Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1939-07-13
NOT FAIR TO DAIRYMEN
Editor Askov American:

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Editor Askov American:
Now that the special Dairy Month
is past, l am just wondering how
much benefit we dairy farmers will
get from it. If the Federal govern
ment would cooperate with us and
use more butter it might help some.
The government did buy up lot of
butter, but why not use some of that
butter in the penal institutions. Some
time ago quite comment was made
about two prisoners escaping from
our new institution at Sandstone,
about the same time l was told they
were using oleomargarine there for
the inmates.
1 said right away don't blame
them bit if they do try to escape
if they have to eat oleo. l would do
the same thing, not that the stuff
might not be clean enough, but it has
not the food value of butter, and
right here in Pine county, which is
a dairy county, I think the prisoners
should be allowed what butter they
need.
Those people in there must have
done crime in one form or another,
otherwise they would not be there,
but l claim it is a crime for those
in authority to feed oleo to people
who cannot choose for themselves
what they want to eat. Before max
ing any comment on this, wanted to
be sure SO l wrote to Washington and
the reply was this, that all Federal
Penal Institutions are using oleo.
1 believe far better plan for the
government would be to use some
of this surplus butter for its prison.
erS than some of this that is given
away. l know in some instances
where this butter is given, the people
are just as able to buy butter as
we farmers who produce it.
Who is really producing these sur
plus dairy products? In my opinion
it is not the rank and file of dairy
farmers, but the large corporation
farms and big business men, farming.
That applies to other farm products as
well, where there is a surplus.
l expect the cotton farmer of the
south will say that they have as much
right to sell their product as we
have; for cotton seed oil is used to
some extent in butter substitutes. All
well and good, would not raise
a kick against anything produced in
the United States, but l never could
see why we should import so much
of anything that we can produce
here. I don't doubt that in many
cases it can be imported and brought
for less than what is produced here.
On account of cheap labor elsewhere
we cannot always compete with them
We farmers are told you can raise so
much of this and so much of that,
the rest we have to import. Is it
that our government thinks so much
of this cheap labor of Argentine or
some other countries. To me it looks
like they would say, ''to heck" with
the American farmer. We first have
to see the American capitalists, who
have invested their money in those
places, make some more money.
One more "kick" I would like to
register is against the Minnesota Agri-
culture Extension Division. Some
time ago, among other literature sent
out to All Clubs, was a pamphlet
telling how to make the best use of
oleo in baking. I am well aware that
this pamphlet is put out by the oleo
people, but why should our Extern
sion Division be party to help dis
tribute oleo literature. don't think
it is fair to dairymen and as heavy
taxpayer and dairyman l protest
against such procedure, both of the
Extension Division and our govern
ment as well.
1 am not sure if our state institu-
tons are using butter substitutes, but
if they do, will just say shame on
them. l just come to think of an in
cident that happened some 40 years
ago. An old junk peddler and his old
horse got stuck with a load on a
muddy south Minneapolis street. Well
Bill, the old horse, could not pull the
load so the old gent got off and took
a hold of old Bills headgear and said
come on Bill and we will pull it out
together, and it did move some short
distance, but not enough. Finally the
old man said to Bill, you don't pull
enough and at the same time gave
the old horse blow in the nose with