The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 21, 1921, Page 4

" ness. criticized the national officers of the American Farm Bureau federation for falling in with the plans of big business to shift federal taxes from the rich to the poor, President J. R. Howard of the Federation replied that it wasn’t true? On the other hand, Mr. Howard said, the Federation officials had “converted” big busi- ness and had induced the wicked National Industrial Conference board to give up its plan for killing the excess “Conversion” Profits tax, reducing the income tax, and adopting Didr’t Last consumption taxes in their place. In view of Mr. Howard’s claim that big busi- Very Long ness had been converted the -following official statement now made by the American Farm Bu- reau federation, under date of January 27, is interesting: _ President J. R. Howard and H. C. McKenzie attended the confer- ence of the tax committee of the National Industrial Conference board in New York on January 21-22. Mr. McKenzie is a member of the committee. The farmers’ representatives made a square and vigorous fight for the retention in the report of the principle of the excess profits tax. The report of the committee, however, called for its repeal. * * * Strange, isn’t it, that big business failed to stay converted? DO YOU remember that a few weeks ago, when the Leader The whole theory of the national officers of the American Farm Bu-- reau federation has been that it is only necessary to talk politely and persuasively to big business to get it to give up its unfair practices. It is our idea that more vigorous means are necessary. HE North Dakota Farm Bureau fed- eration has announced adoption of a program containing 17 points, thereby going President Wilson three better. Of the first 16 points, 15 declare for political action of various kinds, including abolition of grain gambling, amendment of the Esch-Cummins railroad bill, and placing the BY Gum! IF ALL THE FARMERS BELONGED TO THE NONPARTISAN LEAGUE THEY Woulp HAVE AN OBJECT IN STAYINC ON THE FARM o burden of paying the war debt 1;0?.'“;*‘} upon the rich. The 17th point ction IS is that farmers must take an Necessary interest in politics, though it is declared that the Federa- tion itself is to keep out of politics. If the Federation is to keep out of poli- tics it means that the farmers must have a political organization, like the Nonpartisan league, to get the 15 po- litical points that the North Dakota Farm Bureau federation outlines. This was exactly what actuated the North Dakota Farm Bureau feder- ation in. adopting its program. The North Dakota farmers know that political action is necessary—and know they have an organization that can get action in the. Nonpartisan league. : Unfortunately in other states the American Farm Bureau federation seems to have been organized with the distinct idea of putting the League out of busi- In Nebraska, according to press reports, it has openly announced this pur- pose. The convention of the Western Im- - plement Dealers at Kansas City, according to their official organ, the Farm Implement News, adopted resolutions “indorsing the fun- damentally sound teachings of the farm bureaus and the Kansas state board of agriculture in their efforts to combat Townleyism.” It is time for all Farm Bureau members to find out what the American Farm Bureau federation stands for, whether it is to be operated as an auxiliary to the farm implement dealers, to permit them to charge higher prices for farm implements, or whether it stands for real relief for the farmer, through legislation, as is evi- dently the case in North Dakota. : N THE last issue of the Leader it was pointed out thé,t govern- I ment statistics showed our wheat exports during -1920 were roughly 70,000,000 bushels greater than during the previous.- year. Since that article was prepared the United States department of agriculture has issued its figures on wheat stocks Our Wheat in the United States. This shows that on January 1, Is Nearl 1921, wheat stocks in the United States amounted s Nearly i, only 320,000,000 bushels, as against 417,000,000 All Sold bushels a year previously. » f _The Leader has said before that the law of sup- ply and demand shows no justification for reduced prices on wheat this year. All the official figures go to prove it.. It is true that the foreign exchange situation makes it difficult for the United States to sell wheat to Italy, Germany and other | AN IDEA | —Drawn expressly for the Leader by W. C._.Morris. | Gossifi and Comment on Current Affairs European countries that need it. But exports to England, France, Belgium and other countries that can buy have been 70,000,000 bushels in advance of the previous year, in spite.of the bad exchange situation. e We should work for the improvement of the exchange situation, so foreign countries that need our wheat and can not buy it now can get it. But foreign exchange alone is by no means responsible for the starvation prices that American farmers are offered for their products. - HE Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review reports the sale of a piece of land in that city, for which the-owner paid $637 in 1881, for $125,000. The only improvement was a small one- story brick building, without basement. If the value of this “im- provement” be estimated at $4,000, the increase in land value in 40 The Unearned Increment and the Nolan Bill years, outside of the action of the owner, was .. $120,000, or $3,000 a year. Three thousand dol- on the original investment. value? Certainly not the landowner. It was rather the farmers of Washington, who planted wheat fields and ap- ple orchards and made Spokane an industrial center. The laboring men of Spokane, who built their own homes and the business men part. " It was the whole community that added $120,000 in value to this $637 property. - entitled to this $120,0007? crement” for the benefit of the whole people is, as we understand it, the object of the No- lan bill now before congress. There is some doubt among working farmers as to whether this bill, with its $10,000 exemption limit, to them. 3 The Nonpartisan league has taken no po- sition on the Nolan bill. have had from Leaguers, however, are strongly in favor of the principle of the to penalize speculation in land and other " natural resources. ' : If the Nelan bill, as it stands, should be found to place more burdemns upon farmeérs than they now bear, the bill, in amended by increasing the exemption. This-country can not aiford to place _ further burdens upon farmers, if . it is to be supplied with food, But the Nolan bill, we believe, is right in principle. It can be amended, if necessary, so that it will remove any burden from the - working farmer and put it on the .shoulders of the land hog, who is escaping his just ghare of taxation today. FTER commending American Legion'pésts for offering their services as volunteer police to suppress the so-called ‘‘crime wave” in large cities, the Stars and Stripes, national service- men’s paper, published at Washington, D. C., says editorially: Two other recent activities of the Legion in two localities are more open to argument. In one Kanrsas town the Legion is credited with telling A. C. Townley, organizer for the Nonpartisan league, to - get out of town and stay out. In one Texas town the ; AT Legion members are said to have told two families of Some Soldier - japanese colonists to take the next train to some place Comment on elze. In }tlhe }'ll‘o:;n(;ley case the brief press dispatches . indicate that he didn’t get out. The Japanese in Texas the Legion 1 5icqon, ; : I Mr. Townley and his League may be unpopular in Some quarters, but they are perfectly legal and entirely peaceful and ‘the effort to suppress them by force is both illegal and foolish. The same issue of Stars and Stripes contains the announcement that the Kansas legislature will make no provision for a soldiers’ bonus and adds: . 7 ) " All of which doesn’t salve the soldiers who are asked to take a stand against the Nonpartisan league, when that organization has been responsible for beaucoup soldier aid in North Dakota. Evidently Governor Allen’s lying statement, claiming a inonop- oly on loyalty and patriotism, isn’t fooling the soldiers of Kansas, at any rate. ; ’ . PAGE FOUR : . lars a year represents earnings of 500 per cent “ Who-was responsible for this increase in who put up factories and stores, did their - Why shouldn’t the whole community be: To take a portion of this “unearned in- - exclusive of all improvements, would apply Such letters as we - bill, which is to encourage industry and ° the opinion of the Leader, should be. .