Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1920-05-26
OUR WASHINGTONLETTER

WASHINGTON, D. C.-Congress-
man Baer of North Dakota is receiv-
ing from every corner Of the country
a great mass of letters of Endorsement
and thanks from the wholesale gro
GERS and other dealers for his bill pro-
hibiting gambling in necessaries of
life. He has now returned from the
annual convention of the Southern
Wholesale Grocers' association at St.
Louis, where he spoke for an hour
to 5000 grocery men, who not only
applauded him at every point in his
argument but adopted resolutions ap-
proving his bill and pledging their
active support of the measure until
it shall become law.
Baer pointed out to the grocers
that there are three significant ten
denotes in their field today. First is
the demand that the price paid the
producer by the dealer shall be stamp
ed on all articles offered for sale, in
order that the consumer may know
how heavily he is paying for the dis
tribution of the article. Second is the
demand for public ownership and op-
GRAFTON Of marketing facilities, as a
protection Of the people against the
spectators and other profiteers. Third
is the swift and menacing growth of
"super-business corporations, which
are running ahead of the public own.
ership sentiment with their formation
of chains of retail stores that get
along without the wholesaler.
1.-THE Whelan-Duke tobacco inter
ests have launched the monster retail
store enterprise that is going to sc.
cure all the most favorable sites
throughout the country" said Baer,
land you know enough about the
other chain store enterprises to know
that they will run their own whole.
sale departments without your help.
They are buying up, for instance, the
buildings formerly occupied by sa-
looms, and are preparing to put their
retail stores in these locations I be-
lieve the Du Points are also going into
the merchandising business on a great
scale. These big profteers of the war
period realize the trend toward pub.
lie ownership of marketing facilities
and they plan to get on the ground
first with an organization that elm
competition between may independent
dealers, but which will crush out all
competition only in order to raise
prices to the consumer
One of the wholesale merchants in
this convention proposed that Asiatic
immigration should be again permit
ted, in order that production in this
country may be increased. Baer call
ed to his attention the influx of Syrian
and Greek competition into their own
field, and suggested that it would be
wiser to see that profteers and gam
blers be put to work for the benefit Of
the present population Of the United
States than to leave the profiteers
alone and encourage the coming of an
element that will live at a still low
er level than do the immigrants from
the Balkans and the Near East. This
suggestion was adopted.
These merchants have opened my
eyes to one thing" said the congress
man on his return to the capital.
They are just as radical as the farm
ers in their opposition to those who
are getting rich without rendering
any service to society. And they see
the chain store corporation coming,
with it's crushing private monopoly.
They are going to fight They see
that the program of the Nonpartisan
league, for public ownership of GER
tain marketing facilities, is the only
safeguard to honest business
In the opinion of Congressman Sim
| clair of the third North Dakota dis
trlct, the state ticket named at Fargo
by the Nonpartisan league convention
is strong in the places where it is
necessary that it be strong in order
that the industrial program of the
League may be carried out in good
faith and despite all it's enemies.
In the denomination of Governor
Frazier, and in the denomination of
Commissioner Hagan," he said, "the
convention showed the good sense we
all expected of it. And in choosing
as the nominee for attorney general
the man who has been counsel for the
industrial commission, as we'll as for
the League which produced this pro-
gram, the convention has made the
harmony and effectiveness of the in
dustrlal commission absolutely GER
tain. William Lemke has been largely
responsible for the program, and will
defend and advance it, through thick
and thin. Frazier, Hagan and Lemke
will be an ideal industrial commits.
SION"
Among the other state nominees
for whose election Sinclair congratu-
lates the convention is Senator Cahill.
chosen for secretary of state, who was
Sinclair's chief rival for League in
dorsement for congress two years ago.
The enemy later approached Cahill
with extravagant offers of support If
he would turn traitor, but he kept
him.
Congressman Thomas L. Blanton Of