The Sidney herald., 1955-11-03
..MOnk0nU This Week

of MI. D'Ewart was followed up
in a speech at the Montana Farm
ers Union convention in Great
Falls.
OF course, Mr.. D'Ewart would
be opposed by Mr.. Patton, and by
Charles A. Brannan, who was
secretary of agriculture in the
Truman administration and is
now attorney for the Farmers
Union. The Brannan farm plan
was reputedly inspired, if not ac-
tually written, by Mr.. Patton.
Whether the Brannan plan would
be the best way TO give the farm
err economic equality in the mar
ket place is not so much the
question as whether under this
plan the farmer would surrender
his independence to a Caesar in
Washington.
When the Eisenhower admin
istration went in, Mr.. Brannan
went out, and along with him the
influence of James c.. Patton
and his clique. Obviously they
have personal reasons for their
opposition to the Eisenhower adj
ministration's policies and OBJ
jectives, especially in the domes-
tic field. It is doubtful whether
anything that the administration
can do will please these people.
Champions of economic policies
encouraged for two decades by
administrations Immediately pre-
ceding the presidency of Dwight
D. Eisenhower are not quitting
because of what they consider
temporary backsets. There has
been no abatement of what might
be called a fanatic zeal. They are
determined to get back in the
saddle. Their fight against Yves
ley DEwart is an incident in
their effort. Mr.. D'Ewart dis
agrees with their point of view.
MI. Patton is like some labor
leaders who presume to speak
with absoluteness for the rank
and file of their organizations.
On the record he can perhaps
commit the Farmers Union. This
does not necessarily mean that
his dictums are universally ac-
cepted by the membership of the
Farmers Union.
Quite a number of Farmers
Union members served with Wes-
ley D'Ewart when he was state
representative from Park county
and later senator, and a few of
these r still in the legislature.
Some of these have my sincerest
admiration and respect because of
their intellectual honesty and in
tegrity. 1t is difficult for me to
believe that any of these men
who served with Wesley DEwart
in the legislature rated him as a
predatory enemy of the public
welfare, as MIR. Patton now seems
to do.
The fact that in 1852, the last
time he ran for congress, Wesley
D'Ewart carried every county in
the district and was overwhelm-
ingly reelected, indicates that a
great majority of the voters in
the district including some
Farmers Union members - felt
that Congressman DEwart repre-
sented their best interests. Has
Mr.. D'Ewart's basic thinking
changed in the meantime? 1t has
not.
For about 10 years, beginning
at least as far back as 1882. I
reported Montana Farmers Union
conventions. Despite haranguing
of the delegates and overtones of
politics, I felt that in the main
these people, though rather ex-
tremely militant in their attitude,
were making justified attempts
to improve the economic condition
of the farmer. Not infrequently
the views expressed from the
convention platform were, it
seemed to me, calculated to in
cite class antagonisms, but the
plight of the agrarians in those
days was such that they were
hardly to be blamed for being
radical.
Much of the emphasis then, as
now, was on cooperative enter
prises. Since then the coopera-
tive movement under the Farm
ers Union label has become big
business. And the managers OF
these enterprises, having the re-
Sponsibilities and visions of big
business, are looking with alarm
at some of the outbursts, resolu-
tons and legislative proposals OF
that element in the Farmers
Union whose economic and polit-
ical thinking is essentially con-
trary to the big business inter
estS of the Farmers Union COOP
erative enterprises.
For several years there has
been a conflict - and it is grow
ing - between these two schools
of thought in the Farmers Union
Basically it is a contest for con-
troll. 1t does not appear that uI
to now the opponents of Mr.. Pat
ton and his adherents have made
much progress, but it is evident
that Mr.. Patton does not speak
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