Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1937-12-09
State Capitol News
BY A. I. HARRIS

BY A. I. HARRIS
Bonafide farm leaders of the west
hit out last week at a new farm
organization" which was set up in
Chicago with no other apparent pur-
pose than to mislead the public into
believing that farmers oppose aims
of organized labor.
No advance publicity was given
to the meeting of unknown or deposed
farm leaders who gave themselves
the title, Farmers National committee,
but statement was released con-
demning the Black-Connery wages
and hours bill now before Congress.
Signers of statement questioning
the new groups authority to speak
for farmers and at the same time
endorsing demands of organized labor
were leaders of the Farmers Union
and Farmers Holiday Association.
The statement, noting that big bust
ness groups are in the habit of setting
up fake organizations to speak in the
name of the farmer" said that in
terests of the farmer and the worker
are alike and that "by cooperation
can they gain their ends" Any at
tempt to prevent unity of the groups
was condemned.
Included on the statement were
names of George A. Nelson of Wiscon-
sin. chairman of the National Farmers
Union board and national organizer
for his group; Emil LorikS, president
of the South Dakota Farmers Union
and member of the national board;
Morris Erickson, secretary of the
North Dakota Farmers Union and
also member of the national board.
Tom Cheek, president of the Okla
homa Farmers Union; Kenneth Homes,
president of the Wisconsin Farmers
Union; A. w. Kicker, editor of the
Farmers Union Herald; Charles Eg-
ley, manager of the Farmers Union
Livestock Exchange; John H. Bosch,
president of the National Farmers
Holiday Association, and Dale kram-
er, national secretary of the same
group.
Cold comfort is afforded the city
dailies (Which are trying to use data
in the Fiterman report, dealing with
the states financial structure, against
the present administrator in the
reports two principal recommended
tons which advise pay-as-you-go
policy and warn against further in
creasing the states Indebtedness.
1t is interesting to note that the
Governor already made these recon-
mendations in his inaugural address
as well as in his message to the
special session. He said:
Increased expenditures must be
regarded as current expenditures and
must be met by current revenues
It would be unfair to meet them
through bond issues or through in
creasing the states Indebtedness. u
Inaugural message).
THE other problem is to raise suf-
ficient revenue to meet the current
needs of government-to balance the
budget in fact as well as in name,
so that we do not saddle upon flu
ture generations burdens which prop
erly belong to U.S."
When papers become frantic they
are likely to do some very strange
things. 1t appears here, however,
that they have taken hold of hot
potato.
There are 207 millionaires in Min
nesota, according to Boyd's Tables.
There are 429 persons in Minnesota
worth between 100000 and a mil
lion; 1877 worth between S25O,OOO and
100000; 1864 worth between $780,
900 and S25O,OOO; 9,241 worth between
$4,000 and 100000; and 28,513
worth between $500 and $5O,OOO
That leave all the rest of us worth
under $4,000
Asking that Tom Mooney, labor
leader convicted in connection with
a Preparedness day bomb outrage but
since proven innocent sin the eyes
of every decent man and woman not
only in America but in the entire
world be granted full pardon,
Governor Benson, in an address in
San Francisco last Sunday, declared:
''When certain people in powerful
positions wanted Mooney in prison
wanted to get rid of him because
he was what they termed a labor
agitator-it was possible to start the
machinery of government working
with clock-like precision to get him
there. Now, however, that he has
been proven innocent, it has been
found impossible to start the ma
chinery of government moving again
with equal speed and precision to
make him free man.
''The mills of justice indeed grind
slowly. But 1 want to say quite
tegorically-and this is indeed sad
commentary not only upon our sys-
tenn of justice but upon some of our
public officials-that if those power
full people who sent Mooney to prison
IL