PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARD BLOC 129 



the open and above-board methods that have 

 been followed in this contest. The fight has been 

 entirely in the open where all could see what 

 was being done and the advice of those who 

 were recognized as leaders was constantly fol- 

 lowed. In the second place, old traditions and 

 sectional hostility, particularly between the 

 farmers of the north and south, have been swept 

 aside in the interest of the national good. 



It was not until early in 1922 that a change in 

 the disposition of the public press began to be 

 evident. Since then, there have been quite a few 

 leading newspapers and journals which have 

 pointed out the similarity between the program 

 of the Bloc and the platforms of both leading 

 parties and particularly the charges which the 

 President has given to Congress at various 

 times. 



To those of us who have observed this move- 

 ment closely from its inception, it is clear that 

 this is not primarily evidence that the farmer 

 is depending more upon legislative remedies for 

 economic difficulties, but rather that he insists 

 that his representatives in Congress shall use 

 every possible means to secure their reasonable 

 division of wealth between the agricultural pro- 

 ducer and the worker in other industries and 



