The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-11-21

then the old rural hush in which
the farmer lives set in again. In
many quarters it was the impress
sion that these scattered uprisings
would be as little effective as the
agrarian revolt of the eighties with
its battle cry, Raise more hell
than corn, boys" The effects of
the Iowa farmers strike on farm
ers throughout the country, and
the calling by rank and file farm
ers of a Farmers National Relief
Conference to be held in Wash
ington show there is no basis what
soever for such impressions.
THE STRUGGLE IN IOWA
During the height of the farm
strike in Iowa, 1000 farmers met
in small Sioux City Hall They
decided to issue a call for con-
ference of farmers from every
state in the union, the meeting
place Washington, the time De-
cember to 10. One of them ex-
pressed the spirit of the meeting
when he said: 1.-THE National Con-
ference of rank and file farmers
to formulate a national relief pro-
gram and to decide on united &C
ton by all militant farmers of the
country is our answer to the bank
ruptcy and ruin which threaten
the farm population. Eviction and
foreclosures are just around the
corner for the majority of US.
Since our leaders, both those elect
ed by us to represent us in gov
eminent and those who head our
farm organizations, have shown
that they cannot or will not help
us, we, the farmers, must take
matters into our own hands"
In the call for the Conference
the farmers summed up their
grievances in these four demands:
!. Debts, rents, taxes, mort
cages remain high. Prices are
ridiculOusIy low. Therefore we
demand moratorium on all
these debts.
2. With 100000 unemployed
and no hope of jobs in the cities,
we proclaim our right to remain
on our farm homes. We demand
that all foreclosures, tax sales, or
evictions be stopped.
8. We demand from the deal
ers, middlemen, food trusts that
deep cut into their swollen
A. - e.
prices. We insist that the rise in
the price of food products come
out of these middlemen, and not
from increased prices to city con-
sumner.
4. Our crops are bringing no
cash return but sell for loss.
without money, millions of us
cannot buy food or clothing. Our
children are slowly starving, con-
tracing pellagra and other hum
ger diseases. To insure at least
the bare necessities of life, we
demand cash relief for all poor
farmers.
THE farmers rolled up their
j sleeves higher. They wrote to
Lem Harris, Pennsylvania milk
farmer now secretary of the Call
Committee for the National Farm
Relief Work.. TO become their ex-
ecutive secretary: we have no
funds and no salaries. We will
have all We can do to raise, feed
and fuel to move our covered
wagons. Help us to come to Wash
ington, and we will tell the world
as we'll as the government"
Lem Harris accepted. A Call
Committee of seven farmers from
such widely scattered localities as
FIT. Lauderda1e, Florida and Sanish,
North Dakota, was elected to as
sist him. Like loud bugles. organ
i2ers were Immediately dispatched
throughout the country to mar
shall all militant farmers for the
march to Washington. They were
instructed to invite all farm or
CARNATIONS to elect rank and file
members. This include the Grange,
the Farm Bureau Federation,
Farmers Union, the United Farm
ers' League as well as unorganized
groups.
MEETINGS THROUGHOUT
UNITED STATES
Meetings are being held all over
the country. Delegates are elected,
one TO represent every twenty-five