The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1942-05-14
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Success Of Dairy Union
Effected by Price Parity
Farm Authority Believes That John |. Lewis
Will Brighten Every Farmer Into Solid
Attacking Front
By BAUKHAGE
Neus analyst and Commentator.

WNU Service, 1343 H Street, NV,
Washington, d. C.
John L. Lewis. he'd of the United
Mine Workers of America. is well
on the road to uniting the farmers
of America, but not all in the way
he planned to when he started to
organize his United Dairy Workers
under the famous district So Of
his powerful UNIV.
That is the verdict Of a friend Of
mine in Washington. an official who
has spent his days with farmers and
farm organization heads and his
nights sleeping with the farm prob
lem throughout most Of his adult
years. He believes that John Lewis.
by trying to unionize agriculture.
has conjured up a devil that will
brighten every farmer into a solid
attacking front.
Lately the return Of gentle parity
to the land had begun to have
its disintegrating effect on the farm
n Their long-sought goal reached.
they began to turn back to their
separate interests.
1.-THE farmer won't lay down his
hoe and pick up a pen and sign
membership in something unless
things are going pretty bad. When
he can manage to make both ends
meet he keeps his eye on the fur
row, takes care Of his own acres
and follows the old New England
motto that good fences make good
neighbors.' In other words, he is
the original rugged individualist."
That is the way my friend put it
to me. I was complaining that l
couldn't get any definite informa-
ton as to their plans out Of the
farm group representatives on this
move on the part of Lewis to try to
organize the dairy industry. The
series Of the meetings the group
representatives were holding in
Washington was pretty much behind
closed doors.
"They won't talk about their
plans" my friend explained, be
cause they don't know what to do.
It's an absolutely new thing in the
American history Of the men whose
business it is to make a living out
Of the soil and domestic animals
the idea of making a union out Of
capitalists. They don't know how
to meet it. Personally I don't think
Lewis will have any success. What
interests me is that his efforts r
likely to bring the farmers together
again, the way they were brought
together in the thirties. when Amer
lea lost its export market for farm
products, or for that matter the
way they were brought together by
the old Granger movement clear
back in the seventies. 1t takes de-
SPAR to unite the farmers. When
America started to change from a
purely agricultural country to a
semi-industrial country the farmer
had to unite to get his rights. Ever
since then there have been farm or
CARNATIONS but it takes a real crisis
like the one in the thirties to really
bring them together"
asked him why he thought
Lewis would fail.
Its been the history Of every
effort to make a union between city
workers and farmers that after the
farmers sign up they find the work.
ers are running them." he said.
'"They are suspicious"
have no doubt that a number Of
dairymen have signed up. I have
no idea how many and I can't find
out. But they are the men who
just can't make ends meet. They
are the ones who haven't been
able to run their farms productivity
or else they are located so that their
transportation costs cut their prof
its to losses. In other words. they
haven't been able to keep their costs
down. Lewis will have to offer them
something. He can't very well
promise to boost consumer prices at
a time when price ceilings are in
the ofing. If he organizes farm
help and farm transportation that
will put the costs up. not profits
and" he added, you can't put a
cow on a 40-hour week."