The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-11-04
RADICAL FARMERS
 URGE JOINT ACTION
 WITH LABOR UNIONS
Incensed at Refusal of Gov ernment Authorities to Yield to Demands
 Recently Made
By HUGH W. ROBERTS Washington Bureau The Age Heraid
 500 Davidson Bulldlns

1 Washington, November 3.-(Specfal J.. The next stepp committee of the joint agricultural conference, recently in ses- sion in Washington, declined to collabo-
 rate with the American Federation of Labor in an effort to force it's pro-
 gramme, involving governmental aid, on the attention of President Wilson, the Secretary of the Treasury and the gov- ernOr of the federal reserve board This refusal on the part of the joint agricul- I tural conference has alienated what is Iregarded as the more radical wing of the ! farmers organization, the Farmers Ma | tional Council of which George P. Hamp. den is managing director
 1 The rejection of the overtures of labor, | which overtures, however, were the result l of invitation of the Farmers National Council, by the next step committed of the joint agricultural conference was due to the belief of the committee that the injection of radicalism in the situa- tion would result in no good and possibly great harm It was said to be the con i cluson of the committee that the time was not one for the use of force; and 1 the time had not come for the farmers | of the country to accept assistance. by an ! organization always at war which in turn would demand the assistance of the farm CTS. The committee, furthermore, was de- ! tered, it is said, by its knowledge that
 the strike, the weapon of organized labor,
 would be of little use in the hands Of 1 farmers.
 l It has been known for some months | tf at the American Federation of Labor or scme of it's agents or lieutenants were 1 endeavoring to form political alliance with the farmers. In the west, for in stance, there is farm-labor party. In l the south, politicians in some states, one | of them Alabama, have been enabled to enlist the aid of officers of the labor or ganizations and officers of the farmers i organizations. While the latter were un- ! able to vote the individual farmers. they 1 themselves as result of propaganda suc ceeded in disseminating matter of quesr tionable merit and truth with the result 1 that many farmers were shaken from | their natural conservatism.
 I While the general impression has been that it would be impossible to consolidate masses, the one radical and the other | conservative, there has been considerable
 wonder regarding the extent to which ! such consolidation was consummated. II
 | is believed however, that the rejection ! of the offer of labor by the next step \ committee will result in line of de- markation beyond which neither will at- 1 tempt to go.
 l At the same time the radical wing of | the farmers, represented in Washington
 by MT Hampden, is highly incensed at
 | the attitude of the conservatives, and in l a statement, Mir Hampden declares that !, irrespective of the refusal of the con servatives his organization would proceed with the assistance of labor 1 Mir Hampden says: At the request or | the Farmers National Council. Frank
 Morrison, secretary of the American Fed l eration of Labor, and w. H. Johnson, president of the International Association of Machinists. addressed the conference I of farmers representatives and pledged l tbeir hearty support to farmers effort to secure immediate short-time credit relief. Mir Johnson was also authorized to act ! for Warren s. Stone, grand chief Of the Brotherhood of Railway Locomotive En- yineers. and Bert M. Jewell, president, of 1 the railway department of the American Federation of Labor. Sidney Hiilman, president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, wired his approvM l of the farmers efforts 1 "In spite of these facts, the next step 1 committee of tho conference refraineo from recommending any action which would Bring rlief to farmers within the naxt few weeks, and flatly turned down 1 the proposal to accept organized labor's offer to help farmers get what they need"
 There is something like threat in the concluding paragraph of the statement 1 It follows: "We shall continue in CO., operation with labor to try to get short I time credit relief for farmers, and farm- CTS will want to know why some of ther
 spokesmen have declined to use the great
 est moral support which could come to | ia, mers in their present crisis the hearty i support of organized labor"