The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-02-05

the farmers In demanding cutting out of the graft
from the budget but it will fight TO keep every
single item in the budget that is of benefit to
the toiling farm masses. The United Farmers
League leads the farm masses in demanding that
the rich should pay the taxes
The United Farmers League points out to the
farmers who are still paying taxes, that they
have in their hands a powerful weapon In their
demands for tax reduction and for tax exemption
for the destitute farmers. THEY CAN REFUSE
TO PAY ANY TAXES UNTIL THE REDUC
TIONS THEY WANT HAVE BEEN INSTITUTE
Ed
The United Farmers League points out that it
is necessary to send small farmers and workers
to the legislatures, but that the struggle against
evctions and for tax reductions, against sales for
taxes and foreclosures must be fought out on the
farm by the masses of farmers of all political
parties and religious beliefs united in the struggle
against the bankers. Where the struggle against
misery and oppression has not been started al
ready, it must be started now-and as a struggle
of the masses of farmers in their own organiza-
ton and not in the taxpayers association run by
ulainstreeters and businessmen Of the towns.
Just what will this legislature that Penwel
talks about mean. We can get pretty good idea
from the first issue of his Western Progressive.
b. H. Wneeler, one OF the SendCOI1dI dBSICS O4
Anaconda Copper trust, is called a Montana
Progressive" The hypocritical faker Phil LaFol-
lette is called 1.-THE fearless and progressive Gov
emo of Wisconsin" After pointing out that rep
resentative Scott Leavitt Of Montana is econ
sentative supporter of the (Hoover Hunger) ad-
ministration, and conscientious party adherent"
the Western Progressive goes on to say that
Leavitt "has always been watchful of the inter-
of cfa to hoe hoop
warded by his appointment as assistant "whip"
of HOover's party in the House of Representa-
tive. The Western Progressive just forgets to
tell the farmers that the Interests" that Scott
Leavitt has been so "watchful" over are the in
terests of the Anaconda Copper trust and the
Montana Power Company-owned by the same
wall Street plumber crew that is running Hoover.
Then to make the picture complete, the Western
Progressive prints verbatim a propaganda speel
of the Copper Tariff Association of Montana
the publicity agent of the Anaconda Copper trust.
This is the attack of the Western Progressive
the Copper Trust-praising its representatives
in Congress and printing its demands for copper
tariff like the rest of the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT press
in the Commonwealth of Montana-Anaconda.
Lewis Penwell might have read what he reprint
ed on page THE article of the liberal Oswald
Garrison Willard from the Nation of July 9, 1880
On page seven of the Western Progressive he
would have read, "There is tremendously rad
cal paper, the Producers News of Plentywood also
very courageous and consistent in its attacks OF
the company" Since Willard wrote that the Pro
ducers News has become the official organ of tht
United Farmers League.
| The inconsistency that we find in thu
/ Western Progressive is the clearest indi
cation Of its role. It's task effectively i
| to mislead the farmers by different means
that the out-and-out company press. It's task il
| to mislead the farmers by banging the big drum
with attacks on the Interests" while serving tn
explOiters by trying to prevent mass struggle OIL
the part of the farmers and recommending +
them the very agents of the copper trust as "pro
gressives" and protectors of the interests of tn
"state," the Anaconda Commonwealth of Montana
The Western Progressive concludes its frs
| issue thus: "We could get money and plenty of ]
from corporation sources Refusing to accept tina
kind of money makes the Western Progressiv
what it is and differentiates it from what it j
not. It is independent and free from corporal
domination" To which we can only say that th
Anaconda is getting this very important part o
its propaganda machine at cheap price.
The Western Progressive is "non-partisan
politics" Like the Farmers Union and the Amer
lean Federation OF Labor, II can now pass OF
various republican, democrat, and socialist offic
holders and candidates to the farmers as ''prc
gressives," as friends of the farmers" Whic
certainly makes the Western Progressive, as
says itself, "just sanely progressive"-a cOnscior
or unconscious agent Of Wall Street and its Ana
conda
And in order not to have any one doubt its il
sincerity it points out that "It is not Comrul
list paper in any sense of the word" Anacond
ought 30 appreciate that