| Show 11 EC c I 5 or a Farmers Workers United k i In Than Parity Issue i Seven Groups Back President on Continuing Farm Security Administration Veteran Observers See New Trend T By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator Service 1343 I II H Street N N. N W. W Washington D D. D C. C There Is an interesting story yet yetto yetto yetto to be told behind the letter sent to the President urging him to take to the public the issues of ot continuation continuation continuation of the Farm Security adminis adminis- administration and the sale of grains for tor feed below parity The story lies in the signatures to that letter There were seven of ot them and they represented two farm organizations three labor organizations organizations or or- and two religious groups The combination of ot names united in a single plea marks one of ot the few occasions when farmer and worker found common ground on which to take a stand on policy And some persons in Washington who are working for a closer farm farm- la labor bor alliance see in the move the beginnings of a realignment of the farm organizations with the formation formation formation forma forma- tion of a new group that has at least leasta a loose agreement with the and the CIO behind it Veteran observers who have watched agriculture and labor pull In opposite directions for many years still feel these two groups have more to disagree than to agree upon But they admit that this time the situation was ideal for tor mutual logrolling Backers of a new day in farm tarm organizations say it is more than that They point to significance in the signatories of ot the letter to the President dent The seven signatories of this letter were First James G. G Patton president of ot the National Farmers union the most radical of the farm groups This group contains more tenant farmers and fewer farm owners than the other farm groups It is a virile growing outfit Second Murray Lincoln executive executive executive tive secretary of the Ohio Farm Bureau Bureau Bu Bu- reau Federation of Ohio The Farm Bureau federation is not a wing left-wing organization Its President ONeal Is opposed to selling grain below parity But Mr Lincoln head of ot the Ohio Farm bureau units has a mind of ot his own He runs buying operatives co-operatives in the country He is very consumer The next signature is that of WILiam William William Wil Wil- liam Green president of the American American American Amer Amer- ican Federation of ot Labor and the next Phillip 11 Murray l head of the CIO The fifth of this group Is J. J G. G Luhrsen executive secretary of ot the American Railway Labor Executives Executives Executives tives association The religious groups are headed by L. L G. G Ligutti executive secretary secretary secretary secre secre- tary of ot the National Catholic Rural Life association and Benson Landis of the Federal Council of Churches Those who dont don't know the whole story behind efforts to realign the farm organizations see only the surface surface surface sur sur- face reasons why all the organizations organizations organizations represented by the above names were w willing to support the issues mentioned in the petition The tenant farmer who is ambitious ambitious ambitious am am- wants to own his own O farm He sees in the Farm Security administration administration administration ad ad- ministration an aid to that end He I considers this help a substitute for tor forthe forthe the vanished frontiers the frontiers the days when a man with a strong will a willing wife and a sharp axe could cut a new home out of the wilderness wilderness wilderness wilder wilder- ness to which the government was glad to hand him the deed Cheaper Food This concept concerns labor less directly but the question of ot cheaper food concerns him considerably The argument for sale of grain below parity is that it Is necessary to keep dairy and meat products prices down and the Farmers union claims that opposition to Farm Security comes from rom interests solely committed committed committed com com- to the through price scarcity concept which of ot course is the opposite of labors labor's platform Those are the obvious and immediate immediate immediate imme imme- diate reasons why the signature of two of ot the country's leading labor leaders rest among the seven The religious organizations have the family and general welfare in mind of course But there may be bc another reason why Mr Murray and Mr Green signed up and why their time one colleague John Lewis The story of ot the part Mr Lewis didn't play is closely connected with the effort to create a new farm organization organization organization organ organ- which will have the blessing of at labor This is what happened John Johi JohnLewis JohnLewis Lewis head of ot the powerful United Mine Workers of ot America as you all know has been trying to organIze organize organize organ organ- ize farm labor He has made some progress under the so called so-called called District District District Dis Dis- 50 of ot his union in signing up hands In the dairy industry But he has encountered obstacles of ot all kinds among farmers who arc are all potential employers and capitalists capital capital- fists at heart I If he could only get some really respectable farm organization organization organization organ organ- with or a man connected some such organization to take up his banner it would help He settled on the Farmers union not because of ot the name for it is not a union at all in the sense labor employs the word But because It was left center and Ind had an aggressive aggressive aggressive ag ag- ag- ag president Through negotiators negotiators negotiators he made an offer to Mr Patton Patton Patton Pat- Pat ton something like this Fall down and worship me get ge your organization to stand behind my District 50 drive and here is a million dollars to play with Mr Pattons Patton's answer was no But that move made Murray and Green very very Patton- Patton conscious It also called the attention attention attention atten atten- tion of ot other up comers with a left center inclination to the possibilities possibilities pos pos- sib of ot developing an organization organization organization which without in any way getting getting getting get get- ting under the direct influence of at a union labor movement such as Lewis' Lewis might work out a practical working agreement for pooling common common common com com- mon interests Whether this is a practical Idea will be revealed by the amount ol ot of activity the labor whips show when farm issues are up in the next months whether months whether this is just another er temporary rolling log alliance which has made stranger bedfellows before or whether it has the basis of a more permanent working agree agree- ment Times are arc changing Its It's worth watching 1 Victory Pig Clubs' Clubs Prove Successful A prominent former Washingtonian Washingtonian Washing- Washing tonian Ionian who moved to Kansas City with his cohorts in order to make room for war workers was in the capital on business recently He is A. A D. D Black head of the Farm Credit Cred Cred- it administration He was full of the story of ot the Victory Pig He said the Victory Pig movement movement movement move move- ment which is getting a good start in the South promises to spread into the northern states The first Victory Pig auction was held at Jonesboro Ark recently and the farmers farmers' and farmer mer boys who signed up to deliver pigs were paid in war bonds and stamps The cry of the auctioneer worked prices up to 1530 per hundred pounds and that was more than top hogs were bringing on either the Memphis or St. St Louis market The Idea was ha hatched by the secretary secretary secretary sec sec- of ot the local Production Credit Cred Cred- it association He held a contest offering 5 for the best name for tor the plan and so the Victory Pig club was born The local chamber of ot commerce commerce commerce com com- merce joined with the association and the whole countryside soon was feeding pigs to trade for tor war bonds This in spite of ot the fact that this agricultural county Craighead had signed up for in bonds in inthe inthe inthe the last 12 months Although Jonesboro claims to have held the first auction Quitman I Ga boasts of the organization of ot I Ithe the first Victory Pig club Many of these auctions will be beheld beheld beheld held this fall prior to the date when Secretary says there is likely to be a bottleneck in hogs By this he means that there has been so many million more hogs raised this year than normally it Is going to tax both transportation tion facilities and the capacity of packing packing packing pack pack- ing houses The secretary is urging farmers not to try to market boo foo many hogs between Thanksgiving day and Washington's birthday which is the time of the year when the pack is ordinarily particularly heavy More accidents happen to farm people than to any other class of ot workers and in wartime accident ra rates tes usually rise sharply Careless use of the tractor and other farm machinery causes 29 out of every farm accidents |
