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

More Profits Likely All Along Line
When Roads Get Is Per Cent In
crease-105 Congressman Against
Aiding Industrial Accident Victims
-Baer Will Fight Public Lease
Grab on Floor-No Exclusion for
Monarchists-kent to Run for
Senate-Packers Convicted of AL
tering Freight Bills Secretary of
Agriculture Gives Phosphate Trust
a Free Hand.
Washington, D. C.-George P.
Hampton of the Farmers National
Committee on Transportation sends
out warning that unless the farm
ers wake up and protest to their re-
spective congressman and senators,
they will be saddled with a huge ad-
ditional charge in freight rates, due
to the return of the railroads to pri-
vate speculative operation.
His analysis of the situation is up
held by the address of Commissioner
Woolley of the interstate commerce
commission, in which that official
shows that a freight rate increase of
at least IS per cent is likely to be the
price we shall pay the private oper-
.ators for their kindness in taking the
roads back. This, too, in face of the
fact that the roads are now earning
a clear profit each month.
But the rs per cent raise in rates
is to be multiplied by five, in the
final charge upon the consumers.
That is the experience of past freight
increases. Give the roads 10 per
cent higher rates on beans, and the
price of beans at retail is loaded
down by five times the actual added
freight cost. Everybody grabs at a
new profit when the rate goes up.
The consumer pays.
This is the one chance upon which
hangs the saving Of the railroads this
winter from a new chaos under spec
ulative control. If the 3O,OOO,OO0
families in the United States can be
brought to understand what they
will pay, in grocery bills, clothing
bills, rent bills and every other item
of expense for the return of the
railroads to private hands, congress
will never give them back. Instead,
congress will take order from the
country and will pass law extend
ing federal control for period of
three years more.
VOTE ON CRIPPLE AID
On the bill providing federal aid
to the states, on a half-and-half bas-
is for the re-education in trades of
men and women who are crippled in
industry, the final vote in the house
stood 1876 to 1O5. Almost every lib
eral and semi-liberal in the house
voted for this measure, while most
of the southern Democrats and a
good many of the more hard-shelled
Republicans voted against it. The
chief argument made against the
bill was that it was "bolshevistic"
extension of the power of the gov
eminent into a field which should be
left to the states. The same argu-
ment was used against the federal
child labor law some years ago by
the same group. They knew exact
ly how much the states would do for
industrial cripp!es if left to their
own disposal of the matter.
Among those voting against this
humane legislation were Good and
Haugen of Iowa, Sears, Ayers and
Anthony of Kansas, Clark of Mis-
souri,, Cannon of Illinois, Fordney of
Michigan, Evans of Nebraska and
other western men. Many of the
more timid members who had talked
against the bill in the cloakrooms de-
cided at the last minute that they
were making political mistake.
They either voted faye" or stayed
away from the roll call.
OIL LOBBYING WINNING
In spite of stubborn opposition on
the part Of Congressman Baer the
mineral lands leasing grab has now
been voted favorable report by the
house committee on public lands.
Representative Knutson of Minneso-
ia, the majority whip, announces
that an attmpt will be made to bring
it to a vote before November /. The
oil lobby is tremendously pleased,
and is beginning to have faith that
20-year campaign to get hold of
the last of the natural resources be-
longing to the people is over.
Baer is going to take the fight to
the floor of the house, where he will
have good deal of support for many
of the amendments he has arranged
to offer. Among other things, he pro-
poses that state as we'll as municipal
governments may have preferential
right to take leases of federal coal,
oil, phosphate and sodium lands. The
oil lobby has seen to it that no sulh
right is given the states, although
even railroad companies may have
coal land leases.
MONARCHISTS NOT "DAN-
GEROUS"
When the house was about to
adopt the bill providing for a years
extension of the powers of the presi-
dent to exclude undesirable aliens
from the Countrywide word "unde-
sirable" menaing, in this case, labor
agitators and radical thinkers gen.
erally-by means Of control of the
wise of passports, Representative
Emerson Of Ohio offered this amend
ment:
(Which restrictions shall provide
that no Bolshevist, anarchist, or I.
w. w. sympathizer shall be allowed
to enter the United States"
Representative Huddelston of Ala
bama asked whether Emerson would
be willing to include "monarchists
and those who preach absolute gov
eminent with autocracy" Also.
Emerson was astonished at the
suggestion but felt bound to say
that he would. However, he was
sure that the danger lay in the radi-