The people's voice., 1959-01-16

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tive said "Our sole answer is not
compensation because every worker
would rather be working than sitting
around the house getting into argu-
ments with his wife-they want to
work.
eve are told that business is pick
ing up and things are getting little
better. But everyone is agreed on
one thing = we are going to have
a high rate of unemployment,
full employment is not ahead in the
picture for the period ahead. The
whole problem of unemployment
has to have more emphasis than it
has in the past".
Ralph Cook, secretary-treasurer of
Montana Farmers Union, spoke on
the consumer stake in a good farm
program, saying, "Since this admin
istration took over it has been plan
to turn the land over to the corpora
ton farmers, and when this is accom-
plished. then you will pay dearly for
your food there will be no more
small towns there will be simply
factories in the field and all the
things we cherish will be out the
window.
He said farmers constitute about
1870 of the population and last
year 100000 left the land and
added, "They left the land but did
not disappear from the face of the
earth, they went to town to COM
pete for work with the unemployed
who were out of work because of
factory shut-downs when farmers
lost their purchasing power.
Cook pointed out that this was but
small part of the total number of
displaced farmers who swarmed the
labor market. 81 am told", he said,
''in Indiana, where "right-to-work"
law has been passed, that 1870
of the farm operators have TAX
en- jobs in town to exc out their
income, to meet mortgage payments
and keep shoes on their kids In
my opinion it was not an accident
this 'right-to-work" law was passed
the same people who made it
necessary for 76%0 of the farmers
to move into the labor market in
tended to flood the labor market and
destroy the foundation of labor Sc
curity so that desperate men must
bid against their brothers for jobs".
Leonard Kenfield, president of the
Montana Farmers Union, said that
the farmer and the laborer are tied
together and that business men are
also tied to these two, but many do
not know it respectfully the small
businessman, unfortunately, doesn't
know it,, he said, che listens to
far-away voice..
Kenfield said the family farmer
is asking for bargaining power in the
market place and added, "there is
a great difference from the farm
gate and the grocery gate".
He said farmers need a program,
and a Secretary of Agriculture who
would be willing to enforce it a
program that would reflect full par
ity of income. eve think it could be
done", he said, "and we think the
nation has people capable of doing
it,.
Income should make it possible
for people to live decently and pay
taxes" he said, because the danger
of General Motors type of farm will
ruin our schools, churches and COM
munity. You must give the family
farmer a way to keep these things. |
We should figure out program not
geared to acreage, but to pounds and
bushels geared to income i
geared to stability.
We are opposed to starving people,
he said, and if every family tried to
put months supply of food in the
pantry we would not have enough |
food.
John nj. Redding, Washington, D.
c., director, National Council for In
dustrial Peace, spoke on the "right-
fight across the nation in
the last election and said, Farmers
have written out a lot of due bills
and labor is going to have to pay".
The former air force general said
it was the troops in the field, where