The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-03-18
To Offer Proof
SapirO Cheats
Farmers
Reed Says FOrd's Opponent
Drained "COOperatives"

DETROIT, Mich, March 17.-Sena-
tor Jim Reed, presidential possibility
for the democratic party, today de-
Tended Henry Ford, the richest man
in America, with a great outpouring
Of eloquence against Aaron SapirO
who is suing Ford for a million dol
lars for libel.
"Ford's defense will be that the
Dearborn Independent printed the
truth about Sapiro," said Reed. He
relegated to the background the
charges of Jewish control" said
nothing about tie radical" accusa-
tions made against Sapiro by Ford,
and declared that every charge that
Sapiro mulcted the farmers by Sc
ries Of fake cooperatives would be
proven to the hilt.
Sapiro DisIikes Now Trend.
An effort by Sapiro's attorneys to
stop this line Of argument resulted
did not care who he injured in the
judges chambers between opposing
counsel, at the end of which Judge
Fred S. Raymond ruled that Reed
could continue while the Judge looked
up presidents.
Reed pictured Sapiro as a clever
schemer, who wanted to corner the
agricultural markets Of the world, and
did not care who it injured in the
process, nor by what untruthful adj
vertising he accomplished his ends.
He. charged that Sapiro and his friends
looted the "cooperatives" thru ex-
orbitant salaries, even when they
knew the pools were about to fail.
Big Loot From Cotton.
Reed told the jury story of how
Sapiro operated the southern cotton
cooperative. After Sapiro got S142,-
900 in fees from the association, said
Reed, a receivership was asked be-
cause it was in bad financial straits.
Reed next followed Sapiro's activi-
ties into Kentucky where the plain
tiff organized tobacco growers.
Says Sapiro Lobbied.
"The evidence will show that Sa-
piro went through the states lobby
ing to get state legislatures to enact
bills validating the contracts of his
cooperatives," said Reed.
Reed declared Sapiro had told the
farmers that the average earnings of
each cotton workers family was S34O
year.
"Sapiro told them their low returns
were due to the middle mans pro-
fits" Reed shouted, "and yet he took
these same middle men into his as
sociations and let them fatten and
fatten upon the farmers"
I Promises to Child Slaves.
"He told them that if his coopera-
tive plan went through $4,000 wo-
men and children who had worked in
the cotton fields could return to their
homes. He said the whole trouble in
the south was the rotten marketing
system, he said the cooperative sys-
tenn would establish new system of
prosperity throughout the SOUTH
War Finance Board Aids.
Reed definitely linked Eugene
Meyer, Jr., former head of the War
Finance Corporation, to Sapiro's CO.
operative program. The Missourian
charged Sapiro had boosted he was
the only man who could get loans of
government money from Meyer. "The
boast" said Reed, "was made to North
Carolina tobacco growers"
Then Reed charged Sapiro with
breaking his promises to farmers.
1--WE will show you that these prom
Uses were never fulfilled" Reed as
serted. eve will show that Sapiro
then made threats against the in
dividuals who would not come into
his associations and threats against
the towns in which they lived"
Continued on Page Two)
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