The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1919-10-31
THE WEEK

IHE WEEk
A Great Lakes Waterway
Two Bank Raids
The New Baltic War
Winnipeg Labor in Politics
Program for Industrial Peace
Banker Belittles Americans
(Week beginning October 20, 1919
Talk of a waterway for big ships
from Duluth to the Atlantic is being
revived. The principal BARRED to be
removed is a bad stretch in the St
Lawrence river on the American side
and this could be cleaned out by a
series of locks estimated to cos.
$100,000,0O0.
Secretary Lane of the interior de-
partment points out that this devel-
opment for a, waterway would yield
also about $18,0OO,O00 worth of cleo
trio power a year. The by-product
would thus pay handsome return on
the improvement and our farmers
and manufacturers of the Northwest
would have much better chance in
the foreign market. At least cents
could be chopped off the handling
charges of Northwest wheat.
The chief criticism of the plan is
that it should have been applied 10
years ago. This development is far
more important directly to about half
the American people than the Pana-
ma canal and should have been COM
pleted first. Since 1900 farmers of
the Northwest have lost over half
their foreign trade and manufacturers
in this section are strangled by cost
ly transportation.
An ocean-ship waterway through
the lakes to Europe, government
owned ships operated at cost, new
port at the head of the lakes to es-
cape the vested interest charges at
Duluth, a railroad system owned by
the people and Therefore not fighting
development needed by the peoples
few sensible movs of this kind would
put US in position to do real bust
ness with the rest of the world to
the profit of all concerned except the
few powerful monopolists who gorge
themselves on the land route through
New YORK.
Efforts to discredit the Scandina-
vian-American bank Of Fargo, N. D.,
because it is not a. part of the money
trust system, are strangely iko those
OF similar interests to break the city
bank of st. Paul three years ago.
st. Paul commissioner of finance
found it hard to dispose of 100000
of tax levy certificates; so he worked
out plan whereby they could be sold
in small denominations over the
counter. The city paid depositors 4
per cent for the money turned in;
whereas st. Paul banks paid about
8 1-8 per cent. Money poured into
the city to the amount of $4,000, 900
in short time.
Then the bankers started their dir
ty work. They get a grand jury to
report that the bank was doing an
illegal business. Then the Pioneer
Press and Dispatch started a run on
the CITY bank by misleading headlines
and editorials. In one day $267 900
was withdrawn. But the bank stood !
up under this grossly unfair test, ev-
cry cent asked for was paid out, and
now this city bank has deposits of |
So, 900.
The banking world of three years
ago was willing to perpetrate this
meanest and most despicable of
banking crimes. It has not reformed.
The Observation-Disclosures bank was
mated because it was getting orea-
nzed farmer deposits away from 9TH
er Fargo banks and because it was
ending money to farmer organiza-
Ions on good security for objects not
approved by the money trust.
News about the sudden outbreak of
lighting around Riga is worse than no
Jews, because there is not even a
superficial reason as to why it is go
ng ON.
The city of Riga has been lombard
ID with shells and poison gas. The
let's, who inhabit that region, ap-
ear to be fighting Germans under
ION der Goltz. British and French
Varships take part. Poles are de-
Jared to be rushing in to participate
nd there is mention of a mysterious
russian army.
Perhaps the nearest clew we have
the report of allied negotiations
nth Germany to get her to help car
y out a rigorous blockade against
oviet Russia. Previously there has
cen good reason for supposing that
on der Goltz was near Riga with a
arge army under sanction from the
lilies.
Perhaps Germany has been making
pproaches to Russia with the idea
grabbing the Russian trade. The
erman people, who know what a
lockade means, would also be a lit
e hesitant about enforcing one on
neighboring nation. The new war
lay easily be part of a possible |
ecret treaty made at Paris.
In the meantime the people in the {