The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1923-04-06
MTLWAUKEEAN GETS
BLAST FROM BECK
Congressman Sends Biting Letter to
ALFRED F. James, President of
Northwestern Natl. ms. Co., in re-
ply to Communication Urging Sup
port for the Ship Subsidy.

eAAl oAAD NuDoAuy JILL AACAAAD~A0 VI ~c-A
gress have been flooded with letters,
kilograms, pamphlets, inspired reso-
buttons and all sorts of publicity urg
ing the members to vote for subsidy.
This propaganda was financed by the |
big shipping interests.
Congressman J. D. Beck received /
one of these letters from Alfred F.
James, president of the Northwestern /
National Insurance company of Mil |
waukee The following is Mr.. Beck's |
reply to Mr.. James letter:
II note you say this business is |
looking to you,' ETC., and asking me to |
support the ship subsidy suggesting |
that it is to the interests of Wisconsin !
/ to have a ship subsidy In reply to
this l will say that l cannot comply
with your request. I voted against
the ship subsidy and will do all in my
power to defeat it.
81 believe I am perfectly capable of
knowing what is for the interests of
the people of Wisconsin. A ship sub
sidy must be paid in wealth. When
ever a subsidy Of any kind is paid the
expense reverts back to the farmer
and the wage Garner who produce the
wealth. Those two classes of people
eAI ctAANeA0y h|AAA6 beA-NN0 W ANe%eAA esAA'
whenever business interests like your
own recognize that their prosperity
depends upon the prosperity of the
farmer and the wage Garner; whenev-
er they recognize that the attitude of
big business today toward these two
classes is driving the country into boil
shevism; whenever they recognize
that the constitution is made for the
benefit of everybody to be lived up to
by everybody instead of big business
living up to it only when it suits its
purpose and fouting it when it does
not; whenever we build up business
from the bottom instead of from the
top, then we will not be talking about
ship subsidy or a prohibitive tariff or
a revenue bill which permits big bus
ness to escape $410,000,01J in taxes
every year, or anything of that kind.
Il wonder how you would feel if
you were in congress doing your level
/ best to protect the basic industries Of
the country, the accomplishment of
which viii protect every legitimate
industry in the country, to be buried
with letters, pamphlets, newspaper
articles, books and kilograms every
few days in appeals in behalf of big
4 hNtoAAANao AANN4NoNos ~ AAAAnbA cAAN q
few months ago a bill was introduced
relative to a district insurance fund
, for cOmpensating injured employees
in the District of Columbia. Tele-
grams, letters, pamphlets, books and
newspapers began to deluge members
, of congress by the ton. They came
! from ship owners; they came from in
surance companies; they came from
no +Ierr f.-,,.. -
E manufacturers, chambers of COM
merce, manufacturers associations
! railroads and every conceivable inter
! est outside of the farmers and wage
I earners protesting against this little
: bill. What is true in this particular
: instance is true of any bin which ef-
: fects any single line of concerns such
!. as / have enumerated above. But the
: railroads, for instance, know as much
!, about insurance, ] take it, as yor
i know about ship subsidy. Do any OF
these interests make any appeals il
> behalf of farmers ? Not a one. d.
! any of them make appeals in behalf
of wage earners? Not a single one
!, What they do with these two produc.
: ing classes is to call them radicals
:. reds, bolsheviks, free lovers, cOnmun-
7 lists, etc, if they dare to make any
i complaint as to conditions under
: which they are living, if they dare t.
/ plead for common justice.
q "Do you know that in the seventh
: congressional district of Wisconsin
4 there were 100000 more acres OF
/, farm lands advertised for sale to pay
taxes last spring than there were ever
so advertised before? Do you know
L
so advertised Do you know farmers
Is could not even borrow money to pay
It their taxes? And yet, last year bis
- business made over $4,000, 900 of
Q these farmers and wage earners VIII,
e were losing their homes by the thous
N ands A bill was introduced early il
Z this congress to loan farmers none,
20 to tide them over this period Of dis
tress, but do you know the bankin,
d interests would not let it pass unit
d, they got a rake-off of two percent
n "A bill is now before congress asl0in.
the government to buy one hundre
million dollars worth of farm pro
ducts to ship to the starving people
of central EurOpue. Do you knoy
that the millers are here opposing
r unless it provides that the govern
o. LlCuJ SHAH guy lOQIs ana ble pdCkll
pc interests are opposing it unless tn
: bill provides that the government
y shall buy meat to ship to these Eur
v opean countries? In other words, bi
in business interests are here opposin
" everything that does not give them
! rake-of coming and going.
"Now, / have got this to say to yo
and other big business concerns sue
= as have just enumerated. Wheneve
: you get down to business and begi
to take an interest in common folk
in the wealth producers of this cou1
try from whom you draw your Twin,
you can save postage and little tin
1 by not making any more appeals I
me. I am opposed to this country bt
ing bolshevized. I am opposed to il
being driven into communism, an
! that is just what big busiess is dri'
ing it into just as fast as it can.
"You advocate ship subsidy b
couse it provides essential auxilial
: ships for our navy in case Of wal
81 Why, my dear sir, do you not lmo
81 +1o4 VIC not rroivos n boxro az