davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
SEATTLE FARMERS
DELEGATE SENDS
REPORTS ON TRIP
CBY WILLIAM FERGUSON

Sioux City, Ia, Dec. 19.- We
landed in Clinton on Dec. II OF
our return from Washington, D. c.
We had of course sent a telegram.
The reason we tried to arrange a
meeting was because the man who
had acted as chairman, who was
also a good Socialist, had told US
how really anxious he was to see
the farmers and workers get to-
gether in a solid organization and
that if we would let him know
in time he would get up a good
big meeting and also see that we
were properly fed. Well, we got
there and no effort had been made
to feed US and Nd meeting had
been arranged. He is doing his
best to mislead the workers into
the belief that the Hoover block
help plan is the correct attitude
for the workers to take on the
question of relief.
Because of the fact that he had
not done as he had himself pro-
missed to do, we were compelled
to travel all night to Sioux City,
Iowa. Of course we received a
good warm wecome in that city by
the Unemployed Council and a
good meeting was held on the eve
ming of Dec. Is. Several speakers
gave a description Of the Farmers
National Relief Conference and
explained the demands adopted at
the Conference and presented to
ard read in the senate. We were
also entertained by real musician
and also a singing quartet through
! several numbers. Several of the
farmers had taken part in the
picketing in the farmers strike,
were present, and we learned a
few things from them. The most
interesting of course being that
some of them are subscribers to
the Producers News. Some mis-
understanding had arisen as &c the
time Of our arrival in Sioux City
and so a meeting has been ar
ranged to take place on Dec. 20.
A great many Of the armers in
this section have expressed a de-
sire to hear the farmers delegate
speat and therefore a real good
meeting should be held. Special
attention should be paid to ask the
farmers if sheriffs sales are being
advertised or evictiOns. then com
mittees of action should be set UP
and a full explanation of methods
used to carry on these actions OF
the farmers with the help of city
workers.
There is absolutely no organiza-
ton that amounts to anything al
Clinton, Iowa. There should be q
special effort made to get a good
organizer in this city and district
and the organizer should be U
: F. L. member with authority to OF
ganize units and to carry on work
This is a district that needs oT-
ganizational work very badly.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
Warns Bosses Capitalist
System Faces Collapse

Washington, D. c.. Dec 25.-
Capitalist "civilzation" is facing
collapse under the hammer blows
of the crisis and the growing in
dignation Of the workers. Senator
Borah warned his masters yestey-
day in an international broadcast.
Admitting that there are at least
dip 100000 unemployed and their
dependents" in acute distress in
this country, with food rotting in
the fields and clothing mildewing
on the shelves" of stores and ware
houses. Borah expressed the fear
that the starving workers would
soon realize that the proletarian
revolution was the only way out
of the crisis. He said:
Before they would starve they
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

sale held a few days ago attracted
only representatives of mortgage
companies and brought less than
$4,000 as compared with $4,000
last year.
The. County Commissioner at a
recent meeting passed a resolution
that no claims for house rent for
the poor will be allowed after Dec.
81. l do not see much use of Civ
ing these people anything to eat
either if they are going to live out
in the road in South DakOta's sub
zero weather.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

have we come that nations are
begging for moratoria and people
are begging for bread, until the
situation which confronts US is no
less commanding and scarcely less
pitiless than war"
Borah attempts to concel the
fact that the capitals govern
ments are attacking their demon
strations for relief and social in
surance.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

would likely turn and wreck our
institutions and smash our entire
economic system.|
He admitted the disastrous re-
suits Of capitalist rule were visible
on every hand thruout the crisis
torn capitalist world:
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

road rS t workers, we found H..
all burned up about the sney We,
cut their takers are 'p putf aes va.
by the cops in the Is,. narrssss
VINO were trying to tn-g ser cites
and even shooting at ps Us Us bacE
discourage" US for tn The no .p
Hoover. One boy Of a50 he sake Ak y
IN this way thrown nndss t u VI
and killed and another re .b a tleiggi.
arm. Snot IN q.
AT Fort Worth, Tex.s
arrested and sentenced e5' t. We y. We,
pile; The jail was FLEA = "a, ae Nd
dreds Of jObless and ! WIN L hr
work ers. Many of tbs somesa
workers were travelling 'f tSse. Po
not where and had with ~. n',
they possessed in the v' Ien a
others would beg the ndI;' a
night just for the priviIaapoo lee a
ting in out of the cold &c d g,
| saw little children
from n their parents and be ,% ava
to "reform schools '-el Of
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

landlords. The homes Of severn
write troopers have been searcha
for wounded Negro eloppen
know to have been rescued ani
protected by white troopers. ~
roads to the hills are crowded VII
Negro women, babies in their arms
fleeing the landlord terror.
FOUR DEPUTIES WOUNDED
At least four deputies are ln'va
to have been wounded in Mondals
battle. These are G. A. Ware
: E. Elder, Stool Afford and !. ,
( CAN'T. The last two are ~
East Tallassee-further PROF %,
Tallapooosa landlords were iol'.
to recruite their claw and oraa
lynch gangs outside Of TallaPo-
county On account of the sIas
sympathies of local white erOpPsp
with the Negro troopers as =
suit of the work carried on py =
Share Choppers Union and is ..
rect program of uniting WINE :.
Negro choppers in joint s1iuss
against starvation a,
While the authorities for y.
past three days have admitted
struggle begun with the aFens
to appropriate Clifford james :. /.
his property, they are no" ~. y
coctin a new story to the 80 80
that there was a comm
meeting" of Negro troopers e.. 7
Liberty hall, that the crOpPs !.
were all armed and Cooking =
trouble" when the sheriffs arr
at the scene Of the meeting A,
It is reported that one O /,
wounded Negro troopers We n
Tuskegee Institute hosPlsI, -
treatment of his wounds ana ~. y
turned over to the Landlord - -
lynch gangs by the rel0''
r heads of that institution. urs
: MANY of the arrested erOPp1
! have been tortured in jan ALL; y
( ATTEMPT to extort infcrmas.S !
the Sharecroppers Union a. (
leaders. All are held lneO1i- NJ
: cado and are -threa'eH'
{ lynching. -. Defgs
The international LABOR as b
has sent its representative /
a Montgomery to take up ,' y. A
Ifense Of the arrested cropp ard
s persons opposed to the ,. WV -
t ror. are urged to immeocl Ola ]
protest kilograms to GOV y. .
n Miller at Montgomery, !, Dss
: TO Sheriff Kyle Young .tov
n Vile. Ala, demanding ? s rsIs,l
a the landlord police terror and %
|, of the arrested croppers. En- usbs
n ishment of the murder0u'
s officers.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

"The result is all about US
discrganized and disrupted none
tary systems, closed market, trade
and commerce dwindling year by
year, millions Of shipping tonnage
laid up and shipbuilding practic-
ally at an end. To such a pass
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

by the authorities, and instead
friends of the dairy being terror
lied. -.
A letter was read from Green
castle, Pa, where the farmers had
stopped a foreclosure sale by mass
action successfully. This was a
direct result of the delegations
meeting at Greencastle, Pa, where
they helped organize a local COM
mittee Of action.
Washington and Montana dele
gates are resting at farmers home
for a day before commencing the
homeward trip. They are enthused
over the wonderful treatment given
them by the Dakota farmers and
their militancy in defending the
rights of the farmers to remain on
their farm
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

For information 80 -.
tbe United Farmers 80 go.
write TO National H &C.,
tiers at Box "a, sup
Wisconsin.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
Washington Conference
Greatest Undertaking
by American Farmers
(BY E. L. BoLLAND)

am enclosing NJ. o. for So for
which please mail me 81 worth of
25c sub cards and a bundle of the
Dec. is issue of the Producers
News for the balance of the
money.
I have just returned from Wash
ington, D. c. where l attended the
Farmers National Relief Confer
ence. l think this is the greatest
undertaking ever attempted by the
American farmer.
The delinquent tax list in my
home county day is larger by
one third than last year. The tax
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

farmers and city workers. Condi-
tons of farmers and workers are
one and the same, they belong to
the producing class, therefore, the
struggle is common.
The delegation continues from
here to Elk Point, Iowa, where a
meeting has been arranged at the
city hall.
Frederick, S. D., Dec. 20.-The
northwest delegation of fhe Farm
ers National Relief Conference ar
rived in Frederick the evening Of
December 20, where they were vel
coined by a mass meeting Of 210
farmers.
Reports on the Conference were
made by membres Of the delega-
ton to an enthusiastic and mill
tant audience. The meeting una
miously showed their endorsement
of the Conference demands.
A resolution was passed protest
ing against the bombing the the
Yomg's Bay Cooperative Dairy at
Astoria, Oreon by agent provoca-
tours of the boss class" and the
enemies Of this militant worker
dairy. The resolution demanded
the bringing Of the real prepetua-
tors of the crime to Justice instead
Of shielding them % l. being done
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

Columbus. Mont, Dec. 25.-The
Montana, Washington and Oregon
delegates arrived here Dec. "a. A
welcome meeting was held at the
Finnish Workers hall to a packed
house of 100 farmers. Speakers
on the program were r. Nelson,
from Washington, who spoke on
general farm conditions thruout
the u. s. as observed on the "trip
and c. Cluster from Oregon also
stressed farrn conditions and the
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
THEY ARE WAKING UP
BUILD SHARE CHOPPERS
UNION

In Elaine, Arkansas, Oct, 1919,
Negro share choppers organized
the Progressive Farmers an d
Household Union and fought bit
terly against the plantation own
ers. When Coney marched down
to the town CT England, Ark, 10
Its aud n5e;. .Sgiegfs farmers, sii.sO
- ,ea with him. What hap :
sale4i n Camp Hill, Alabama, will
pehGdF own IN history Of the Amer
go - WORKING class as one Of the
ican Militant of its struggles. In
nloss a,strict drring the crisis the
ef sas}dlrrds began to steal the
holdings Of the Negro farmers.
Oae Landlord increased his hold
ings from $50 acres to $4,000 in
two years. This drove thousands
of Negroes off the land to beg or
fight for the little work left to do.
To project themselves the Negro
farmers formed the Sharecroppers
Union. By July, 1881 there were
eight hundred farmers in it.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
KILL LEADER

The Union demanded relief, cash
settlement for the season at cot
ton picking, right of cropper to
sell his produce fer cash where
and when he pleased instead of
turning it over to the landlord for
division, nine months Negro school
with free school bus. The share
troopers were attacked. Ralph
Grey, one of their leaders, was
killed. Four other troopers dis
appeared" When the sheriff was
asked by the newspapers what had
happened to those four choppers,
he said ''They went off to cut
wood" In spite of the terror, the
choppers wen a number of their
demands.
Nothing can give a better pic
'ture of the conditions of the Ne
gloes than what they themselves
have to say. The following let
ters are from men and women
working on farms in the Black
Belt. They are of great import
ance because they show that some
Of the most backward Of the toll
ing masses are expressing them
selves forcefully about the he'll
they are ground down in.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
STARVING GIRLS

In Picket, Texas, | met enc Iii
actually too weak to walk as IL
result of hunger and she asked a.
TO help her to get back % hg
folks in Texas. l got her On a
freight train headed for her isth-
er's dispossessed home in LsTsi.
land.
l could write book about VIZ
l have seen on this trip, and IsE
my heart is steeled for the St1ug
gle to come. While we were pc
vented from getting To Washing
ton, thousands Of our comrades g'i
there and put over our aims Or
job everywhere now is to fight {
out.
The Unemployed Councils an.
the struggle for winter relief al
Unemployment Insurance In Ass
Mexico ,amog impoverished fam.
ers, poor miners and agrieutui
workers will go forward.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
(BY PAUL DALEY

Leetonia, Pa, Dec. 14.-Approxi-
mately so farmers welcomed the
northwest column on its return
trip from the Farmers National
Relief Cosference at the Perry
Grange here. Speakers from the
delegation stressed the necessity
Of united action in the struggle of
farmers against dispossession and
impoverishment. They presented
to the farmers the militant pro-
gram of the Farmers Relief Con-
ference and impressed upon the
farmers that if they wished relief
against unbearable conditions they
would have to secure it by or
ganization and not relying upon
sswivel-chair artists and polite
ians.
The local farmers gave the
delegation supper and breakfast
and furnished them with sleeping
accommodation for which the dele.
CATION Is very thankful.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
BLOOD and Sweat Of Millions in the
"Black Belt" Fattens the Land on
Which Grows Tobacco and Cotton

Three fourths of the Negroes in
the Black Belt live in the farm
regions. The blood and sweat of
millions of these men, women and
children fattens the land which
grows cane, cotton, rice, tobacco.
Turpentine dippers make forty
cents a day. Dipping lasts five
months a year. The rest of the
time the colOred w1rker is told to
root like a hog OF die Harvest
ing tobacco, he's lucky to get as
much as a mule-fifty cents a
day For thirteen hours a day the
peach pickers were making sew
eEty cents while the grower was
getting four dollars a bushel last
season. Where he used To make
three dollars harvesting rice, he
acts now a dollar Seventy cents
day IS all the wages for cutting
cane. Under a sun like a terrible
leech, cotton pickerS are lucky to
make fifty cents working from
dawn to dark. There are places
in the Black Belt where pickers
work fut under the mcCn to make
t5a cents mo e.
CONDITIONS GROW WORSE
IS the crisis deepens, conditions
become worse. Cotton falls below
six cents a pound. Rice, cane, to-
baccO sell below cost. Share
CHOPPERS, tenants and small farm
ers are forced off the land. Hunt
ing work, they are forced to pit
themselves against tia hosts of
unemployed. If they are able to
hold on by the skin cf their teeth
the shadow Of the cotton picking
machine begins to darken their
days. Experts say it will be on
the market soon. 1t, will be able
to pics a bale at one-fifth what
manipulating costs. It will drive
more farmers out onto the road.
THEY ARE WAKING UP
Negro workers and farmers are
rousing themselves against such
savagery and exploitation. They.
, are beginning to fight the land
lords and buyers who cheat then
at the scales and sugar mill anC
lynch them when they protest
They are beginning to understand
that organization and resistance
are two barrels OF a shot gun.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
MASS ARRESTS OF
NEGRO CHOPPERS
IN OLD ALABAMA
FARMERS RELIEF CONFER
ENCE PROTESTS

Dadeville, Ala, Dec. 22.-Beaten
back in their first terror drive
against the Nebro troopers by the
splendid solidarity of white and
Negro chopper of TallapOosa coun-
ty, the white landlords and their
police are rallying some additional
forces from the adjoining counties
for a murder0us drive against the
Negroes. Over $50 white men, re-
cruited outside of Tallapoosa coun-
ty, are now patrolling the Liberty
hall section of Tallapoosa county
where Mondays figrting occurred.
CONCEAL NUMBER DEAD
The authorities continue their
attempts to conceal the number
killed in Mondays pitched battle
when armed deputies attacked the
choppers and attempted to seize
the mule and cow of Clifford
James, local leader of he Share :
troopers Union at Notasulga.John
McMullen and Judson Simpson are
two ofthe known dead among the
troopers. That the bodies Of the
other dead choppers are being con-
cealed by the authorities is shown
in the admission by Col. Moon
4 personal representative of Gov
Miller, of knowledge Of "four OF
five dead Negroes laying about
the field" Only the bodies Of
Simpson and McMullen have beer
recovered.
MASS ARREST OF NEGROES
Mass arrests of Negroes are
being carried on in an attempt Il
seize the leaders of the Share
Choppers Union which is leading
the fight against starvation anC
landlord robbery Of the already
impoverished Negro troopers. Al
least IL Negro troopers are known
to be in jail. All are charged will
Communist activities" for darini
to defend themselves against th'
murderous attacks, of the land
lords and for for membership il
the union. A Negro woman teach
er of Birmingham was also arrest
ed, charged with circulation o.
Communist literature"
All Negroes suspected Of the
least militancy are being driven
out of the county and their prop
erty looted by lynch gangs of tn
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
With the Farmer Delegations to the
Washington Conference

Sleeping accommodation were pro-
vided at workers homes. The rest
was needed very badly as farmers
on their trip from Washington had
to battle zero weather all the way
causing terrible suffering from
cold and exposure.
During the stay in Chicago the
meetings were arranged in con-
junction with local speakers at
Chicago Heights, Harvey, Rose
land and other points where farm
ers were given tremendous ova-
tions, showing the solidarity Of the
farmers and city workres.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

RoseIand, III, Dec. 1.-THE
northwest column Of the Farmers
National Relief Conference left
here for Clinton, Iowa, after rest
ing over two days with the com
rades at the Lithuanian hall where
meals were provided for them.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
FROM TEXAS, JULY 1882

Dear comrade:
Please add these few words in
your paper. l am a widow wo-
man, live on my own farm but
have been crushed down so by the
boss class of peoples till / can
hardly get enough food to eat. I
go about among my peoples and
/ find them In the same shape
that / am in for food and cloth.
We can scarcely receive q good
word from the merchants and the
landlords. They take what we
make and give nothing for it, and
we have TO pay big price for
everything we get, and it makes
il hard for Us to even pay a small
debt. | am praying and hoping
for a better day.
FROM ALABAMA, AUG. 1892
Dear Comrade:
| am a woman living IN the
Black Belt with no one to help
me. I have been trying hard to
make an honest living farming.
But all Of my stock was took
from me and my crop is not much
good. So, l can hardly keep lard
gravy and fat back meat to eat
And most of all my neighbors and
friends are in q terrible condition
for clothing, shoes and something
10 eat.
We all are in a needy condition
FROM MISSISSIPPI OCT. 1882
Dear Comrade:
am writing my complaints OF
how I am treated on the farm.
am tending q one-horse farm on
half and the bosa fuTnishes "a
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30

$160 worth of food a month and
we are three in the family and he
furnishes US no clothes at all and
my feet is bare and back also. And
my wife and child is almost cloth
less, bare feet and the boss does
not make any arrangement to get
Us any. Although / asked him he
won't heed to me and my wife be-
come sick. l went to him for a
doctor ana he became angry and
would not stand for it and when
we gather our crops the bosses
take it all in hand and treat US as
if we were dogs. My wife washes
and irons for the bass and seven
are in the family for two gallons
of milk and one pound OF butter
anu for day labor they don't allow
Is but &c cents q day and % cents
for picking a hundred pounds C
o7tton and they pay that in a little
spoiled meat and lard enough +
last about three days and went
allow Us no money at all IF we
don't want to work for that they
.oLc u cut and whip US. They
treat us so dirty.
FROM GEORGIA, NOV. 1882
Dear Comrade:
k, a g0cd comIade, a renter
lives en- q landlord place with the
name of s..
X has six children in the family
and has worked hard and made d
pretty fair crop and paid what he
owed S. And because X belongs
to the union and cleared a part o.
his crop, S went to KS home last
Monday morning and said he come
to kill him and begin shooting at
X and shot one cf KS children IN
the leg. And, at the same time
cursing the Communist party 10
the hell. and said he hated all the
God-dam Nigros.
/ Also another share-cropper and
a renter On another landlord place.
This comrades name is R. The
landlord sent the law t. his home
last Saturday for taking his live
stock and crop while he was off
from kcTe assisting with a di
seased person that died in his
community. The indebtedness they
claim against R is 500. The
claim was made in 1r29. And r
have went off and serve a SEN
tence in the penententiaTy, he says
for the same indebtedness.
And many other outrageous
crimes is committed here against
the cOlOred people that | could
mention.
Yours as a faithful worker fol
better condishuns.
These led egs-tlelp 30 explain thy
ScottsbcrO case why Orphan
Jones is being dragged to the gal.
lows, and why only a week ago
Ed Dunlap was brutally lyncheC
when he demanded his wages from
a white foreman. They show tina
the murdered Negro troopers o.
Camp Hill did net 60 off to Gu
weed for nothing. The wood the.
have cut will destroy ultimately
the barbarism that crushed them
These letters show that Henri.
Lowry did not suffer hell in vail
because he dared ask his landlort
J fer wages withheld from him f9
!. tvs years. Burned like a pine
knot to an ash, his body in it
last agonies has thrown cut
light to help Negro farmers ir
their bitter struggles. These let
. tiers show clearly why Negro fam
ers attended the Farm Confererc
, in Washington shoulder to shoul
der with the oppressed whit
+. farmer, ready to battle for thei
! rights.
The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-12-30
TEN DAYS BREAKINc
ROCK

"hen we were brought -.
the noble judge he INJURED Oela''
We were going and / s1s' ing.
Washington, and he promnti.. - Z.
Us we had reached our de stis "a
and sent US to the rock p 'ii.@I !. l
10 days Upon getting on T .
headed for Kansas Civ an
this time Were used to mi-,.l
meals, to being put out 81 III
sidings and driven from one s s,.-s
to another. We mingled with II. y
kinds of workers, and Will .' Z
thought things were hard IN w
Mexico land they are) We s. w.
the eastern country .nucb rear.
actual starvation, with bur,,.S,,
of homeless people alIliqy abo-,
every train.
At Kansas City l saw ano,s.,
boy trying TO catch cur train 4
to st. Louis shot by a railroad nm
Here ! was again picked IN ,ri
shaved it out for 10 DAYS undo, /,
80 day sentence until | ran ar,v
and hit back for New Mexico N
ing in cattle cars, knowing that
was already too late to make Il /,
Washington on account Of the :,
fences and time lost.
The awful conditions exias,
can hardly be described until N
trip is experienced. Imagi9e hu
dreds of women with little h,
in their arms, cumming on ever
every freight train, jObless, En.
less, and starving with the mg.