Montana labor news., 1937-11-11
UNEMPLOYED AND PARTLY EMPLOYED
PERSONS REQUESTED TO FILL OUT AND
RETURN REPORTS TO THE p05T0FFI(E
FARMERS UNION PICKS
De DOBBELEER AGAIN

Jasper DeDobbeleer, Sr., state
representative from Valley County,
was reelected vice president of the
Montana Farmers Union at the an
nual convention of that group held
in Lewistown last week. H. D. Rolph
of Joplin was reelected president,
and Harold Brown of Great Falls
was reelected secretary.
In resolutions adopted the Mon
tana Farmers Union expressed favor
for such federal agricultural legis-
lation as the ever normal granary,
production control and commodity
loans on parity basis to establish
minimum prices, recommending that
this farm program be administered
in the interest of the family-sized
farm"
In the realm of the state affairs
the convention not only espoused
state insurance, a $4,000 homestead
tax exemption and graduated land
tax, but it opposed "all efforts to
establish sales tax" condemning
what was termed the grant of "an
unreasonable and unjust amount of
authority" to the governor relative
to appointments, objected to the state
liquor control board setup provided
by senate bill II of the recent legis-
lature and urged litigation concern
ing the referendum on the retail
liquor sales law be expedited by the
courts. The laws that brought this
censure from the Farmers Union
were enacted last winter.
AS to labor the convention voted
its approval to the Committee for
Industrial Organization. Develop
ment Of hydraulic power at Fort
Peck was urged. The delegates pro-
posed that industries be publicly
operated and that factories be OBJ
tanned so as to provide relief employ
ment.
As to agricultural economics the
convention reiterated its position in
favor of the cooperative movement,
asked for crop insurance, a surplus
commodities corporation, continual
ton Of seed loans to be increased
from $4OO to $500, furtherance of
irrigation and in the Farmers Union
itself expansion Of activities relative
to the education of farmers in agri-
cultural economics and the intensi-
fled promotion of cooperative sales
and marketing enterprises.
A resolution was adopted express
ing the belief that need still exists
for legislation making the U. S. Su-
preme Court more responsive to the
necessities of the times and there
fore I'VE demand that a constitu-
tional amendment or other constitu-
tional method to bring about the
desired change be enacted so as to
permit Congress to legislate for the
benefit of the common people with
out judicial interference"
D. L. Manning OF Great Falls,
chairman Of a committee in charge
of promoting a farmer-labor news
paper, told of what is being done.
He explained the financial setup the
directors of the publishing corpora
ton have decided on as an initial
requisite. The enterprise was
launched at Helena last winter,
chiefly by legislators. The conven-
ton approved the project.
Speakers included DR.. A. L.
Strand, president of Montana State
College; H. G. Keeny, president of
the Nebraska Farmers Union, and
A. w. Kicker, editor Of the Farmers
Union Herald, st. Paul.
Discussion off the floor included
a movement to make Rolph national
president. 1t was said that the pres
ent national chief, E. H. Everson,
will not be a candidate for re-elec-
ton.