The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1917-11-30

farmers, President A. G. Townley OF
the National Nonpartisan League,
told delegates to the American Fed
Grafton of Labor that the Farmers
and workers economic interests
were closely inter-knit and that
such affiliation would give the big
gest possible impetus toward putting
field and factory war products on
the market at lower prices and in
greater qantities.
Mr.. Townley addressed the Buff
falo convention last Friday from
the same platform from which Pres
ident Woodrow Wilson spoke four
days earlier and he and the Presi-
dent were almost the only outsiders
invited to address the American
Federation of Labor.
"Let the two great classes of pro
ducers join behind the government
in this war;" President Townley
pleaded. "Iet us wipe out the
parasitical middleman. Let us down
the profiteer and in a surprisingly
short time we will find that our
people at home will be better and
more economically fed and that our
forces at the front will be better
and more economically equipped.
Have Right to Combine
"We have right to combine"
President Townley added, "And we
will not be true to our best in
terests if we fail to do so. The
laborers of this country represent
37.3 per cent of the nations popula-
ton and the farmers represent 1872
per cent. Together we form 70.5
per cent of the population of the
United States. Yet the business in
terests which live off the worker
and the farmer outvote us in the
city councils, the state legislature
and the halls of congress and we
never will get economic justice or
the full product of our toll until we
combine and make our force felt.
Otherwise we never will be able to
prevail against the selfish and some
times sinister forces which are bend
ing every energy to keep the farm
ers and workers apart and thus
deprive ourselves and our families
of our fair share of what we pro-
duce."
Farmers Loyal to Nation
President Townley emphasized the
loyalty to the Nations purposes
shown by the farmers of the North
west, who over-subscribed the Lib
erty loan quota by the highest per-
centage anywhere in the country,
despite two successive crop failures
and sharp reduction in the price
of their principal product. With
this record and with evidence that
the milling interests are exacting
dollar barrel profits for making
flour on one hand and locking out
employees who dared join trade unions
on the other, he said some suspicion
of the loyalty of certain profiteers
might come closer to the truth.
When President Townley related
the story of the formation and
growth of the National Nonpartisan
League and instanced extortionate
profits of those against whom its
defenses were raised, he was follow
ed with the closest attention by the
delegates. And his story of the
big potato crop and how Governor
Frazier of North Dakota found po-
tatoes for which the farmer had
been paid 70 cents a bushel selling
for $500 a bushel in New York last
winter caused Arthur Heyday, the
delegate from Great Britain to eX-
press amazement and ask further
particulars of American food profi'
teering. Mr.. Heyday said nothing
of this kind would be tolerated III
England.
Farmers Are Not Capitalists
Certain interests have tried t6
teach you city workers that We
farmers are capitalists" President
Townley continued. GAS matter
of fact census figures prove thai
the average family on American
farms last year earned as yearly
wages only $318.22 above the value
of the food they consumed. On this
margin you can decide for yourself
whether they attended many granC
operas or spent the winter months
at Palm Beach
"Twenty-seven billion dollars IL
annually paid for farm crops in thi
country The farmers get nine bill
lions of this. Who gets the rest
When we inquire as to pork tina
we sell for to 10 cents a poun'
and buy back at from 25 to 3
cents a pound we are told that yo'
workers in the packing plants "ab