The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-10-19
FARM RS ARE
JOINING HANDS
WITH WORKERS
Wolfe Finds Interested
Farmer Audience
81 eERTRAM 0. WOLFE.


The farmers OF Skagit county,
Washington, that gathered in this lit
tie town, which is the county seat,
last Sunday afternoon provided one
Of the best and, certainly the most in
teresting Of the audiences that l have
addressed in my national tour for the
, Workers Party electoral campaign.
They came from all over the sur
rounding country and promptly on
the stroke of 2, the very minute adj
vertised, Chairman Elbe opened the
meeting, Yeoman's hall was we'll
filled and very few farmers drifted
in late. 1t was the first meeting Il
ever addressed that started on time.
400 Per Cent American"
The audience was as near to 100
per cent American" as any l have
ever seen gathered anywhere for any
purpose, farmers with generations of
American farming blood behind them,
nurtured in the traditions of "old-
fashioned Americanism" and keenly
awake to the fact that ours has be-
come "a government of the corpora
tons, for the corporations and by the
corporations"
The Workers Party is surprisingly
strong in this rural district 1t has
central core of industrial workers
from the big canning factory and a
few miscellaneous industries of the
county seat, casual laborers, etc., and
the rest Of its membership consists
OF small farmers, struggling under
the handicap of mortgage and tenant
ry and with manifold experiences as
workers in industry acquired when
driven off the land or before starting
their farming.
Skagit county cast % per cent of
It's total vote in the last elections
for the Washington Farmer-Labor
Party in spite of the rival LaFouette
candidacy, and the state of Washing
ton as whole, thanks chiefly to the
rural districts cast over 10000 votes
for the Farmer-Labor Party in the
same election. The Workers Party
forms the backbone of the Farmer
Labor Party in Skagit county.
Expect Large Vote.
This year they expect to poll
much larger vote than they did two
years ago. If their expectations are
fulfilled election is within the realm
Of practical possibility. They have
nominated S. C. Garrison, a teacher,
for state senator; G.. r. Bever of Sc
dro-Wooley, Hollis Abbott of Mt. Yer
non, and William Fisher Of Mt. Yer
non, all farmers, for representatives
in the state legislature.
The head of the state ticket is ].
l.. Freeman, a farmer who formerly
was active in the Western Federation
of Miners, OF Tonaskat. He is rum
ming for the United States senate
against Jones, republican, and Bullitt,
democrat.
Farmers Are Workers.
There ds a constant interchange Of
worker and farmer here so that the
small farmers are forever being driv-
en- of their land and back into indus
try or getting odd jobs for the win
ter and in the summer between plant
ing and harvest time They have
been miners, loggers, worked in can
ming factories, on state roads, on
construction work and as casuals.
Their farms range in size from about
or acres to $50 acres altho the
average farm runs from 30 to 40
acres. Their. land is the old timber
land after thalumber companies have
gotten thru with it and they have a
hard and bitter battle with the stumps
a higher price because of the clear
their 'clearings"
Have Hard Struggle.
A hundred or two hundred dollars
down gives them possession OF the
land and then the long weary tussle
begins. Stumps are dynamited and
plowed at and tugged on by teams
and a bit Of the land is slowly and
painfully cleared for planting. In the
meanwhile payments fall due on the
purchase price, capital is needed for
the long waits from spring to fall and
for the implements and seeds. II they
do dadrying the big canning factory
lin Skagit county Il is the Carnation
Condensed Milk company dictates
the terms and II It is apple raising
(this is rich apple country then they
sell apples TO the big fruit packing
companies often for less than the
cost Of growing them only to learn
later that they are selling for five
cents apiece and more in the big
cities II they cannot meet the pay
ments on their land when they come
due the land is taken from them
partly cleared, they get nothing for
their long uphill battle but a few
debts and the land is sold again at
a higher price because OF the cealr-
Gag that has been done