Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-07-08

hear him talk. Here is Fedora
Judge, a great lawyer and q greateI
man. No one in this campaign has ex
planned so ably, or set forth so clearly
the unjust practices which gave birtf
to this farmers movement Not ever
the Fargo Forum would dare accuse
Judge Amidon Of being q Socialist, 6
Bolsheviki or I. w. w. daughter and
applause).
Listen to what Judge Amidon says;
THE people of North Dakota are farmers
intensely individual. They have never been
| combined in corporate or other business organ
| izations to train them in their common inter.
ests or promote their general welfare In the
main they have made their purchases and sold
their products as individuals. Nearly all OF
their live stock and grain is shipped to termi.
nal markets at st. Paul, Minneapolis and Du-
/ luth. There these products pass into the hands
Of large commission houses, elevators and mill
ing companies and livestock concerns. These
interests are combined not only in corporations,
chambers of commerce, boards of trade and in
terlocking directorates but in the millions of
understandings which arise among men having
common interests and living through long terms
of years in the daily intercourse of great cities.
These common understandings need not be en-
agreements. They may be as intangible as
the ancient powers of the air. But they are
as potent in the economic world as those an
cient powers were thought to be in the affairs
of men. 1t Is the potency Of this unity Of life
Of men dwelling together in daily intercourse
that has caused all nations thus far to be gov
erned by cities.
"As North Dakota has become more thickly
settled and the means Of intercourse have in
creased the evils of the existing marketing sys-
NJ atr ,frlA
factor has contributed as much to that result
as the scientific investigation of the states ag-
ricultural college and the Federal experts con-
nected with the institution. That work has
7 been carried to the homes of the state by ex-
tension workers, the press and the political
discussion of repeated political campaigns. The
people have thus come to believe that the evils
of the existing system consist not merely In
the grading of grain, its weighing, its dockage,
the price paid and the disparity between the
price of different grades, and the -four produc-
ing capacity Of the grain. They believe that
the evil goes deeper: that the whole system Of
shipping the raw materials of North Dakota to
these foreign terminals Is wasteful and hostile
to the best interests of the state. They say In
substance: /. The raw materials of the state
ought to be manufactured into commercial pro-
ducts within the state. In no other way can
its industrial life be sufficiently diversified to
attain healthy economic development. 2. The
present system prevents diversified farming.
the grain in the state which the state produces
keep the by-products Of bran and shorts here
and feed them to livestock upon the farms OF
the state. In no other way can prosperous
livestock, dairy and poultry industry be built
up. 8. The existing marketing system tends
directly to the exhaustion of soil fertility. In
no way can soil depletion be prevented except
to feed out to livestock at least as much OF the
by-products of the grain raised upon the state 9
farms as that grain produces when ground ana
h,,l int aoil IN n
riched manure, the elements which the raising
Of small grains take from 1t.
1.-THE present movement began at least as far
back as 1911. In that year an amendment TO
the state constitution was initiated authorizing
the state to acquire one or more terminal grain
elevators and maintain and operate the same IN
such manner as the legislative assembly should
prescribe. That amendment was adopted In
1918. From that time forward the discussion
of the subject of marketing the products OF the
state has been the main theme of public
thought. The movement has gone straight for
ward, the constitution has been repeatedly
amended including the amendments here assail-
ed-all having for their object the correction
of the existing system OF marketing tne staie
products. Year by year the conviction has
deepened In steadily increasing majorities, that
public ownership of terminal elevators, mills
and packing houses Is the only effective remedy
to correct the evils from which they believe
themselves to be suffering. Their decision is
not a popular whim. but a deliberate convic-
ton arrived at as result OF full discussion
and repeated presentations Of the subject at
the polls. The acts which the court Is ask
ed to restrain are not those of public Officials
who are pursuing enterprises OF their own de-
vising. Those acts express not simply the 1uag-
ment of the state legislature. To authorize
their enactment the people OF the state nave
redrawn their constitution. That is the hlgh-
est and most deliberate act of free people;
THESE constitutional amendments authorize and
direct the state to do what the defendants are
threatening to do. Their acts are simply the
carrying out of the mandate Of those constitu-
tional amendments.
''It is hopeless to expect a population con-
sistine of farmers scattered over a vast terri
tory as the people Of this state are TO create
any private business system that Will change
the system now existing. The only meaRs
through which the people Of the state have had
any Experience in joint action is their state
government. If they may not use that as the
common agency through which to combine their
capital and carry on such basic industries as
elevators, mills and packing houses and 30 mt
their products for market and markets the
same they must continue to deal as individuals
with the vast combinations Of those terminal
cities and suffer the injustices that always ex-
ist where economic units 30 different in power
have to deal the one with the other
Ny friends, for one hundred years
our whole scheme Of national govern
ment has revolved around protectlon
to certain classes and individuals
Tariff, money and transportation are
the foundation Of our national lie
Certain legislation comforting special
privilege is the foundation Of every
great swollen fortune in this country.
What Judge Amidon says Is true;
What chance have the unorganized
millions scattered all over the country
in a contest with expert financial STRAIT
egy backed by unlimited capital? lay
down this proposition: What the peo-
ple individually cannot do for, them.
selves is within the province and day OF
the government to do for them. CAP
pIause). The state Of North Dakota
helps the citizen to help himself. They
cry Socialism" say, mo, 1t Is pa
triotism." cloud applause).
Democracy has Right to Experiment
To those who claim these laws are
mistake I say that democracy has the
right to make mistakes. That Is the
way It advances. Democracy itself IS
the grandest experiment made py man
Tanplause). The constitution OF the
United States is the greatest expert
ment ever tried in the science or gov
ernment. In the convention WhlCh
framed it not a single educated, we'll
to-do man thought it would succeed;
washington, Hamilton, Jererson any
Madison were sceptical Of success;
within three years about one-thlrd OF
il was amendedsaway. Then fifty years
ago, we people down south stood on
our constitutional right to secede ana
YOU took your guns and amended an
other one-third away, so that only one
third of the original constitution Is
left. daughter and applause).
You have doubtless made some mis-
takes. I hope you have. for your
scheme wont work If 1t Is perfect.
daughter and applause). But let me me
fell YOU one thing, Boys, don't you let
the miserable Judas Iscariots, VINO solo
YOU out for thirty pieces of silver cor
rect your mistakes. And don't let the
Forum or Herald correct them;
(I,aughter). You do it yourself and
tell them to go to -. daughter and
applause). sao.;on IF
the whole plan. (Here the senator
discussed at length the bank law.
Continuing, he said: You were
threatened with the removal Of the
government price Of s2.26 for wheat;
Do YOU know why 1t wasn't done!
Well. IN tell you. The old line Demo-
W h,tf tho old line