36 FARMERS' UNION AND FEDERATION 



business, by putting through a federal law limiting the num- 

 ber of acres one man or company may raise wheat on to 

 160 acres, or any number the union agrees upon by a ref- 

 erendum vote. 



Will it pay you wheat growers to unionize so you can use 

 your political power for self -protection against unionized 

 capital that is forcing you to compete with unorganized 

 pauper labor in the production of wheat? It is for you to 

 say. 



Defense Against City Unionized Labor. 



It is as necessary and important for wheat growers to 

 unionize for self-protection against city union labor as 

 against capital. Capital unionized first to control legisla- 

 tion in its favor and to dictate wages, conditions and terms 

 to labor. Then labor had to unionize for self-protection. 

 For years a titanic economic and political battle has been 

 waged almost continually between them for mastery. One 

 uses the lockout and the other the strike as weapons. Both 

 sides are in politics for favorable laws and to prevent un- 

 favorable ones. The government's greatest concern is to 

 get both parties to agree to an armistice, or truce, during the 

 great world- war. Many times each side has won local vic- 

 tories, and many times the government has been obliged to 

 take part to adjust their differences. Both sides at times 

 appeal for government protection of armed force. When 

 employers are forced to surrender and increase wages and 

 expense of operating they promptly add it to the price of 

 their goods or service, and the wheat grower pays his part 

 of it in the advanced cost of lumber, coal, flour, machinery, 

 groceries, dry goods, freight, car fare, and everything else 

 he and his family buy. Now he has only one method of 

 self-defense against this continual advance in city union 

 labor wages, and that is to unionize and promptly add it to 

 his minimum wheat price. 



