The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-08-30
In
Ohio Fight
Forced Sale.
By a Worker Correspondent

Dy d nOfktE OUFIGSpOuueub
MEDINA, Ohio.-Farmers of Me-
dina and Lorain counties, Ohio. at
tempted their first penny sale" on
Tuesday, Aug. 81, near Spencer,
Ohio.
Cort Stuart, a Medina county
farmer, was faced with the sale of
his farm machinery and cattle to
settle a 1887 chattel mortgage held
by the Spencer Cooperative Eleva-
tor Company. Members of the
Ohio Farmers League, affiliated
with the United Farmers League,
decided to organize to hold a
penny sale as soon as they got
wind of it.
Leaflets were put out urging the
farmers to protest the sale in order
to set an example for the mort
gage-holder and prevent the future
sales of farms and chattels. Plans
were not carried out successfully
however, and the sale went through
despite the efforts of the 500 farm
ers and city workers gathered at
Stuart'S farm.
In opposition to the farmers and
workers there were business men
from Spencer and some rich farm
ers of the community, attended by
the sheriff, IA deputies and four
officers.
Shortly before the sale was ready
to start Leo Wene, Of the Ohio
Farmers League, spoke to the crowd,
explaining the situation and i'm
pressing upon the farmers the
necessity of saving Cort Stuarts
cattle and tools as the first step in
saving their own farms and chat
tells. F. K. Amer followed with an
appeal to stop the sale and also to
fight for the Moratorium Bill of
the Small Home and Land Owners
Federation. which he represented.
A rope was hung from a nearby
tree as a warning to anyone who
dared bid over eight cents.
The first thing on the block was
a pillow, The auctioneer asked
dollar bid to start with. He was
offered two cents, II have the right
to reject any bids" said the auc-
tioneer. You get two cents yelled
a farmer.
All of a sudden scab bidder,
half drunk, bid one dollar for the
pillow at the direction of the attor-
ney. One of the men took off his
jacket, walked up to the covering
scab bidder, and asked him to with
draw his bid. The deputies crowded
around and, meetings no resistance
from the crowd, were able to hold
back the one man who dared
threaten the bidder. The crowd
was sullen, tense, dazed. Nobody
acted and the bid went through.
The crucial moment was lost.
BY the time the farmers and
workers had their forces organized
again. several more tools had been
sold to scab bidders. Then young
worker appealed to the crowd to
throw out the scab bidders. A
deputy getting the worst of it, the
sheriff drew out his handouts and
blackjack and went after the
worker.
Only one more attempt was made
to stop the bidding. The farmers
and workers we're urged to rush
down to the barn in a body to save
the cattle. The sheriff and auc-
tioneer evaded the crowd, however,
by taking the cows to the other
end of the barn and selling them
there.
Reactionary propaganda, filled
with lies, has been started by the
capitalist press against the Ohio
Farmers League and the workers
who came down from Cleveland to
help the farmers. The sheriff has
threatened to arrest any militant
farmers and workers who attempt
to resist future evictions, fore
closures, and sheriff's sales. The
Ohio farmers will not be intimi-
dated, however. They have learned
their lesson