Evening star., 1937-10-10
CLIO. STARTS BUILDING
FARMER-LABOR MACHINE
Alliance OF Workers in Rural Field Be.
comes Basis Of Hopes for Flight
tOPolitical Supremacy.

will increasingly develop solidarity
within its ranks ard that labor will
develop solidarity within its ranks.
1t Is essential that these two groups
should have the moral. legal and eco
nonic equivalent of that which the
corporate form Of organization gives
to industry. During this administra-
tion these two groups have begun to
obtain such an equivalent for the
first time.
They propose to hold on to what
they have won, but I would like to
suggest to both agriculture and labor
that in the exercise Of the newly
acquired Federal and State powers to
offset the Federal and State powers
enjoyed by corporations, they will
ultimately be held accountable by the
consumers. Both agriculture and
labor must be prepared in terms OF
economic reality to Cooperate with
the consumers in terms of genuine
balanced production
OF course, wallace referred to farm
ers organized to solve their capital
istic economic problems rather than
farmers organized to save themselves
from capital. But John Bosch. presi-
| dent Of the Farmers National Holiday
Association. thinks the two organiza-
tional points of view should be
merged
Urges Co-Operation Of Factions.
Bosch. whose association. although
1t has fought banks. insurance COM
panies and distributors of agricultural
products, nevertheless is a band of
profit-seeking, market-seeking farmers
and not a labor union, told the
U. c. A. P. A. w. A. Convention in
Denver last July:
TO me the most dangerous thing
in the United States today would be
the failure of the groups which you
| represent-and the Farmers Union,
| the Holiday Association, the Share
Choppers Union, the Southern Farm
| Tenants Union and the progressive
farmers-if they do not get together
and sit down and work out some
common program which they will
collectively support.
If that is not done, then We have
overlooked what will probably deter
mine what is going to take place in
the United States, whether We shall
have fascism in the United States or
| whether We shall not"
Bosch added that if the union failed
| to organize the corn and dairy farmers
Of the Midwest, 'the farmer who could
become your ally will become the back
bone of fascism in the United States"
James Patton, secretary of the Col
orado Farmers Education and Coop
erative Union of America. another
apostle for farmer organization on a
labor union basis, added to Bosch's
| comment
1T ell too oftNn has been poured
into the farmers head by the country
banker that he is capitalist, that he
is manufacturer. and most. of you
know, who come from agricultural sec
tions. that the situation u rapidly
changing"
Gives Views of Small Farmer.
Henderson himself, who at the mo-
ment he spoke was merely chairman
Of the convention. not yet president,o.
the union. put even more strongly to
the delegates how labor regarded the
small farmer. He said
There are many classes Of farmers
and their reaction to this convention
today is quite varied. Some view it
very definitely with fear and appre-
hension. They have already started
to make approaches and maneuvers to
defeat our purposes.
These farmers. the big landlords in
the cotton industry in the South, the
big absentee land companies, the big
packing houses, the big canneries in
California, the big citrus concerns in
Florida, the Great Western Sugar Co.
and other companies of similar sort,
this so-called type of farmer we re-
gard as our enemy and they regard us
as their enemies.
But what Of the entire mass Of the
100000 farmers in the United States,
the tenant farmer in the South, the
bankrupt stump farmer in Michigan,
the seasonal farmer in Florida, the
small fellows in California beaten to
the ground by the big packing con-
Germs out there? What about the
farmer who works Just as hard. in
most cases, as the people We represent
and may even employ a little labor at
harvest time?
We want to make it clear here
and now to these small and middle.
sized farmers throughout the South.
throughout the Middle West, through
out the trucking and vegetable areas
OF the East, and in every section of the
country, that We stand ready to help
these farmers, that our organization
l intends not only to work out a co-op-
erative policy. not only to extend the
hand OF greeting to these farmers, but
to actively throw our forces into the
Held to help them improve their con-
ditions, so that jointly we can march
together to improve both OF our con-
ditions."
Like other c. I. o. afiliates the
Agricultural Workers Union regards
the American Federation as Just an
organization of Tom Girdlers. Hem
derson assured me that the A. F. of L.
is the biggest log in his road to or
ganization. and the Denver convention
record is filled with damnations on the
A. F. l.. while the C. l. o. was ac-
claimed as "the champion, the Joe
Louis Of labor" The day after that
phrase was coined the union, until
then unaf6liated, voted to put its
future in the c. I. O.'s hands.
"The A. F. L. has gone to some trou-
bic to organize teamsters who carry
farm goods" Henderson said, ~and
these teamsters unions make 1t their
side business to smash the c. I. o. field
and packing house unions"
Worked With A. F. of L.
For five years Henderson worked
with the A. F. L. organizing rural
workers, but with small success. chiefly
because, he says. he got little backing
| from fedora afior heo dn,,o rio o,d L.