The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-06-17

made for sending men to those com
munities promptly.
More than 10000 Kansas farmers,
members of the Kansas State Farm
Bureau, will probably soon have an
opportunity to express their wishes
directly, upon several bills pending
in Congress, through that organiza-
ton.
One of the most effective vehicles
for getting the actual attitude of the
farmer before the Congressman, has
proven to be the balloting system
used by the Farm Bureau.
A referendum vote on the Nolan
bill, now pending in Congress, has
been taken in several older organized
states by the Farm Bureau and the
collection of the ballots has shown
that there are 1880 farmers
against the bill, and only $4,000 for
it. The Nolan bill would impose a
tax Of one per cent per year on all
land above a valuation of $4,000
against the farmer and tend to re-
iieve other interests which seem to
have plenty of money to further the
passage of the bill, according to Farm
Bureau officials.
The Farm Bureau is heartily in
favor of the passage of the Capper-
Hersmann Bill, now pending in Con-
gross. The Capper-Hersmann Bill
would permit collective bargaining
by farmers, privilege enjoyed by
other labor and capitalistic groups,
but which is now denied to farmers
in most states and which has been the
source Of arrest and prosecution for
them in several instances. The state
laws of Illinois, Ohio, and New York
permit this right to be exercised by
farmers, as well as by other industrial
groups. The Capper-Hersman Bill
would provide the right for all farm
ers in the United States.
The attitude of the farmers has
been brought clearly before the legis-
lators through the balloting system of
the Farm Bureau in the other states
which have been mentioned, and it is
the intention of the Bureau officials
of Kansas to call for a similar refer
endum vote among Kansas farmers
on several bills as soon as necessary.
In the process of taking the vote
the ballots are sent from the state
headquarters to the County Farm Bu-
reau agents, who in turn distribute
them to the township Farm Bureau
vice-presidents who, with the Farm
Bureau committee members of each
school district make a personal can
vass of their members.
The ballots are signed and return
ed to the county agents and are then
forwarded to the state central offices
where they are tabulated and counted
and together with the statement of
the results sent to the National Blu
reau
These ballots, collected by the only
organization which is able to make a
quick and thorough canvass of the
sort from all its membership, when
presented to Congress, show the
members of Congress actually what
the farmers want, and not what they,
as their representatives, thought the
farmer wanted.
Information of value to the farmer
can be distributed in the same man
ner in which the ballots are trans
mitted to the membership, it is point
ed out.
"The Farm Bureau differs from
other organizations of trainers and
other classes who have represent
atives in Congress-" said Mr.. Weeks,
because frequently a representative
says the farmer wants this, the farm
er wants that when he has only the
impressions received from a few
farmers and a few communities and
from the press, whereas the Farm Bu-
reau is representative body backed
by an actual referendum vote of the
farmers themselves