Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-10-22

United States senate would be inimical
| country. Benjamin G.. Marsh, managing
director of the Farmers National
Gil at Washington, ID. c., told newspa-
per men in Great Falls Saturday.
Marsh. who has been speaking this
week in northern Montana in behalf of
of the senatorial candidacy of b. K.
Wheeler. went through this city on his
way to Idaho. where he will campaign
for the election of two republican con-
gresSmen.
Its the right kind of men that the
farmers want in both houses of con-
gress." said Marsh. 1--WE don't care a
whit whether they are democratic or re-
pubIicans. so long as they stand for and
work for legislation that will benefit IN
stead of handicap the farming popula-
ton of this country. / am not a demo-
crat. MY purpose in coming to Montana
was not to aid the democratic party,
but to help defeat a man who has
thrown his support in congress invarl-
ably against farm legislation and IN fay
or of special legislation favorlng rail-
roads, meat packers and ~financiers. l.
have nothing against Mr.. Riddlck per-
s~onally. But his record as a congress
man has been abominable.
Not Interested In Politics.
THE Farmers National council is
composed of delegates elected by the
Grange. the Farmers union. the Ma
tional Creamery Butter Makers asso-
citation, the United States Gram Grow
ers, the United Farmers of America,
the American Society of Equity and
the National Cleaner federation. The
council is not interested in partisan
politics. Our only concern is securing
the passage of legislation which will
help the farming industry and oppose
legislation that handicaps it,
Last week | was campaigning for a
republican. this week / have been cam
~paigning for a democrat, next week
will campaign for two republicans and
the week after that | will be down in
Nebraska trying to defeat a democrat.
"To my knoEledge. and | have in
vestigated the subject. Carl Rlddick has
never made a speech of consequence IN
congress. Yet | find upon getting to
Montana that he is flooding the state
with d speech which is mailed TO yot-
ers under congressional frank. the I'M
plication being it was delivered before
congress. 1t is something he wrote n
got permission to print in the Record
without delivering it on the floor OF
the house. In this speech he accuses
government officials of having made
contracts during the war which permit
ted profiteering. That is for effect
among Montana voters. for what did he
actually do? On May 90 last, he was
absent and not voting on the resolu-
ton Of republican Congressman Wood
ruff to investigate the attorney gen
erals failure to prosecute those guilty
of fraudulent war contracts. RlddIck
knew that this investigation might en-
able the government to recover scores
of millions of dollars which they had
taken from the American people, yet he
ducked the vote on it,
Freight rates have been increased
40 per cent under the Esch-Cummlns
law. That means a lot to your farm
ens in Montana who are so far from
this measure.
How Law Works
Il understand that Wheeler's atti-
| tude against the Esch-Cummins law
has been interpreted to mean that he
| contends the railroads are guaranteed
dividends under this measure. This
is not so. In effect, the railroads
might as well be guaranteed dividends,
for the way the law is operating the
| financiers of Wall street are being
| enriched at the expense of the pro-
| ducers and consumers.
For instance, the law provides
| that the Interstate commerce rom
mission may fix the valuation Of the
| railroads. They have fixed it at SIS
500, 100000. If you figure up the
value of the railroads from the list
ing of their stocks and bonds, they
are not worth more than S11 600
coo. or $4,000 100000 at the most.
THE law permits the railroads to
fix their freight rates so that they
may earn at least 5A per cent. So
for the last six months they have
earned A per cent on their valua-
| tjon which is nearly $1,000, 100000
more than the railroads are consid-
cred by Wall street financiers to be
worth.
But this is not al that the rail
| roads are doing under the Esch-Cum-
minis law. They buy coal and steel
from companies in which their Off
| GERS and directors are financially IN
terested, allowing these companies to
make enormous profits, thereby IN
creasing the expenses or operation.
Take the case of the New York
Central and the Pennsylvania rail
WAYS which framed out their locomo-
tive repair work to the Baldwin Loco
motive company. in which the direc-
tors of these two railroads are inter
estpd. The repair work cost So
900, 900 more than it had cost when
it was done in their own shops. 1t
is such abuses which are being p%ractic-
cd under the Esch-C ummins law that