The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1943-11-12
CONVENTION
OF S. T.F.U
SCHEDULED

The 10th annual convention of the
Southern Tenant Farmers Union will
meet in Memphis, Tennessee, Novem-
Der 9, 10 and H. Two hundred and
fifty delegates representing locals in
the mid-south are expected to attend
the session which will be held at the
Whitestone Baptist Church on Well
ington Street.
Officials of the War Food Admins
tration, the War Manpower Commits
sion, and the U. S. Agricultural Elk
tension Service are scheduled to
speak at a special conference of migra-
tory farm workers on the opening
day, Tuesday, November 9th. C. c.
Randall, director of the Farm Labor
Program from Little Rock, will rep
resent the Extension Service, Willis
F. Sloan, Regional Rural Industries
Representative of Atlanta, Georgia,
will speak on behalf of the Manpower
Commission The representative of
the labor office of the War Food Ad-
ministration has not been designated
but is expected.
According to H. L. Mitchell, gen.
eral secretary of the Southern Tenant
Farmers Union, the conference will
seek to work out plans with the gov
eminent officials for providing jobs
for an estimated $4,000 seasonal farm
workers who will be unemployed in
the mid-south for the next five
months.
The afternoon session will be given
over to a discussion by delegates of
a program for the rural south after
the war. c. d. Lewis, director, east
central division of the AAA, G. M.
Measel of the Farm Security Admin
istration and James P. Davis, field
officer for AAA, are scheduled to
speak on the post war problems of
southern agriculture.
Mitchell said, "a report which is
to be made to the delegates by the
executive council of the union will
recommend that farm ownership act
be adopted by congress to provide for
the purchase of small farms on terms
similar to provisions of the Federal
Housing Act which permits urban
workers to buy homes with small
down payment. The report which
also warns that the only alternative
to breaking up of the large scale
plantations in the south into small
farms is an organized migration of
the rural population to new lands out
side the United States"
A public meeting will be held at
1880 pm. on the evening of the first
day of the convention and representa-
tives of labor, fraternal and negro or
ganization are to speak. A personal
representative of VIM. Green, presi-
dent, American Federation of Labor,
is to appear. Robert Oliver, southern
director of the Textile Workers I'm
ion, is to represent the CLIO and A.
Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood
of Sleeping Car Porters, ALL is also
expected. The Workers Defense
League, the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People
and the National Urban League have
Deeu Invited 10 Seuu speakers. BOtl
AFL and CLIO unions in Memphis
have been sent invitation to send rep
resentatives to attend this meeting
and other sessions of the convention.
The Southern Tenant Farmers Union
is an independent union and not af-
filiated with either branch of the la
Dor movement.
The second day of the convention
will be given over to consideration by
delegates of a plan for building rural
co-operatives. Edward j. Yeomans,
Jr., executive secretary of the South
eastern Cooperative League from Car
rollton, Georgia, is to lead the dis
cussion. Harold Olson, director Co
operative Educational Division of the
Farm Security Administration from
the Cincinnati office has also been in
vited to attend Mitchell stated that |
the members of the STU had for
many years successfully operated CO. |
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