The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 19, 1921, Page 3

i P noT: D ———— e S S -IN THE INTEREST OF A !sgggm EAL FOR THE FARM - X ' - The Entered as_second-class matter at the postoffice at Minneapolis, Minn., under the act of March 3, 1879, 2 j Publication address, 427 Sixth avenue 8., Minneapolis, Minn. Address all remittances to The Nonpartisan Leader, Box 2072, Minneapolis, Minn, Published at Minneapolis, Minn., Every Two Weeks OLIVER S. MORRIS, Editor. I A MAGAZINE THAT DARES TO " PRINT THE TRUTH One year, $1.50. Classified rates on classified page; other advertising rates on application. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations. 8. C._ Beckwith Special Agency, advertising representatives, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City. OLE NUMBER 281 VOL. 13, NO. 6 MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, SEPTEMBER 19, 1921, W What Congress Is Up To, and Other Importfian"t Things and financial interests, as revealed by John Lord in the fourth of his articles, in this issue of the Leader. Mr. Lord has shown that the federal reserve banks, which ruthlessly brought about deflation and the business depression can with equal facility Q. CLEVER but nefarious plot indeed, is that of the big business bring about a business revival when they want to. When will they bring about a revival through their power to manip- Congress Is ulate the currency and credit? Not until congress passes certain legislation of importance to bankers Handy Tool and big business. That is the plot. for Plutes “Normal conditions” must be restored, says | big business and its press, before business will pick up and before the agricultural crisis will be passed. Congress can restore “normal conditions,” they say, only by passage of the tax, tariff and railroad legislation decided upon by the Republican party bosses and now pending. Many people have come to believe this statement. They think congress must do certain things wanted by big business to restore good con- ditions. Big business and its poli- ticians are using this lack of crit- jcal examination by the public to press the before - mentioned measures. ~And so, when con- gress passes the kind of tax,’ tariff and railroad laws that big business wants, the federal re- serve banks will remove their heavy hand from business and agriculture and a measure of normaley will be restored. What kind of laws has big business decided must be passed by congress? Mr. Lord tells us. The tax laws must relieve prof- iteers and the wealthy from a large part of the burden they now carry. The tariff laws must give the key or basic industries an advantage that will enable them to keep out foreign goods and raise the prices of manufac- tured- articles. The railroad laws must permit the railroad barons to get their hands into the public treasury and permit them to earn dividends on water- ed stocks. , When congress passes. laws like these, which are now pend- ing, then the big fellows will permit business and agriculture to revive. But not till then, Why do they want these laws? Because they will enable them to commence a new, wholesale exploitation of the people. Will congress fall for it? Yes, it looks very much that way. But an aroused public opinion can ; yet stop the plan. Mske your voice and your organized power heard and felt! - : I IENRY FORD not long ago purchased the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton railroad, running from Detroit right through the state of Michigan to the Kentucky border on the Ohio river. The road was broken down and practically bankrupt when the automobile manufacturer took hold of it. If Ford had been the ordinary type of railroad executive, after purchasing the railroad he would have done exactly what other railroad executives are doing. He would have alleged rail- goril Sl:lows road wages were too high and tried to cut the pay = i’i}rli'gl? S of his men. He would have either kept rates the same or demanded higher rates. He would have : kept a horde of high-salaried and useless railroad executives sitting around in chairs doing little or nothing and ab- sorbing the revenues.of the line. He would have made no attempt to improve the service or give the public a better deal. He would PAGE THREE gt o9 I SHADOWS CAST BY THE SAME HAND l have depended on cutting railroad workmen’s wages and higher rates to make him profits. What Ford did do was entirely different. Instead of decreasing wages and oppressing workmen he announced the road would ad- here to a $6 minimum wage per day of eight hours. He reduced freight rates 20 per cent. At one swipe he eliminated the high- salaried chair warmers in executive positions. ments in equipment and service. What has been the result of the Ford railroad doing just the opposite of other railroads? Professor Hoagland says in the New York Times that the road “is operating with an effectiveness un- precedented for this company and seldom approached by any com- pany.” He shows that for every dollar collected from the public the road is spending for operation and maintenance only 53 cents. Before Ford took hold of it the road was spending $1.17 for main- tenance and operation for every dollar collected in revenue. The line is making big profits. It is giving 100 per cent service to the people. Its reduction in freight rates has caused coal and other commodities to come down in {)rice to people served by the ine. Meanwhile big business and the financial overlords are sneer- ing at Ford’s accomplishment, and trying to explain it. The Wall Street Journal says the ex- periment by the automobile manufacturer can not be taken as indicating what other rail- roads can do. Of course not. It is probably too much to ask of other railroads that they get busy and get results, instead of sitting around and waiting for the government to support them. REPUBLICAN PARTY P to the interstate commerce com- mission that Ford’s reduction of freight rates is ‘“disorganizing” the existing rates in the middle West. Of course it is. If it doesn’t make the other roads get busy, quit calamity howling, take their hands out of the pub- lic treasury, reduce freight rates and improve service, it will be because congress is willing to support the railroads- and thus make it unnecessary for them to exert any energy or gray matter themselves. HE Republican adminis- tration, pledged during the campaign to “econ- omy” and “reduction of taxes,” finds, because of the immense expenditures for the army and navy and other follies it has committed, that it can not be “econom- ical” and can not “reduce taxes.” The treasury department finds it necessary to demand for the next year as much or —Drawn expressly for the Leader by John M. Baer. Alleged more money for practically every governmental ac- Toveiin tivity. So, unable to economize and reduce taxes, the & bosses have decided to pretend to do those things. First, as bait to be swallowed by the smaller class of taxpayers who are in the numerical majority, con- gress plans an income tax bill that will give married men and families with children greater exemptions. Thus, with a reduction inthe direct tax paid by the small taxpayer, he will believe Repub- lican promises are being carried out. of Taxes Second, the Republican party finds it necessary to carry out its . promises to profiteers and wealthy men. So the excess profits tax “which hits only those who make excessive profits, is to be repealed, and the tax on the groups of large incomes is to be cut in half. 2 Now, since the government needs more money instead of less, and since these changes in the income tax law will reduce the tax 1 He ordered improve- - Other railroads are protesting g £ B