Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-12-02
FARM CONGRESS
HAS HOT DEBATE
Community Interest" Discussion
Brings Out Single Tax and
Other Issues.
ARE AGAINST THE M1DDLEMAN


The discussion OF Community
Interest" at the Nebraska Farmers
Congress became more than a discus
Fs:on-almost spirited debate. r.
~. Tyson Of Tobias started IL off in
nocently enough with a booster talk
for close friendship and cooperation
between farm and city.
w. r. Baxter followed with an able
pc per, carefully balanced and
" eighed. charging that the landlord
ard the tendency toward landlordism
end the increase Of tenant farming is
the great menace.
Then followed G. NJ. Gustafson Of Mead.
charging the city people are selfish and
do not have the community interest at
heart. lie slammed the farm demon
strator idea and declared. III you insist
on sending Us farm demonstrators. we
viii insist on sending demonstrators 10
the city. We have already demonstrated
some things IN the city that has opened
tho eyes Of many"
Gustafson Is president OF the Farmers
Union, which organization NJ. only mar
kets the produce OF it's members. but has
community stores. from which the farm
ers buy implements. coal, lumber and a
lot OF other necessities.
BIames Tax system.
What w II. Baxter had pointed out
that there are today li.OoO less farms I'm
the state than there were five years ago
because land Ia slipping into the hands
] - -. Ia I,nAhaiAnN nrhA ant -
tenants, Gustafson admitted, but az to
the cause OF this condition the two dlf-
fered. Baxter laid II largely to the sys-
tenn of taxation.
Custafson said: ''The farms are get
ting larger because the producer IL not
getting a fair shake. Eliminate the waste
the consumer.
''Sift out tho drones. az Mr.. Baxter said,
sift them out slft out the fellow that Ia
30 glad to make his living gambling with
the things we produce. sift out the fell
low in Omaha who made $4,000 In the
snap Of finger gambling on tho wheat
that you and and the rest OF the neigh
bors produced. We don't need that kind
OF man In the community Some people
stu think we do, but we don't"
TaIks About Farmers.
0ustafson called attention to a com
mercisl club in a certain town In the
state that entertained a delegation OF
Farmers union fellows some time age
at luncheon. Afterward. he said. one OF
the members OF the club criticised the
club in the newspapers for entertaining
this delegation of farmers. who. the critic
said, we're trying to ruin the city mans
business.
~ sent the club a check for the price
Iof our lunch" said Gustafson. and they
returned the check. saying that was only
the feeling Of one OF the members But
tell you, gentlemen, the next time 1t will
be another member and another. The feel
ing IL there"
II was up to Ross l.. Hammond, who
followed Gustafson. TO smooth things over
Hammond IL president OF the State As
sociation OF Commercial clubs. Hammond
said he had hoped this would be a har-
monious discussion and was surprised q
find II had degenerated into a debate. lie
declared things were not as bad as they
had been pictured. and that the subject
should never have been brought up foI
discussion. as the barrier between tbs
city and the country did not exist except
as an artificial barrier