The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1929-06-21

-N4dLUS Gllu EL1NC-Ls
The small man undulatlng legs in the
far corner is right. 1t is quotation
from the Scotch national song: "Scots
What Haze WI Wallace Bled." It is
a fine stirring piece and when sung
by a crowd that carries a bit of the
burr on the tongue has a moving
power of its own. It cordially vel
comes those to a CORY bed who pre-
fer it to loss OF independence. Men
have accepted the invite In nearly ev-
cry land under the sun. The CORY
bed was no figure Of speech for the
Colonial Fathers who faced King
George. You think those Quixotic
things are not being done any more ?
Besides there is no slavery and the
chains are not evident anywhere.
There are chains and chains, there
IS slavery and slavery. There is &C.
OnOmic slavery and the term wage
slave" is far from obsolete. EconOm-
&c slavery binds the farmer to reap
and sow that another may profit. II
fixes the price ne shall receive for
his labor and the price he shall nav
for his necessities. If ne dares to
rebel at that limitation on his per
sOnal liberty the mortgage moose is
drawn a little tighter to remind him
that he must not be too ObstreperOus.
If he attempts to stand UP for his few
remaining rights he is classed as an
undesirable citizen and the bank
strings him up with a foreclosure and
drives him out of the community. He
drifts to the city and becomes a
wage slave. There the fear of los
ing his job weighs upon his heart
heavier than any chain that ever
manacled a Nergro serf IN the south
and anxiety as TO what viii become
Of him in his old age is an ever
lengthening chain ne drags through
the dull days of his serfdom. Death
alone opens the dark portals of free
dom
No chains, no slavery today? Or
not enough, at least to warrant the
alternative Of a CORY bed? AsSuredly
the courage of our fathers is not
lacking and if Americans knew the
encrOachmentS on even the liberty
they have they would not think Burns
old song was rather theatrical and
impractical. Perhaps it is well they
do not.
One reason they do not is that the
source of their information is pOllut-
ed. The newspapers upon which they
depend are slipping into chains
Twelve years ago there was much
said about the kept press" By that
term it was meant that certain news
papers were maintained by certain IN
terests as a rOue kept a mistress. The
steel trust kept one, the lumber trust
another, the grain interests third and
the railroads a fourth. But the ar.
rangement was kept dark until the
new postal laws made the liason diff
fieult TO conceal.
So a new arrangement was made
The interests bought the former mis-
tress and owned her openly. Th'
recent investigation of the Fedora
Trade commission shows by the ties
timony that thirteen of the large
daily newspapers of America wer,
owned by public utilities, out to bu.
more Other interests financed o
owned whole chains of newspapers
The chain newspaper is not uncOm
mon. There is one chain in Soutl
Dakota; at least two in Wisconsin
and one was being arranged in Min
neSota when the Trade commissio,
caused a temporary timidity till tn
storm would blow over. The sam
interests that corrupted the schOc
text books, bribed college professor:
gave money to officials of women
clubs went out to buy newspaper
: wholesale with what? With tn
t money they had extorted from tn
American people for light and powe
and heat!
: The newspapers being pretty we
: organized, the next step was tn
] banks. There are 5000 fewer bank
D IN the United States than there weI
E six years ago, but the survivors hav
: q billion dollars more resources. Tn
? first three months of this year sa,
f more than 100 bank mergers. Til
ludes the big ones In st. Paul an
Minneapolis but does not include til
e tbranch banks bought at Fargo, Va
: ley City and jamestown and at Abe
: deem, S. d. Most of the closed bank
e are the small ones In villages of les
f than 1000 people. They were cleare
+ out first. But to speak of branc
banks is wrong. They are really boo
d legged banks Federal law forbiC
IS branch banking except in states whel
2 state banks are permitted branche
Minnesota annd North Dakota forb
# branch banking. So the law W;
y evaded by organizing a stock cor
' pany that controlled the purchas,
d banks, leaving them the empty She
1t of directorate TO fool the law.
rs An impartial financial authority
New York writes: Heretofore t
u competition for banking business h
2 been keen. There has been no mon
is poly of capital. When business W
rd declined by one institution there we
as others that sought investments. T
to merging of banks can have but o
%, final result: Concentration of Ger,
ed and of immense power over busine
nd in hands of relatively few men at t
L head of banking"
Yet the old gang in the Northwe
. laughter when the farmers made
~ state bank at Bismarck and want
branch banks in every county. T
er farmers saw what was coming. 7
Z, merchant may yet have to resort
IS state-owned banks to get ont of q,