davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22
Pioneer Corner - Labor
Observation-Disclosures
JULIO MELLA

In 1921 an event occurred in
Cuba which struck fear in the
heart of the boss class of Latin
America. 1t was the first strike
ever known TO arise in Latin Am
erica. It took place in a large
clothing factory. 1t was led by
the fiery and courageous 18-year-
old son of the wealthy owner of
the factory.
Julio Anthonio Mella grew up
in the midst of the industrial
struggle between the workers and
the bosses, but unlike most Of the
leaders of the workers, he was
born in the camp of the enemy
However, his clear-sightedness
and courage brought him early in
TO the ranks of the workers moi
only as a comrade, but as lead
er. AS early as 1924, the Cuban
Government, recognizing in him
dangerous and powerful enemy
threw him into Jail. By the mill
tant fight waged by the Interna
tional Labor Defense and Mella''
81 day Hunger Strike the govern
lment was forced to release him.
In 1926 he was sent as a dele
gate TO the Brussel Conference o
the Anti-Imperialist League. The
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22
LABOR SPORTS UNION PLANS STREET
RUNSOF WORKER SPORTSMEN FEB. 2

Further plans in its preparatory
program for the international
Workers Athletic Meet to be held
in Chicago in July were disclosed
this week by the National Provi-
sional Counter-O Olympic Commit
tee, of which Tom Mooney is hon
Orary chairman. The plans include
a series of atom Mooney Street
Runs" in various cities thruout
the country, in which each partici-
pant will carry on his back a pla-
card for the defense and release
of the famous political prisoner.
The date Of these street runs
has not yet been announced, but
since the fifteenth anniversary OF
the death sentence on Mooney oc-
currs on the oath of February
the date has been tentatively SCI
for Feb. %, Washlngton's birth
day. Several well known athletes
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22
Observation-Disclosures

in recognition of his brave sim.
gle and achievements, he was ..
to the Soviet Union. From n
Soviet Union, he returned ~
Mexico to lead the growing st,n" y
gle of the masses of workers
1929. after he had addressed
demonstration before the Cnh.s
Consulate in Mexico, the Cnbs.
Government realized that its NJ.
secuton and terrorism could ~,
crush this brave fighter. So ~
cretly and quietly on Januarv IN
1929, Julio Antonio Mella v.,
murdered by an agent of the IN
ban Government. Now, they hon.
ed by this cowardly act to op;s,
forever the revolt which Mell.
awoke among the working masee,
but too late-the seed was d.
ready sownh The workers of Cnh.
have not forgotten-and they shat
continue to struggle with "A,
workers of the world until thew
have established a world Soviet
Their struggle is united with TIA,
of the foreign-born workers \
the United States who are ever
day being prosecuted by the SAM
bosses who own and control IN
countries Of Latin America.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

left alone in this campaign. 1t
mus, be made the concern of the
whole working class. A united
front of the workers must be or
ganized against the bosses Olym-
pics. This campaign must find it's
expression in huge sport gather
ings of worker athletes in all sec
tions of the country. The Inter
national Workers Athletic Meet
in the United States next summer
must rally the fighting forces OF
the American youth and the work
er athletes into a mass demonstra-
ton against the Olympics and
bosses sport.
Against the bosses Olympicsl
For the international Workers
Athletic Meetl
Against the use of sport fol-
bosses militarism and warl
Smash the sport blockade a
gainst the Soviet UnionI Unity
with the Soviet Athletes!
Support the United Front anti
Olympic campaign!
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22
BUILDING THE LABOR SPORTS UNION
AMONG THE NORTHWEST FARM YOUTH

there. Six different LSU clubs
were represented at this meet,
from the following places: Sebeka,
Mimi, Heinola, Mimi; Frederick,
S. Oak; Epping, N. D.; and Bel
den, N. Oak. The meet lasted for
two days. They had many differ
ent sport events there, such as
high jumping, broad jumping, hun
dred yard dashes, etc. A fast
baseball game was also played be-
tween a Minnesota and South Da-
kota team.
Now this winter we organized a
basket ball team. Soon after we
did this, we got fifteen new mem
bers.
The next thing that we must dc
is to start preparing to participate
in the Spartakiade. What is that
The Spartakiade is a workers ath
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22
Eight Year Old Children of Beet Farmers Slave in
Searching Sun, Farmer Gets $40 an Acre.

that after the company paid their
expenses of operating that GER
tain percentage would go to the
beet growers as a bonus. The bo-
nus idea is to make the farmer be-
ieve that he is in partnership
with the company and to keep the
sugar prices high. Rumors now
are that the bonus will be Soc a
Ton.
A few years ago when the Mex
leans were the only beet workers
in the valley little did the farm
ers think that they would be fore
closed and evicted from their land
and become hired hands themselv-
es, working their children from
eight years old long hours a day
in the scorching sun for $50 per
acre.
These workers up until last year
got $26 per acre but their con-
tracts with the farmer dropped
six dollars per acre as soon as
the Holly Sugar Company cut the
farmer from II to $3.50 per ton
These beet workers are idle from
July / to October 1, besides being
idle during the winter months aft
er the completion of the beet har.
vest, and are only barely able II
make a living during their months
of unemployment. Both bee
workers and farmers are victim
of the sugar trust. The paper
put out sugar trust propaganda.
The politicians and commercial
clubs never say a word detriment
al to the sugar mill that operate
from so to 80 days in the fall an
workers farmers sons two twelv
hour shifts a day for from thirt
to thirty-five cents per hour.
Last spring a farmer gave
newspaper clipping to the FAN
view paper stating that alon
other projects farmers were cor
: tracing for from 81 to $3.50 pr
, ton for their beets. This Fairvie'
paper printed it but the next issu
? it came out and said that $5.E
t was a good price in the yellow
} stone valley and printed an ed
+. torial praising the sugar compar
t and also full page advertisemel
for the Holly Sugar Company.
The price of sugar in Fairvie
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22

Belden, N. Dak.-Last spring
we first organized The Labor
Sports Union here in Belden.
Comrade Vicente Niva was our or
ganizer. We got about thirty
members at our first meeting.
We held affairs and raised
money to buy the sports equip
ment that we have now, including
a wrestling mat, high bar appar-
tus and baseball and basket ball
equipment.
First we organized a baseball
team. We played against Other
teams in our locality and got beat
three times out of seven games.
Also we participated in a sub
district sports meet of the LSU
which was held in Frederick, S
Dakota last summer. Five mem.
bers of the Belden LSU wen
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22

that we have attained no satisfac-
tory results in the extension of
flax cultivation, and in in the in
crease in the flax yield. This
means that next spring we must
begin with the mass application
of the following measures.
1. Specialization of certain dis
tricts in flax cultivation, with the
proviso that 25 per cent of their
area is to be reserved for flax.
The area to be sown to flax must
be set aside. An excellent meth
cd of assuring this would be to re-
serve this year about 6A million
acres of the winter sown area for
flax, thereby guaranteeing that as
early as the autumn of 1881 this
area will be set aside for the cul-
tivation of flax.
The area to be sown to long
fiber flax in 1881 is 5,250,OO0
acres or $3.50 more than in 1890
2. The extension of the network
of state farms and machine and
tractor stations. The tractors -
chiefly of the Putilov Clighter)
type, and only occasionally of the
Stalingrad (heavier) type-must
be allotted to the machine and
tractor stations, which have as
their main task the reservation
/ and extension of the area sown to
flax.
In this manner the system Of
necessary levers will be in oul
| hands, l repeat, on the basis Of
state and collective farms. There
, is no other way of developing fla1
| growing. In the consuming zone
; tractors must be supplied immedi
, ately to satisfy the requirements
of flax growing, particularly il
} those sections where virgin sol
/ must be cultivated.
; 8. The flax grower must be sup
: piled with grain in the same man
{ ner as the cotton grower.
: 4. And, finally, we must solv,
| the problem Of suitable machiner.
for the preliminary treatment o
D the flax. 1t is an intolerable stat
: of affairs, at the present time
/. that great quantities of flax fibe
= enough to keep our factories bus,
r for month, are left unutilizec
: Means can, and certainly must, b
found for obtaining the necessar,
machines, even if they are not o
S the very latest type.
: The same applies to all othe
r industrial crops. The path t
their accelerated development an
d consequently to the rapid satisfaC
S ton of the requirements of tb
r country, leads thru the develop
4 ment of the state farms, the OF
f panization Of machine and tracto
+ stations, and the efficient supply
ing Of grain.
e Such are the further tasks whic
/ we can set our agriculture in cor
:. nection with the development Z
e state ard collective farms.
I make no special referenC
K here, and quite deliberately, to
+ number Of other important tasl
b mineral fertilizers, measures I
W gainst insects and other pests, e
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22

ourselves the task of TRIPPING the
production of vegetables during
the last three years of the Five
Year Plan period.)
Sub-tropical crop zone: in
Transcaucasia, along the southern
coast of the Crimea, and in Cen
trail Asia. Our slogan must be:
Gust corn from Transcaucasia. Is
it not a disgrace that corn is
grown here, on soil where cot
ton, tea, rami, fruits (grapes, or
anges, etc., thrive? Is it not a
senseless waste? Here the Cali
fornia and the Florida of the So
Wet Union can and must arise!
Zone of mountain and steppe
pasture for livestock breeding:
this is provided chiefly in some
parts of Kazakstan, in the south
eastern districts of the Lower
Volga and North Caucasus re-
gions, in southern Siberia, in the
Buriat-Mongol Republic. Thither
the cattle and sheep breeding
trusts will go.
Lastly there is the forest zone
our future reserves of arabic
land. 1t is not by accident thai
we have subordinated these to the
authority of the Supreme Econom-
&c Council. The supreme Econom-
ic Council will help us to extend
the territory suitable for cultiva.
ton in the northwest, where thu
, forests are the cause of the mar,
shy condition of the soil, and il
the entire north of the Soues Un
ion. where the forests in the pres
cit extent are proof of the ex
IRENE backwardness of our coun
/. try.
6. Cotton and Flax
I shall deal in somewhat great
er detail with cotton and flax
Their cultivation is the best illus
tratiOn of the tempo of our worl
; and organization of our ecOnom,
which viii enable us rapidly Il
create a raw materials base TO
: industry.
An entirely new tempo has bee
achieved not only in cotton grow
: ing but, in the spring of 1880, il
2 the cultivation of all industrial
r crops, as the result of this spring
4 tilling with the aid of tractors, O
r the work of the state farms an
. machine tractor stations. and O
the provisioning of cotton grower
}, with grain. 1t is no wonder tina
: this year we have surpassed eve,
our own sowing plan. The stat
: farms and machine and tracto
: stations have cultivated 10000
: acres of cotton, thereby winnin
D over the decisive masses of tn
e petty peasants of Central Asia.
n The state farms will increas
= the area sown to cotton from It's
e 600 in 1880 to 945,OO0 acres i
1881. The state farms and ma
n chine and tractor stations viii ir
g crease their area under cotton b
J, / 100000 acres. The total are
d under cotton in the U.S.S.R.
j the spring Of 1881 will be $3.50
2 0C0 acres or 45e6 over that {
i 1880, with yield Of 500 highe
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22
Continued from last week.

How do we expect to accomplish
this task? 1t must be taken into
account that we shall have to
solve the wheat problem in very
thinly populated districts, in dis
tricts where the character If the
land will make it possible to util-
ize the tractor and the combines
most effectively. If this is taken
into consideration, it becomes clear
that the fulfillment of our pro-
gram is a matter of the complete
mechanizatiOn of production.
In order to solve this task, we
shall have to assign 100000 to a
million horse power of the four
million additional to be supplied to
agriculture by the end of the Five
Year Plan. One quarter of the
horse power which will be assign
ed to agricultural production dur
ing the next few years must be
set to the task of sowing so to
62.5 million acres to wheat. In
my opinion we can and shall do
this.
From an OrganizatiOnal stand
point, the pivot on which the ac-
complishment of this task swings
Is the minimum use of the man
power and draft animals SO thai
we have not need of great reserv
es in the case of failures of crops
Besides complete mechanization {
very necessary item is. the. full
utilization of the tractor, of ever!
machine, of every unit. of. labOi
power. We must take as starting
point the premise that each per
son shall work 500 acres. Tha
this is possible may be seen from
the fact that, according to tn
production and financial plan o
the Grain Trust, 525 acres are fig
ured per person for the curren
year. And this is not the limit
We shall not call a halt here.
1t will be seen that we can solv
the wheat problem in these dis
tricts with practically the exist
ing population and with no grea
number of new settlers. The dis
tribution of population must be i
complete accord with the needs O
agricultural production, so tina
each unit Of labor is applied wit
an effect at least fifteen time
greater than at the present time.
For this reason we shall hay
30 organize our man power thr
the state farms and machine an
tractor stations. The present typ
of state farm is scarcely suitabl
to fulfill this task. What we nee
is not state farms with an area q
Is thousand. acres. but. of %
thousand, farms. differing frOl
the existing farms of the Graf
Trust in that the network Of far
buildings viii be considerably r,
duced, or to express myself MOI
correctly the buildings Of tn
present farms must in the frs
place serve a much wider territOr
than at present; and in the SCI
Ond place the number of auxiliar
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22

attached to the Peoples Commits
sariat of Agriculture. The items
are as follows: repairs 10 per
cent, amortization % per cent, gas
and lubricating oil 90 per cent,
wages Of tractor drivers IL per
cent, costs of management IL per
cent, miscellaneous 16 per cent. |
These are the facts. What are
the conclusions?
In the earlier stages of the de-
velopment of mankind, the pro-
ducts of agriculture were chiefly
the result of enormous quantities
of human energy Eat best com
bined with horse power) expended
directly on the soil; at the pres
ent time, agricultural products are
the result of application of metals
and oil to the soil. In other words
the main part of the work requir-
ed for the growing of wheat is no
longer performed in the field It
self, but in the iron and steel
works and oil fields. In agricul-
tural production the metals and
oil supplied by mankind to the soil
in the form of tractors and ac-
cessory machines are transformed
into grain. The individual peas
ant farm Of former days required
104 working hours to grow spring
wheat on one acre of land and 128
hours for winter wheat Il have
taken the lowest calculation sup
piled by the Central Statistical
Administration of the Soviet I'm
ion). But the state farms of the
Grain Trust require only four man
hours to perform the same work,
the heavy track laying type Of
tractor being used for 1.13 hours
of this time. After the working
methods and the mechanization Of
a number Of processes have been
further perfected and more aces
sorry machines brought into use,
only 81 and 0.9 hours respective
ly will be required. This applies
to all field work; from blowing Ia
harvesting. Four hours Of field
work instead of 1913, and in the
! near future only 1T It must o.
course not be supposed that to.
tai of four hours is all that is re-
, quired to cultivate an acre o.
! wheat. It is the field work, ths
, immediate agricultural work which
IS reduced to four hours while tn,
: other part of the work required
for the production of wheat i.
transferred from the fields to tn,
mines, ironworks, factories and OF
: fields.
I Metals ana oil instead Of th,
: sweat Of the PEASANTS brow, prais
2 counts
n All this means that agricultur
:, organized to an increasing degre
py modern technique. is more AM
e more approaching industry in 81
e methods This becomes spparen
70 an extent also when we com
pare the structure of the capita
/ invested IN the Grain Trust wit
tnag OF the big factories OF tn
= metal industry. we see that o,
h me modern state farms OF th
Grain Trust the organic structur
3 OF capital Is almost the same As i
J. tne large scale metal rndertakings
}, In1s is the real essence OF th
cnange In agricultural production
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22

due to improved methods of cult
walton.
The timely correction of the err
rors committed in the early spring
assured tn erapid realization Of
on plans.
The experience gained this
spring shown that by the develop
ment of the state farms and the
organization of a network of ma
chine and tractor stations, we
shall be able to carry out COM
pletely the program laid down by
the Central Committee for a cot
ton crop of 1,728,O00 pounds by
the end of the Five Year Plan.
The principal requirements for
this are:
1. Development of the state
farms, especially of those cultivat-
ing Egyptian cotton, on the areas
apened up by the new irrigation
projects. At least 100000 to $780,
900 acres must be reserved for
cotton cultivation on the state
farms.
2. Rapid extension of the net
work of machine and tractor sta
tons, having in view the task Of
cutivating the greater part of the
region sown to cotton by the
spring Of 1882, by tractors and Of
cultivating at least 2.5 million
acres with the aid of tractors il
the spring of 1881. The methoC
of organization which will be useC
results from the experience gainec
this year. The machine and trac
tor stations undertake the plowinl
and sowing, and all other fielc
work is performed by the peasant
who are united into COLLECTIVE
farms.
8. The rapid extension of tn
cultivation Of perennial cotton OF
: non-irrigated lands. This year w
! have made an experiment with tn
: cultivation of $4,000 acres o
, such land. Next year, if the ex
+ pertinent is successful we sahl
extend it to 10000 acres an
1 shall devote further attention t
: the rapid expansion of cotton, in
4 GLIDING that on non-irrigate
lands. This would be justified b
a yield amounting to only half, o
{ even a third Of that from irrigat
ed fields.
A. Exclusive cultivation 0
S cotton on irrigated fields. If thi
t is to be carried out, the require
a ments Of the cotton growers 70
e grain must be fully met.
5. And, finally, it is time AN
0 this does not exceed our power
to begin to carry out two Q
e three irrigation projects which wi
open up new and wide tracts Z
e land for cotton growing in Ger
= trail Asia.
n These are our tasks, and thes
: are the methods which have a
: ready stood the test of experienc
Y Their solution depends upon til
2 tractor and the grain supply.
n Now a few words on flax. Fla
! must follow the same path as co
+ ton. It is solely because this pat
r has not been followed until no
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-22

must be greatly reduc-
ed. "A less thOro working of the
soil must be compensated for by
an increase in the sown area.
The land survey must be basic.
The entire territory must be divid-
ed into cultivated sections by
roads running from north to
south and from east to west. The
sections lying between the roads
form the main working units of
the state farm or the machine and
tractor station within which all
the work must be performed. No
other farm buildings should be
erected on these sections except
tents for the workers.
And, finally, the area cultivated
must be rotated, occupying either
section or an entire state farm.
These are the conditions under
which we shall be sure of the ac-
comphshment of the task set. an
increase in the area sown 10 wheat
of 80 to 62.5 million acres by the
spring of 1888.
On this basis fantasy" may be
made reality.
repeat that the risk of period
ical crop failures still exists. All
present there is no guarantee a.
gainst crop failure in the arid re-
gions. Guarantees must be furn.
ished, not against crop failures
but against famine. In this con.
nection there is only one possible
guarantee, and that is the exten
sion of the cultivated area anC
the accumulation of food and seeC
reserves against crop failures il
these districts.
In order not to digress TO fal
from the main theme, shan refel
only briefly to the other agricul
tural zones. The Institute for tn,
Economics and Organization o.
Socialist Agriculture of the Com
missariat of Agriculture which i
a part of the Lenin Academy O
Agricultural Sciences in Moscow
has made the following provision
al division:
Industrial crops and INTENSIVE
, livestock breeding zone: in tn
southeastern Ukraine and tn
Central Black Soil Region: suga
: beets, hemp, corn; in the KubaI
district and in part in the Fa
! Eastern Region: soy beans (whic
, are of the utmost Importance
clover, sunflowers, cotton, tobacco
} lzneaf, etc. A real intensificatio
Of agriculture through the develp
ment of industrial crops and in
tensive livestock breeding will be
2 come the general task in the Tx
raine and in considerable porto
of the North Caucasus during tn
next few years. This task ca
4 only be fulfilled by the develor
a ment of the state and collectiv
4 farms.
: Vegetable crop zone: chiefly
G combination with dairy farmin
e in the suburbs of all large cite,
especially Leringrad, Moscow, an
y the Donetz Basin and the Ur;
: Region (by greatly facilitating tt
work of the peasantry, we can 81