Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1933-01-12
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES OF THE
u r. l.
fCcnfinued from last week
CODA

Four years ago the farmers o
this section were w~ellto-do. and pol
iticaliy conservative. Prices wer
good. Crops were rather more thai
good. They INDUCED in m orgy o
spending. of ostentztion. OF apprec
iaIing themselves They xambled III
wheat. they gambled in land, thel
gambled in ruinOSuIy hiEh-pFiret
machinery. Property was WON'T
money. they were all going to b
rich. capitalism was MI night, 1n(
only the farm laborerS who wers
paid $50 per month and produces
5000 were inclined toward ! rndi-
caiism Of which the farmers did moi
precisely approve What Was thu
matter with these hired men. any
way. Couldn't they see that us
farmers had a lottx money invested
and was entitled to get something
back ON the investment
The depression arrived and knock
ed prices TO the bottom of the deep
blue sea. Also there Vas I crop
failure. AT once the farmers per
ceived that Capitalism was ! Rotten
System. and hal no man with PIN
cipIes and Humanity and Christian
Charity would take \ Profit Of Ano-
theirs Toll. Them big hiEh-muckety-
mucks in Wall Street Was going to
be learnt. once for NIL. that they
couldn-t take il all just because
they happened to have ! iOtta mon
ev invested.
And there you ~ 1t makes !
has been IN Y experience that the
precious exploited farmer Is ! preffy
good hand as an exploiter himself
when he sees Il chance But the In
competent exploiter has been beaten
at his own game by super-c0mpe-
tent eyHioiters, and Il 70 devoid OF
pride and sTonsmanship that he =
willing to spend the rest Of his life
in whining about it.
This is the great tragedy of the
current radical rumpns- that II Is
not SO much an effort on the part
OF ! metre refOrmeTs to advance the
cause of human happiness and VIII
being rs iKis a struggle between two
greedy dogs to decide which shall
have possession OF a bone The top
dog has taken it away from the I'm
derdog by dint Of superior strength.
skill and courage. and now the IN
derdog Is trying to get IT back Dy
means OF moral arguments Ind r.
ther contemplate threats
OF course the decent thing Tor d
top dog to do would be to divide
with the underdog. but this he y
TOO stupid 10 do. and even u ne
should happen to think Of snch = -
luton he would be deferred BY III
reflection that the underd0g-beins
NOT a whit nobler, and even more
stupid - would snariinEiy d e N md
the ton dogs share n soon As he
had finished his own
The ! .4ale controversy bOlls down
10 the pain and lrrefutable fAc1
thar we are all rictims-J- Plerpont
Rockerl.ilt and you, the Rev billy
Tuesdey and L. the King OF Mono
mania and his lowliest subject Her
lerf Clark Roosevelt and the negro
lahorer who will be Iynched pres
enfly-all are victims Of 4 sygtem
OF social organization which has no
for its existence except QUIZ
o W d colossal stupidity BY this
time ii ought to be obvious TO cven
the least enlightened humaa being
that what We all need above every
thing is simply economic security
The knowledge that II We break
leg. or lose the minimum amount Of
that most OF MS possess. Or
get railroaded to Jail by our CAris-
relatives, our children need not
therefore 60 hungry-the guarantee
that we will not be compelled to
others TO provide for our ~
needs on a prospective rainy day
Granted this, it seems to me that
majority OF MS c0uld setfie down
to being comparatively useful CID
zenS. peacefully engaged in imprOv-
Ing ourselves and our envir0n1ncnt. !
of being the futile knasdps"
hat BERNARD Shaw sAys We aTe. OK
the snarling beasts OF prey that We
know ourselves To be Obviously,
Mr.. Brown will not trouble to steal
Mr.. Green's money ii he knows that
Il will be useless to him and that
lis wants will be amply supplied
1T. Human beings Will stil
re human, and some Of them win
continue to do things OF which ONE
would hesitate to ccuse 4 hyena-
nut ait least those who are d~iffe1ent-
v constituted will not r. driyep to
1 hy economic necessity
But all we seem to be able 10 10
sbout it liz to hand together In tight
title groups. each group blaming
i'll the others for our troubles. whfle
ioing what II Al to delay pro
yress toward = sane and wOrk1ble
And the ultra radical
the groups which are most
fociferously eager to lay the blame
IN everyone else, are probably the
worst offenders. with their e1ib talk
II cooperation and their quick re-
eminent nj any suggestion tMf
should cooperate Certainly
his Is true In Sheridan county.
where the numberiess fnsanities ard
-illainies OF the Producers News and
fs 41unatic fringe" Of fen0rnnt H.