The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1931-08-14
Friday, August Ia, 1881
STRONG FOR UNFOLDING THE
LAW WHILE PEOPLE STARVE
By HANS RASMUSSEN


VXTHEN OUR GOVERNOR was here someone ask
ed him what he would suggest our best re-
- lief and he said: "Rain, and more of it." AL
bert Foley could have told US that-even the edi-
TOR of the Herald might have thought of it.
Since then we have had rain and more of it. We
have had cloud bursts and we are not any better
off. What we need is something to eat-foOd
clothes, coal and more of it. What we need is
jOb-a chance to work and earn some money
we can buy those things. What we need is train
load of the fruit rotting the ground in Califor
MIA. What we need is some of the wheat they are
burning and dumping on the streets in Kansas.
What need is train loads of the potatoes rot
ting in the ground in Minnesota because it does
not pay to dig them What we need is a cargo
of the coffee they dumping in the for
the purpose of holding up the price. What
need is a change of the rotten system that allows
this to go on while forty millions of people in the
land are starving.
What we need is rulers with bigger brains and
bigger heartsl
The Governor had no solution for our troubles;
he is for the present system he is for graft and
profit, and there is profit in feeding starving
people, or at least there should not be. The Gov
ernOr told could dig coal on state lands if
we could find any, and that very nice. 1t is
something we have done in this county for years
without asking. The we dig the more coal
miners we put out of a job and the bread line.
He told to appeal to the Ladies Aid for help.
He probably did not know that our ladies aid lost
their last S12700 when Carl Bull closed his bank
In a lawful manner and kept the money. He did
not mention where the ladies aid should get their
money from while practically everybody is out of
work
The Governor suggested that everybody working
should donate days pay every month The same
old story! Always load all the burden onto the
working people. He never suggested that the
copper mining company, the railroads, the power
trust, the telephone company, the oil, the gas
Panies, the banks the stores, the lawyers and the
doctors should donate day of their income Mol
That would have amounted to something but MOI
The working people should feed the starving just
if it them who responsible for the
present conditions.
The state was broke and could do nothing, so he
told us. There was no talk about the state being
broke last spring when 100000 was allowed for a
special election and practically every paper in the
state coming out in favor of six million dollars of
our money being gobbled up by few road con-
tractOrs-most of whom live in other states.
When the Governor was asked if it could not be
possible that some work could be started on the
state highway and the work be given to the starv-
ing people of the county, the Governor said no. it
could not be done as it was against the law. Of
course it was against the law. Law was never
made by the common people, neither was a law
ever made FOR the working people Laws were
made for big contractors, for bankers, for big
porations. Laws were made for the purpose Of
skinning the farmer and the producer Laws were
s.
When a state road is built in county what
would be more natural and more fair than to give
die contract to the county at estimated cost? The
money could be earned and spent by the people
residing in the county. But, no, it is against the
law a.f
It was not against the law when they built the
highway from Medicine Lake to Reserve to let the
contract to some fellow from Minnesota for 27c
per cubic yard. 1t was not against the law fol
him not to move yard eff dirt but sublet the jot
to someone else for 1sc per yard It was moi
against the law for the second fellow to do all the
light work and sublet all the heavy work to third
party for lac per yard That was lawful
The county could have built that road for 14c
per yard and made good money on it. If the coun
ty had been given the contract at the 27c for which
1t let in the first place, it could have slowed
away nice little sum for a rainy day. But tha
was against the law. 1t was not against the Law
for someone from Minnesota to walk away Will
One-third of the cost of the road without movins
a yard of dirt.
And our Governor expects people to respec
such laws. Our Governor will probably be sur
prised to find out that the people are waking VI
after long sleep; that they are rubbing thei
eyes and looking at one another and saying: t.
he'll with that noise about your law