THE FARM STRIKE 449 



sales despite the warning from the governor to refrain from so doing; 

 when the sheriffs refused to comply, the governor threatened to call out 

 the militia to force them to abide by his proclamation. 



The worst case of violence occurred on April 27 in Le Mars, Iowa, 

 when some six hundred persons broke into a courtroom and demanded 

 of the presiding judge that he sign an agreement not to execute any more 

 foreclosure sales. "When he refused, his assailants dragged him out of his 

 courtroom. Upon continued refusal, he was blindfolded, taken to a cross- 

 roads, severely beaten, and threatened with death. He did not sign the 

 agreement." This outbreak placed the county under martial law. The 

 assailants were arrested and sentenced, and no further serious outbreaks 

 were reported. 45 



Other action was taken to alleviate the burdens of the farmers. In Iowa, 

 besides the issuance of the proclamation urging mortgagors to refrain 

 from pressing their claims, the millage tax rate was reduced by one-fifth, 

 the period of grace for tax bills was extended and moratoria on property 

 were provided. A study of the financial condition of the State of Iowa, 

 conducted by the Brookings Institution and made public in September, 

 1933, had recommended a 10 per cent reduction in the direct property tax 

 and increased levies on incomes, business transactions, tobacco, and 

 theaters. 48 



In Minnesota farmers and businessmen informed Governor Olson that 

 the taxpayers would refrain from paying taxes unless state expenditures 

 were cut by one-fourth. During the regular session of the legislature, 

 beginning in January and ending in April, a number of relief measures 

 were passed, perhaps the most drastic of their kind in the nation. In 

 February a proclamation was issued forbidding foreclosures on farms and 

 homes until May i ; this, in turn, was superseded by the act of the legisla- 

 ture which declared a two-year moratorium, extending to May i, I935- 47 

 State direct property taxes were reduced; a tax on individual incomes 

 was enacted ranging up to 5 per cent on incomes over $10,000 to make up 



45. Archibald M. Woodruff, Jr., Farm Mortgage Loans of Life Insurance Com- 

 panies (New Haven, Conn., 1937), pp. 101-6. 



46. The New International Year Eoo\, 1933 (New York, 1934), p. 375. 



47. Ibid., p. 505; ibid., 1934, p. 433; J. S. McGrath and J. J. Delmont, Floyd B. 

 Olson (St. Paul, 1937), pp. 232-33; Woodruff, Farm Mortgage Loans of Life In- 

 surance Companies, pp. 108-15. 



