The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-06-18
BY MAX BEDACHT.
VII. Soviet Dumping. .

The masses of poor farmers in the United
States are being changed into tenants or crop
pers, or are driven off their farms entirely.
In that case they swell the army of unem-
ployed in the industrial centers What does
the capitalist government do to help? It feeds
the farmers with propaganda about Soviet
dumping The United States Department of
Agriculture cries "Soviet Dumping; the u. S.
Farm Board affirms this cry; all the big and
little capitalist dogs yelp Soviet Dumping :;
and finally the capitalist newspapers echo all
this propaganda with their cries of Soviet
Dumping"
The latest phase of the agrarian crisis in
the United States is now about 10 years DID,
AS time passes this crisis grows more intense.
It existed already at the time when the Amer
lean capitalists told the Russian masses to
overthrow the Soviets because they will never
be able to organize production. It still exists
at this moment when the American capitalists
tell the American farmers to solve their crisis
by overthrowing the Soviets for having or
ganized their production.
A great part of the capitalization Of the
American railroads was provided by r1unici-
pal. state and federal grants The public
values thus contributed to the railroads were
turned into private wealth. They were trans
formed into stock held by the promoters and
financiers. Later on this stock was literally
watered and then sold far and wide-always
however maintaining control in the hands of
the promoters and financiers We have learned
already that the supreme law of capitalism is
to make profit This law demands that sub
stantial dividends be supplied on the unsub-
stantial millions of railroad capital Prohibi-
tive freight rates for the masses of poor
farmers must supply these dividends. These
freight rates turn the farmers into virtual
slaves of the railroad companies.
In addition to this plight the meas trust has
sub-divided the country into dependencies of
the different packing companies. These COM
panies dictate within their dependencies the
prices for pigs, cattle. eggs and other farm
products. Although the retail prices of these
necessities have mounted during and after the
war to almost inaccessible heights the farm
ers receipts for these products are continually
declining.
The grain elevator companies cheat the
farmers on weight and on quality of their
grain. Through preferential freight rates
they monopolize the grain market against the
farmer. These freight rates are voted to
themselves by the directors of the elevator
companies in their capacity as directors of the
railroads.
Beset on all sides by capitalist leeches, the
poor farmer, on top of everything, is choked
by the mortgage banker. Every thought that
may rise in the farmers mind about rebellion
against the leeches is drowned in the fear of
foreclosure.
Thus we see the farmer harrassed by a
powerful marketing monopoly and hog-tied by
the mortgage banker. The marketing nfN-
opoly drives and keeps down the prices of
everything the farmer has for sale. At the
same time the capitalist industrial monopoly
drives and keeps up the prices of all the things
the farmer must buy. Prices of modern farm