Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1916-10-20
WAL ! ! II! l \ 4 | /! ! STRIKE ! 4 !
I :. lM| Fl |; !, FARMERS ! :
They More Than Any Others Owe
Gratitude to President.


RulNous LOSS PREVENTED.
csssat;sn ef Railroad Operation Would
Havs Mipsd Out the ~. 900 Peach
Crop, Cut In Halt the 500, 100000
Apple crep. Taksn @sopoo,ooo OF the
Potato Crop, and Those Items Are
Only a Drop In the Bucket. .s..:@#
T.. NJ FRANK @. ODELL. :.
Edhser Nsirexke, Fee~, MAfesine.
The farmers OF America recently
faced = crisis. from which they. were
delivered by prompt action by the
President Of the United States - the
threat of . nation wide railway strike.
The railway managers and the, repre-.
sentatises Of the 100000 employed in
train service were deadlocked over
hours Of labor and wage schedules.
President Wilson volunteered to act as
mediator, but had no power to force
arbitration. An impasse was reached.
The Brotherhoods issued 4 strike or
der effective on Labor Day; Sept f.
The railroad mana ements showed that
they recognized the imminence Of the
strike. Embargo orders were issued
on freight shipments. Supplies and
strike breakers were mobilized. The
country waited, breathless, for the
storm to break. It was apparent that
neither side was blufang.
The President saw a national calam-
ity impending. He called leaders of
his party into conference with him,
and with them wrote the bill present
ed to congress with the special mes
sage of the President next day.
Neither the railroads nor the railway
erotherhoods were consulted. Neither
side knew what the bill contained,
neither made any demand *oj had the
slightest influence in the framing Of
the bill.
That portion of the bill providing an
eight-hour day for employees engaged
in the operation Of trains. became q
law. It was accepted by the Brother
hoods, the strike order was cancelled
and the calamity was averted.
No class stood to lose 50 muct, from
the strike as the farmer. A single week
Of inactivity in freight ind express
service would have paralyzed his mar
i<et for 4 month or more. Coming at
the time Of marketing Of perishabis
products, his loss from this source alone
would have run into millions.
: Staggering Losses Averted. .u
1T is estimated by the railroad man.
agement that the increase in wages
because of the eight-hour day will
amount to from $50, 00O,O 600 to $780, OO0,-
600 year. Allowing their highest fig
ure, $1oo, 100000, the farmers Of tho
United States would have lost more
than this in thirty days had there not
been 4 man in tho White House big
enough to protect the interest Of tho
whole people.
Five cents q bushel on wheat is easy
picking for the pit gamblers when they
can play the market at their own
sweet will. 1t would have meant fifty
million dollars loss to the farmers on
the billion bushel crop.
James X. Armsby, one of the largest
shippers Of fruit in California. a Re-
publican, recently said that If the
strike had taken place 1t would have
bankrupted many Of the fruit growers
Of that State. He said Il would have
caused loss Of not less than $4,000
600 to the fruit industry Of California
alone. This amount 10 probably much
too low. ;5::-".#
!. Tho peach crop now going to market,
with . value Of about $55,0oo,00o,
would havs been practically a total
loss The $2oo, 100000 apple crop would
have bssn shrunk by half in value.
The potato crop, Of value Of about
$4,000, 900, would havs involved fur.
ther loss Of 1t least $5o,ooo,ooo. The
cabbage farmer Of Northern Ohio, the
grower Of tomatoes for the cannery
and the celery grower Of Michigan and
Florida would have kept mournful
company. Melons from Colorado, Cali
fornia, Arizona and Delaware, grapes
from western New York and from Va
kina and Wenatchee, prunes, pickles.
poultry. butter and eggs should have
gone down In the common cataclysm.
What would q strike have meant to
the live stock market Of the farmer?
And what would it have meant to the
consumer, with the cold storage facili-
ties in control Of the packers combine?
4 Would Have Paralyxsd industry. 81"
1 The direct and immediate loss which
the farmer would have sustained in
case Of. 4 strike IS but one phase Of the
danger which threat tened his interests.
The depressing influence upon market
prices, resulting from the inability Of
consumers to buy because OF lack Of
employment. would have been felt in ]
every item Of this years farm prod
ucts. Take this single instance: This
telegram, sent to President Wilson on
September "a BY Henry Ford the