The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1921-10-07

ont Recently Ratified BY commiasIoners

- 80 e
as the result OF 1he war. Farm prices
are debated nearly 100000 workers
are unemployed, hanks are failing all
over the country ,ald virtual mora
.torium has been declared in big busi-
ness circles.
Something is radically wrong with
all lines of industry and things can't
be made right by gathering few silk
hated captains Of industry in Wash
ington. and merely talking. Any real
remedy requires deeds insteaN of
words and some of the deeds must be
very drastic.
That is exactly the trouble. Hard
ing. Hoover, Mellon and all other ad-
visors of the administration are per-
fectly satisfied with things as they
are. They think the. temple requires
no remaking,n' and as long as they feel
this way they would see it fall down
about their ears rather than install
new supports They are willing, OF
course, to permit a few patches on the
roof, for the roof obviously is leaking;
but apparently they are unable to see
that the whole structure is settling at
the corners and that fundamental re-
pairs must be undertaken to prevent
a collapse.
LOOK AT THE COAL SITUATION
Consider the coal situation, for IN
stance..ss Everyone who has investigat-
ed the situation knows our coal pro-
duction is about 80 per cent less than
normal so far this year, and that we
are falling further behind every week.
IL the prospects for long, severe
winter are fulfilled, we are bound to
have coal shortage and consequent
hardships all over the northern part
Of the country.
Harding, Hoover, and the rest OF
the cabinet must know this? But are
they doing anything? Are they order
ing the coal operators to drop their diff
ferences with their men and speed up
production Are they willing to Com
mandeer the mines if necessary, as
Governor Frazier did in North Dakota,
to prevent a public calamity? No, In
deed. That would be interfering
with private property That would
SAVIOR OF socialism So they do not
take single step to ward off an cas-
lily preventabIe misfortune and blum
der along toping for mild winter or
that the people will suffer in silence
when the coal shortage actually
.materializes. thaHss Mi zbestiEa them
selves despef afefy ana give out ponp-
ous der1arations but they will 90
nothing iii advance because that
| might not please a few selfish coal
operators who have usurped public
resourcessfor their private aggrandize-
ment.
| AFTEREEEDERAL TRADE BOARD.
The Federal Trade commission has
| been one Of the few regulatory boards
| in Washington that has stood for the
| peoples interest. 1t exposed the coal
profteers, it showed up the crooked
practices Of the packers, and recently
J it revealed how the grain gamblers OF
the Northwest robbed the farmers by
/ fraudulent methods. Naturally the
Federal Trade commission is not
| popular with the profteers, and their
| willing tools in Congress for the past
year have been planning to abolish
the commission.
/ The latest attempt is part OF the
REORGANIZATION plan which has the
backing of the President. Walter F.
Brown, appointed by the President rs
chairman Of the reorganization com
( mission, recently admitted before a
small Washington club that. the Fed
eral Trade commission probably
| would be forgotten in the reorgan-
ization and thus tipped off the admin.
| istratnn'ss scheme A vigorous pro.
/ test will be made by the little handful
OF progressives in Congress, but the
trade commission has made many
powerful enemies and its doom evf
IDENTITY has been decreed.
j, wARsHiPs WASTE OF MONEY.
i New bombing experiments carried
out against the old battleship Ala
bama conclusively show that sea Graf
have no chance when attacked by air
planes. The army fliers turned tht
Alabama over with one bomb and the1
rainerl sprojectiles on the sinking bulk
The largest bombs will sink a battle
ship IL they fall in the water within
100 yards OF her hull. All lay obsery
ors who have watched the tests ar
convinced that ba,tleships are doom
ed but with blind obstinacy the naya
! officials refuse to admit this fact ant
continue to ask Congress for hun
: dreds ofs millions of dollars to be ex
: pended for these obsolete craft. Mos
= experts believe these funds ar
wasted and favor the establishment o
la great aerisl squadron which coul'
! defend our eoasts against any poss
5 / Bile invaders at much less eypens
than battleships.S
.asThe overwhelming majority OF me
are. fundamentally honest. Out. @
: 1000, 600, bonds that have been writ
ten. only 10000 4 per cent-hav
gone wrong And of these on1y 1.0f
1 10th Of per cent-have purpos6
| w and dn1ihp.afp1y committed In