The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-12-22
II arners W ant
Action AS Ruin
Brings Hunger
United Fight for Relief
Is Main Question
in Prairie States
By Lem Harris

forage has to be bought at sky
rocketing prices, when bitter winds
force families 10 buy fuel even
ahead OF groceries,-this is the
moment chosen by the Agents Of
the Roosevelt Administration to put
into force sharp cuts in the nesgre
amount of relief which the farm
families had been getting.
The whole state Of South Dakota
center Of the drought-recently
cut of relief for full week. Farm
ers and townspeople on relief-a
full 80 per cent Of the people Of the
state-worked as usual on the roads
during that week-and then were
told that they would receive their
relief money "in January" In
Nebraska, cash allotments for feed
have been cut BY 28 per cent and
the soaring Of feed prices has cut
the amounts they can buy sill fur
Their. North Dakota farmers also
report direct cuts in the amounts
going to families. This whole re-
lief-cutting policy of the admins
tration, which was started after its
sweeping victory at the polls, has
already built up mass resentment
which is growing more intense every
week.
Farmers in Desperate Situation
All the farmers Of this Plains area
with the exception Of the few rich
ones who are known as the bankers
pets, are facing the most desperate
situation they have ever known,
They have practically no cash
years of low prices for the things
they sold, high prices for the things
they bought, and usurious interest
rates have seen to that. They have
small or no supplies Of hay, fodder
or grain feeds. Those who still have
something clear of debt, are no.
allowed to go on relief. Farmers
with clear herds find that they car
only borrow So a head on animal
worth five times that much, and
must pay per cent interest. There
fore instead of trying to mortgage
they sell their cattle to the govern
ment for an average of s13 a.
animal and join the long list O.
subsistence farmers.
The average relief check for 3
family Of five is around $3.50 pc
week. We find homes without but
ter, sugar, green vegetables, @
fruits. Thio year vegetable gardens
produced at best few bushels c
potatoes. Diets consisting only o.
heavy bacon, or pork and potatoes.
with sometimes burned barley fo
coffee, are common. There is reel
fear that even these supplies vii
not continue throughout the winter.
Farmers are realizing that The
administrators relief policy il
driving every small farmer down II
peasant level Of living. Mex
spring when they want to put II
another crop, they will be faced WITH
thin horses, almost no stock, and il
all probability soil which will stiiI
be lacking adequate moisture. The
can not get money from the locsj
banks since it is generally recog.
nized that there is no chance o,
repaying. The Government is the
only source of credit and it s
committed to reduction and sub
sistence policy which means at the
best a very small scale of opera
tons on the farm.
Growing resistance to this peasant
standard of living is beginning to
take organized forms. Wherever
this occurs the political maneuvers
Of the relief administration at once
attempt to stop it, to quench the
early fires Of revolt. Militant
leaders are given better Jobs at
better wages in order to discredit
them, and to give them a material
interest in abandoning the fight.
Farmers Uniting for Struggle
But the ranks of the farmers are
becoming more and more solid. They
are demanding united action on re-
lief for their families. They are
directing this pressure not only
against the government officials but
also against the leaders of the big
farm organizations like the Farmers
Union and the National Holiday
Association, to try to force them
into action. To date, no national
or State leader of the Farmers
Union has taken any active part in
the relief fight Instead they con-
tinue to peddle legislative proposals
which many of these same leaders
in the Farmers Union privately adj
nit will not help the present situa-
ton. Here also the hand of the adj
ministra ton is seen at work. A
split in the whole Farmers Union
is now taking place. Important
leaders from Montana, North
Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
who cluster around the Terminal
Association and work in close har-
mony with the National Grain Cor
poration, government agency, have
been meeting in Minneapolis to en-
gineer Just such split.
Mass Pressure
In the face Of this situation, there
are arising all over the Great Plains
independent movements covering
counties and townships Bringing
mass pressure to bear on the relief
authorities. A score of counties in
this area have organized regular
mass meetings of farmers and wage.
workers where members of all the
farm and labor organizations of the
county come together to consider
action in the struggle for relief.
Committees responsible to and
elected by these mass meetings have
been placing constant pressure on
the local county commissioners and
relief authorities. This action has
won local victories: Broken Bow.
Nebraska has forced distribution of
free coal, which was never done be-