The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 13, 1921, Page 4

N KOWNOISE HERE'S TO THE FARMERS — MAY, THEY LIVE LONG, 30 WE mMmAayY PROSPER | \\\\\\\\,\\\\.\) 1\ WTF e lic L Ba o2 L 12 A s where are they to look for models? The highest dignity is sup- - posed to attach to our diplomats in foreign service, United States senators and the like. Yet we find Colonel Harvey, our new ambas- ‘sador to Great Britain, referring to the former president of the United States as a “nincompoop.” When Colonel Harvey’s desig- nation of the former president was called to the attention of United States Senator Harrison of Mississippi, the latter called him q - vindictive, self-annointed, intolerant political accident.” This was about the kindest thing that Senator Harrison said in the course of an hour’s speech. Thereupon Senator Reed of Missouri, retorting, - intimated that Senator Harrison was “an idiot” going “around hug- ging a corpse.” Leaguers want to be dignified, diplomatic and artistic, but - please show them whom they are to imitate! ADAME CURIE, the discoverer of radium, has been a vis- itor in the United States and was honored by the presenta- tion of a gram of radium (about a thimbleful) to be used in scientific research, especially for treatment of cancer. Although Madame Curie discovered radium, she did not possess a single grain of that material. The expense of extracting radium from Brains Pitchblende is so great that the industry has fallen into vV the hands of private capitalists, both in the United States ersus ,,d abroad. This, in turn, has led to increased prices, so Money that the discoverer is unable to purchase any for herself, and the treatment of disease is discouraged. The one gram of radium presented to Madame Curie cost $100,000. Madame Curie, unable to purchase for herself a thimbleful of the new element she discovered; Columbus, dying in chains after finding a new world, and most of our great inventors, forced to pait with their inventions for a pittance, show the failure of an economic system which rewards the possessor of money and starves the pos- sessor of brains. : ‘ : E ARE all familiar with the champions of constitutional rights who are “for free speech—but—.” They are the boys who helped to suppress political meetings during the war, who voted for espionage acts, who used the postoffice depart- ment to eliminate reform publications from the mails, and who now and then yet succeed in preventing meetings of workingmen and farmers. 5 “Sure, we believe in free speech,” they say, “but—,” and then follow their alleged reasons for helping to step discucsion of ques- tions and issues they don’t want discussed: So we The “For-It- have already learned that when so-called 100 per 444 But FOlk.S a declaration in favor of constitutional rights, at It Again they are in fact opposed to what they claim to sup- port. This same gentry are now busy adding “buts” and other qualifications to their statements in favor of world peace and disarmament. That issue has become popular- since women have come to control half the votes, and since women’s or- ganizations have become active in the world peace movement. Pol- iticians can not very well oppose¢ the disarmament move. So they are for it, but— 7 President Harding has set the pace for this essentially dis- honest position of the politicians. He announced that his adminis- tration was for “approximate disarmament.” Why didn’t he say he was for disarmament, instead of using this phrase, which might mean anything? Simply because he and his administration are NOT for disarmament, but did not dare to say so. He first opposed the Borah proposition for a discussion by the nations looking to a limitation of armaments, but later withdrew his opposition, when he saw how bad he was getting in with women’s ‘organizations. A BANQUET AT WASHINGTON TO DISCUSS THE AGRICULTURAL CRISIS -OLD Bun, — . o TR THE FARMER 15 THE centers add a “but” and-a Tong explanation after _ “BACKBONE" =\ OF THE NATION — FARMING IS THE BASIC INDUSTRY - THERE T Pt A S s /A ; —Drawn expressly for the Leader by John M. Baer, And so the senate has passed favorably upon the Borah proposition and it is now up to the house. - : Meantime the “for-it-but” gentry are very busy. No imperial- istic newspaper or politician has dared to come out flatly against the proposal, but few have given_it an honest, straightforward in- dorsement. The editors say it is a good idea, “but we mustn’t go too fast.” We mustn’t stop our plans to have the biggest navy in the world. Oh, no! It’s all right to talk it over, because war is a bad thing and naval competition an evil. But we should not ACT on the idea of disarmament, Let Japan and Great Britain act first. Then we will. That is the burden of their argument. It wouldn’t do for - the United States to actually do something to show the world, long- ing for peace and good.will among men, that we do not want to be- come another Germany as it was under the kaiser, - i ’ Learn to spot these opponents of world peace who say they are “for it, but—.” pgnny.is-given. up to the bandit and he searches empty pockets for It is still interesting, to say-the least, to look down the barrel of the gun. : : The Minnesota state department of agriculture, in an official statement, says that a ton of hay shipped by a Pennington county farmer to St. Paul must pay $5.60 in freight un- Getting Sick der the benign Esch-Cummins railroad act. of Their Own Countgmg cost of baling and hauling, but not Rail M counting rental of land and other costs, the ton anway Mess stands Mr. Farmer out $9 when it reaches St. ; . . Paul, and he gets from $6.50 to $7.50 for it, if he is lucky. This is only one of the many examples cited by the de- partment to show the working out of the prohibitive freight rates. . The Minnesota agricultural department is in charge of Repub- licans, a part of a simor_l-ppre Republican state administration. In of GO\{ernor Preus asking the department to answer a questionnaire sent him by_Se_nator Capper. .Preus not long ago wanted to call out the state militia-and take it with him down to Washington in full RTHUR WARNER discusses in the June 1 Nation (New York) one of the most encouraging <aspects of the farmer-labor { . movement—the establishment and development of an effi- : cient mdependen_t press. ‘The Nonpartisan leagiie is given credit by Mr. Warner for its part in helping break the monopoly of big busi- ness in the newspaper and periodical field. e ; If the organized farmers and workers do nothing else, they - have justified their present political and economic Free Press rglogemq‘rilt by c(eista?hshllnqghtltledsuccessful ‘daily ' pa- €rs and periodicals which today are in the field. gradua_lly For unless the truth about the activities of reform PPearmg organizations can be widely published, and the evils 5 and abuses of the present political and economic sys- tem understood, nothing is possible. It is impossible to have effec- tive labor and farmer organizations unless there is a supporting press. - : : The last year, Mr. Warner points out, has seen the establish- ment of the Minnesota Daily Star (Minneapolis) and the Qrime o Daily Leader; and the creation of the Federated Press, a news gath- ering organization to supply the labor and farmer press. FaTh PAGE FOUR-