bers to defy their national com- mander and fight the Nonpartisan league. Allen- says the League must be killed because it is “un- patriotic” and to “prove” his case he makes out of whole cloth the following barefaced lies, saying of President Townley and League or- ganizers: They fought every war drive, opposed the sale of Liberty bonds, refused contributions to the Red Cross. Lacking the courage to go to war for Germany, they became, . in effect, German emissaries in the rear. As League farmers in North Dakota, Minnesota and other states well know, Red Cross col- lections were taken .at League meetings throughout the war, and thousands of dollars was collected in this manner. As the Liberty loan records show, the Nonparti- san league and Nonpartisan Lead- . er offices not only contributed to Liberty loan drives but . were given 100-per-cent ratings. Gov- ernor Allen also says that Presi- dent Townley was put “under restraint” by the government during the war. On the contrary government agents who attended Town- ley meetings, when the kept press was stating that his speeches were seditious, reported to their superiors that Mr. Townley’s speeches were truthful and patriotic and that no exception could be taken to them. The Nonpartisan Leader at the end of the war was given the formal thanks of the government in a certificate signed by members of President Wilson’s cabinet. - Our record for patriotism will compare very favorably with Governor Allen’s, and our record for tellmg the truth will do a great deal better It is quite to be expected that politicians of the caliber of Gov- -ernor Allen will not approve the League plan or any other plan for the real benefit of farmers, especially when that plan contemplates dnvmg unfalthful publie oflicmls from office. ~ PAGE THREE