Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1932-09-15

on the future OF the people. Tney ulu
the same thing in Europe.
In France and England they said
the debts created in cheap money
shall now be paid on the basis Of
gold. That would make it SO per
cent harder to pay those debts. They
didn't succeed in France. The govern
ment was compelled to peg the franc
at four cents, wiping out 80 per cent
of the capital issues. That made it
SO per cent easier to pay.
In England they did the same thing.
When the crash came last year Brit
ish labor was so strongly organized
that Ramsay Macdonald couldn't put
it across. Seamen in the British navy
revolted against wage cut and Eng
land had to get off the gold standard.
The pound dropped from $4.S5 to
$3.65. Twenty-Five per cent of capital
issues were wiped out. That made
it % per cent easier for the British
workers and farmers to pay.
Here when you talk about restoring
the dollar to the value it had when
the debts were created they throw up
their hands. All over there is propa-
ganda that the wages of labor must
come down, but they are not demand
ing that the wages of capital shall
come down.
Freight and telephone rates are the
same although wages have come
down. Your electric light and gas
bill rates are all the wages of capital.
There is no organized propaganda to
reduce them.
All the propaganda is that labor
must get along with less in order that
capital collect in full according to
the contract. 1t is the same all over
the world.
| asked a banker in Norway why
they should think of going back to
the gold standard? He said that they
should pay in an honest dollar. l said
it is not because it has a different
value than when the debt was made.
L find in Europe that the bond
holders are taking what they can
get and writing the rest off. Capital
in England and France was wise
enough to know it was better to take
what it could get or it wouldn't get
anything at all.
In Russia they were not intelligent
enough to do that and they get their
heads cut off.
Leadership in this country has
shown itself to be almost bankrupt of
intelligence.
l told group of European bankers
you are the fellows who are Destroy
ing the capitalist system. If | had
money to hire all the destructive
agencies in the world and hired them
to go out and destroy the capitalism
system l couldn't succeed nearly to
the extent that you have.
The destrOyers of the white mans
civilization claim to be it's saviors.
When | think what the leaders
have done to humanity l am reminded
of the story of an Alaskan sailor who
was given a tobacco pouch made from
seal and decorated with beads. He
said he thought so much of it he didn't
use it. He didn't put any tobacco in
it, but put it in the bottom of a chest
Some time afterward when he went
to look for it he found a pile of dust
and some beads.
He declared if he had put some to-
bacco in the pouch the maggots that
came to life would not have eaten the
pouch. But the maggots ate the
pouch and when there was nothing
more to eat they died.
The sailor said that if he had come
| along when the maggots were eating
the pouch they probably would have
said they were defending and protect
ing the pouch.
So it is with the leaders of the
world. They have been the agents of
| destruction instead of the saviors of
the world.
You are to be congratulated upon
problems of the workers.
l am going to say few words l
hadn't expected to-.
| We have a governor who has done
some acts that show a degree of cour-
age and craftsmanship that should
commend him to all good citizens.
| His veto of the reapportionment bill,
the metropolitan drainage bill, his de-
Tense of the primary law, his efforts
to repeal the newspaper gag law, and
his consistent support of waterway
development, lift him out of the cate
CORY of peanut politicians and cause
him to stand out as statesman who
deserves the support of all citizens.
The problems of labor are the