Evening star., 1942-03-16
Charges Campaign
Against Little Man
Writer Blomes Big Boys
For Congress Interference
With Help of Underprivileged
To the Editor Of The star:

To the Editor OF The Star:
The poor, the humble, the dispos-
sessed and the disinherited of the land
are going to get q tough break In this
war.
Indeed, the forces OF repression and
oppression are already closing in about
them.
Every instrument used to assist them
is now being badly battered and twisted.
The Farm Security Administration,
which has helped TO put thousands Of
dispossessed farmers and tenants back
on the land; the Rural Electrification
Administration, which has brought the
little farmer the boon of electricity, and
the Civil Liberties Division Of the De-
partment of Justice are taking q beat
ing. And all in the name of sort Of
superlove of country.
Under the guise of defense, the big boys
now see chance to destroy all that has
been done for the little fellow, especially
the underprivileged. And so they are
moving in rapidly. They sense "kilp
and they are going to have it.
In the very week representative OF
the Todd Shipbuilding Corp. was ad-
mitting before Senate committee his
company had made Outrageous profits"
incidentally, story which only the
Baltimore Sun gave any more than few,
paragraphs to-the big boys decided the
game was up for the little fellow and the
time to move in on him was now.
Quicker than you could say Jack Rob-
inson" they killed a $500, 900 900 proposal
for relief to 3,225, 900 workers made idle
by priorities and defense industry dis
location. That was very helpful Of
them.
1--WE are fighting a war" they said.
1--WE want none of this nonsense"
It was only coincidence Of course,
that those who said 1t had jobs or better
yet, fat defense contracts In their
pockets.
For years they have ached to get their
hands on the Farm Security Admins
tration, for since 1t was established a
few years ago 1t has helped $4,000 farm
families. or about 100000 underprivi-
legged. More, it had assisted farm CO.
operatives, one of which In 1910 made
a profit Of $4,000.
That would never do. So last week
the Appropriations Committee of the
House ordered all co-operatives OF the
Farm Security Administration closed
down because Of their resemblance to
Communism"
Then came the attack on the F. S. AS
practice of buying up large tracts of land
through the medium of State-chartered
corporations In order to put worthy ten
ants and sharecroppers on small tracts
of land Of their own. Purchase of land
In large tracts was necessary. of course,
because enough good land could not be
secured in isolated sections
But this was clearly convenience to
the poor devils-the dispossessed and
disinherited of the earth. Out with 1t!
No more of that nonsense, said the COM
mittee majorityI So victory No. was
won.
Then the axmen moved on to the
Rural Electriication Administration.
Something must be done about this-and
quick. Too long had 1t been helping the
little fellow to get cheap electricity Too
many underdogs had benefited! Out
with 1t!
The fag-waving was revived, and 1t
was charged the r. E. A. was still getting
copper to complete certain extensions
Strictly speaking, Of course, it was not
getting more copper: 1t was only using
supply of copper 1t had on hand. But
even this fact was q mighty weapon
which, If used right, could be used to
destroy.
So 1t looked like another killing. Then
the War Production Board announced
the projects complained of had been in
vestigated by the w. P. 3. and allowed
to continue.
Baked in one direction, the hosts of
reaction are marching In another. With
drums beating and flags waving. they are
moving on the most helpless of all, the
sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Al
ready you can hear the band in the dis
tance.
Yet for the sharecroppers and the old
people, there is no defense boom" And
there will be none. AL they ask Is that
the little they have be not taken away.
At Twist, Ark, there is a 17,oo0-acre
plantation which the F. S. A. leased for
10 years. Already the former owners
want 1t back again, for all the 274 fami-
lies on 1t produced an average income
per tenant of $500 last year. They are
hard-working, happy and contented.
Each family canned an average of $50
quarts Of food last year. The average
under private ownership was IS quarts,
and that mostly pickles.
Against an average present tenant in
come of $500, the previous average was
less than $3.50, bare subsistence.
Although Twist is a cooperative, 1t Is
not the kind of cooperative that will be
abolished If the House committee has its
way. Twist Is unit of individually
operated sections. But Lake-Dick is a
plantation comparatively worked That
is,'the tenants do not operate individual
little 40-acre tracts, but Join in a CO.
operative farming enterprise as whole.
That, of course, is sinful. This CO.
operative, like Terrebonne in Louisiana,
and several others, will be abolished
under the edict of the committee.
The tragedy is that 1t is the little man
who is getting the ak.
HUGH RUSSELL FRASER.