The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-06-20
HOPES To CHECK
RAD|CAL|S|N
IN WEST
Chicago Wheat Farley May
Offer Practical Assistance
to Farmers,
CONTINUED from First Page.)


Continued from First Page.)
Of this conference Is relied upon
20 provide Governor Preus and
other conservative statesmen with
the achievements by means OF
which they can stop the flood oil
"radicalisEl" among farmers.
May Check Radicals.
In a previous similar conference
held at st. Paul, in Minnesota. the
radicals gained the upper hand
and secured the adoption Of reso.
luton In favor Of a proposed ma.
tional law which would guarantees
to every farmer out of national
public money a price Of $1.75 for
every bushel of wheat grown on hi
farm.
1t is hoped that the membership
OF this conference has been Sc.
lected carefully enough to avoid
any repetition of that distressing
incident. 1t is hoped by Governor
Preus, as caller of the conference,
and by Congressman Sidney Andsr.
Son OF Minnesota, as chairman vi
the conference, that the delegates
will keep away from governmental
proposals and will devote them
selves steadily and successfully to
strictly economic plans.
The idea is that the radicals" 81
the Northwest have developed d
program of governmental assistance
and that now here in Chicago 1h7
Conservatives" will develop a pro
gram of practicable private self
help and that this latter program
will 70 out and beat the govern
mental assistance program in tAt
politics and In the elections Of this
year and next.
1t is realized that If Governor
Preus, as the candidate of the Re
publican party in Minnesota fol-
United States Senator next month
Is going to beat the Farmer Labor
candidate, He must have q program
and hold out a hope of better times
to his agricultural constituents
This conference is the first serious
considered effort by the "conserYa
tives" to match themselves against
the radicals" as solvers of the
wheat problem.
Bell Is Back Of 1t.
The man at the back of it is not
really Governor Preus at all; the
true inspirer and originator and
moving force Of this conference Is
James F. Bell. who served with
conspicuous usefulness in the Food
Administration during the war and
who in private life Is a large par
Of one of our largest northwestern
Internationally famous flour firms.
Bell during the war helped
earnestly to reduce our consumption
Of his product, he helped to take
the "eat" out of wheat" He die
1t 80 well that now our nationa
consumption. of wheat is annually
only five and three-tenths bushel!
per person, while the corresponding
consumption in France Is seven ai1C
nine-tenths and in Belgium eight
and three-tenths.
He now would like to see the
"eat" put back into wheat" In
this country. Hence his generous
contribution to this conference and
hence also the intense interest
taken in 1t by the organized bakers
Of the United States who scientific
cally calculate that If each and
every one Of us would only eat one
more slice OF bread with each meal
why then, all the millers would be
busy and all the bakers would be
employed and all the wheat Of all
the farmers would be sold and al
the old mortgages on the old home
steads would be paid off and there
would be no more rural radicalism
1t Is claimed that eating three
more slices of bread per day would
be a small price to pay for get
ting rid OF rural radicalism. Mean
while, however, a considerable mum
Der OF important persons, such as
Warren S.. Stone, head of the
Brotherhood of Of Locomotive En-
gineers, have let this conference
know that they and their associates
and followers ARE going to favor
the proposed (Norris-Sinclair) bill
which establishes a Federal govern
OF capital out OF the public Treas
ury for buying the products OF
farmers and for selling them al
home and aboad at prices remunera
tive to the farmers.
Want u. s. Assistance.
The devoted leader of such ideas
on the floor of this conference is
Benjamin F. Marsh of the Farmers
National Council who informs this
writer that no plans for increasing
the consumption Of wheat could be
come successful Immediately anc
that therefore Governmental as
assistance must be provided immedl.
ately and temporarily in order tc
tide the wheat farmer over his pres
ent instant crisis.
The two sides to this controversy
will come to their final clash in the
conference this afternoon with the
conservatives" presumably winning.
In any case, however, the result is
that the lines Of battle in the Min.
nesota election OF next month and
in the agricultural politics of next
year are at last clearly drawn. The
radicals" will propose a wheat
subsidy and the Conservatives
will develop an expanding program
Of more wheat eating and of better
wheat selling from today forward.