PROCEEDINGS CORN BELT MEAT PRODUCERS' ASSN. 497 



upon most of the staple articles, such as coal, lumber, clothing, footwear, 

 leather goods and many other articles which we must buy, there has been 

 practically no reduction in price during the past year. It is rather diffi- 

 cult to determine just why this is, but everything that the people who 

 handle these wares in their various capacities have such close working 

 agreements and understandings that they are able, without much diffi- 

 culty, to fix their own price and maintain it. 



There has been one thing very noticeable and conspicuous for its ab- 

 sence during the past year, and that is any attacks by our big city dailies 

 upon any of these profiteers, or in any way attacking the skyrocket prices 

 still being collected for many of the necesities of life. This being true, 

 we are led to inquire why this universal silence on the part of the great 

 newspaper press of this country, as there is absolutely no other way to 

 create public sentiment against these unjust and unreasonable conditions 

 but through the daily press. We are wondering why the welfare of the 

 masses should be so neglected by the spokesmen for the public. 



The lawmaking body of the nation was in extraordinary session for 

 about seven months. Many and varied were the schemes put forward for 

 our financial relief and yet, in my judgment, nothing has as yet been 

 evolved and put in tangible form that will anyway near meet the situa- 

 tion. From the huge appropriations made by congress it appears that our 

 government has billions of dollars to spend for war, for armaments, for 

 standing armies and for various other seemingly useless and needless 

 projects, but it apparently has no funds which might be intelligently used 

 to promote the welfare of the farmer by increasing the price of his prod- 

 ucts, and in this way help pull him out of the financial quagmire. If the 

 half billion dollars appropriated by the last congress for a naval program 

 had been used to buy our surplus corn and pork products, and furnished 

 these to the starving millions of Europe, the prices of these products 

 would have been substantially increased, the farmers greatly benefited, 

 the starving people saved, and the whole world blessed and helped, and 

 our taxes would not have been increased one penny. 



Whereas, the money spent in the building of warships and armaments 

 is worse than wasted, as it breeds war and bloodshed, and only tends to 

 the destruction of both life and property, I believe the taxpayers of this 

 nation should rise up as one man and speak out in a stentorian voice 

 against the profiigate waste of our public funds for the purpose of build- 

 ing naval armament, maintaining standing armies or subsidizing a mer- 

 chant marine or shipping fieet. We have had enough of this during the 

 past five years, and we should at once call a halt on this sort of work by 

 congress. 



In my criticism of the federal government for failing to do what I be- 

 lieve could and should have been done for the immediate relief of the 

 distressed farmer and stockman, I do not wish to appear as being unchar- 

 itable or unmindful of the financial help the government has provided 

 through the War Finance Corporation, and I am glad in this public way 

 to commend our representatives in congress for passing this legislation. 

 Sufficient funds are now available through this corporation to supply the 

 needs of our farmers and stockmen for agricultural purposes, but I want 



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