The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-09
(BY HANS RASMUSSEN

Tuesday was a bitterly cold day
with an icy cold wind blowing
from the north. In spite of the
cold, several hundred farmers and
their wives from all over the coun-
ty had come to Plentywood and
gathered in the afternoon at the
meeting in the Farmer-Labor
Temple. Many of them had come
In open trucks and had driven 40
miles and more. To these people
this trip was not a pleasure trip,
many of them had to stop at some
farm house on the road to get
their half frozen limbs warmed up.
These people did not make this
trip for fun, they made it because
of necessity; made it in order to
protect themselves and their chill
dren from starving and freezing
this winter. They were here to
protest against the unfair way the
relief money has been handled and
the insufficient amount given out.
Looking this crowd over would
make your blood boil if you had
any red blood in your veins at all.
Here, in the midst of winter, in
the midst of a country with over
production of all descriptions, and
IL million people willing to pro-
duce more, were most of the peo-
pie without overshoes, women
with their toes sticking out of the
worn shoes and no oversroes; wo-
men with no shoes at all wearing
pair of old rubbers, the only
thing they had. These people were
here to protest. Laugh it off if
you can, you people who do not
want to see those things, and don't
care. If these people some day go
and help themselves, then they are
criminals-but what are you peo-
pie who uphold and allow that
kind of system to exist? Who
are the real criminals you or they
Rodney Salisbury presided over
the meeting and gave splendid
talk on organization as the only
effective way of ever accomplish
ing anything. After that every.
body who wanted to had their say
and many a pittiful story were
told. A woman from Comertowr
told how she had gone to Peter
Bruvold, the local relief commit.
tee man, and asked for help so She
could buy some baby clothes, anc
he had asked her if she could not
wait another three weeks: "Just as
if he knew better than / did what
time that baby was going to bt
born" she said. A man told how
he had applied for a pair of over
shoes, first he had to go and sigr
an application with the COMMITTEES
man who lived IL miles away
After a while he went there again
but the order had not come from
the central committee yet, so HI
had to make a third trip before h
got an order on the local store
then he had to make a trip to tn
store, when he got there they hat
no overshoes. Here this man ha'
been driving over 100 miles wit
horses and wagon, and he was a
the meeting still without over
shoes. And people who do no
know a thing about these condi-
tions, and don't care to know, vii
say that people have no reason t
kick. But is it any wonder tina
people are demanding cash relief
Judge Paul was asked to appea
before the meeting, which he die
answered questions as far as h
was able and explained how tn
county had gotten $4,000 fror
the Reconstruction Corporation t
be spent the last three months i
1882, and that more was expecte
after New Years, that this none
is not to be paid back by the cour
ty. He also made the statemen