The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1923-11-16

and the challenge will echo fran the
mountain to the sea, ITO YOUR tents.
0 Israel" Ui 'e'''s'
There is another form of economic
slavery in this country TODAY NV
friends, that affects every man vyono-
an and child in the nation. and that ;e
the control of money and credits by q
few banking institutions ORGANIZED for
private gain. In 1920 we witnessed
an almost unimaginable display of the
power placed in the hands of a few
men. Over fifteen billions of dollars
IN value were Destroyed in a single
year. Over five billions of dollars
IN value was Topped off of a single
crop. Can you think of what that
means to the farming interests of this
country! Let US make a concrete IL
Illustration: If COTTON brought 25
cents per pound, or SIPS per bale.
S5,OOO 100000 would purchase 100000
100 bales or the entire cotton crop of
the South for three years! Was not
this staggering price to paw a small
bunch of men to whom had been dele
gated the sovereign functions of is
SUNG and controlling the money and
credit of this nation? This was a
Time when we supposed that the
twelve Federal Reserve Banks were
virtually owned and controlled bv our
government for the benefit of the
American people. But now we are
calmly advised that they are private
ly owned banking institutions. 1t is
fact that is well proven.
"Of course, we frequently hear the
defense that the reasons we had
trouble with our present financial
system was due to the fact that it
was badly administered. But / have
yet to see where any defender has
pointed out where the administrators
of the Federal Reserve System have
violated the law. The fact is that
they were keeping within the law.
They were using the powers granted
them in the Act. Since powers are in
/ tn Act that are capable of so much
mischief it is pretty good evidence
| that there is something radically
wrong with the law, and that these
defects should be located and remedied
! and the power of a small grGlp of
| individuals to inflict economic slavery
upon the people of this great land
| should be checked.
"And there is a form of political
slavery quite common in many sec
lions of America, / do not know
whether or not it is so in North Car
DINA, and that is the slavery of ma
chine politics. 1t is hard to estimate
the damage done by machine politics
when they have fallen into corrupt
hands, or into ruthless or incautious
keeping. The machine will shape the
| policies, will feed out to the press
! just what it wants the public to con-
sumo, and will do all the thinking ard
acting for the public that the public
viii lpermit. We have made some
! great steps towards correcting this
evil, but the battle is not yet won. In
the establishment of the primaries we
have worked wonders, but now we are
| having to fight machine influence in
| the primaries, we are having to fight
the Oftimes heavy expenses that a
poor man must meet in order to 20
thru a primary fight, but worst OF
all we are faced with the determine
ton of its enemies to abolish the
primary system. This we musr not
permit. We must build up, simplify
and fortify our primary system. We
must keep this weapon in the hands
of the people and resent every effort
of machine politics to control the
system. The people must les4n to ex-
ercise for themselves their right OF
determining who they desire to holC
their public offices, and not slavingly
accept what is offered them in the
way of candidates by machine poll.
tics and machines Influenced press.
"Here on this spot, my fellow
Americans, here where chattel slavery
surrendered. here as united Ameri.
cans let US highly resolve that econ.
onic slavery in America must also
be destroyed, that the slavery of lit