Newspaper Page Text
MONDAY
EDITION
VOL. XXVI,
NUMBER 37
ENGLAND IN THROES OF LABOR WAR AS MINERS STRIKE
SOUTH MUST REDUCE COTTON ACREAGE DECLARE BANKERS
Say Lowered Production Neces
sary to Boost Price
FEDERAL AID ASSURED
-Southern Bankers Confer with
Government Officials
(By International News Service)
WASHINGTON, April 4—Heavy
reduction cotton ‘acreage throughout
the South is imperative this year to
‘prevent calamity, representative bank
ers of the South today declared at a
~conference with governient officials,
Leading members of the Southern
Bankers’ Association sad the prob
lem of the South is reducing the acre
age to a point which will keep the
‘cotton price above the cost of pro
duction. ! ‘
WASHINGTON, April 4—Direc
tors of the War Finance Corporation
will meet here Monday with represen
tative bankers of the South to con
'sider methods of financing exports of
cotton and other agricultural products
of that section.
The bankers will be informed, it is
understood, that the Government is
ready on adequate security to ex
tend financial aid through the finance
corporation for exportation of the
agricultural products to any part of
the world.
Officials indicated tonight that the
bankers might be urged to syndicate
their financial strength for an export
program in order that plenty of se
curity can be offered for Government
Jrans. Through such a combination
of funds, it was said, nothing ought
to stand in the way of obtaining the
necessary money from the finance‘
corporation. |
VOLCANO AWAKES;
’
Tow et |
(By International News Service) ‘
VERA CRUZ, April 4th—The vol
cano Popocate-Petl is active agalin
and shootng columns of gas and sul
phurous smoke skyward to a height
of over three thousand metres,
Streets of the nearby towns are cov
ered with hot lava. Thousands of in
habitants in the surrounding country
are reported to be fleeing.
FOR WAR SAYS U. S.
(By International News Service)
WASHINGTON, April 4th—The
United States has informed Germany
that this government will stand with
the Allies with regard to the paymcnt|
of reparations, the State Department
announced today. The communica
tion was sent by Ellis Loring Dressel,
American Commissioner in Berlin,
setting forth the views of this gov
ernment,
The communication is in response
to informal statements between Dres
sel and Dr. Simon, the German pre
mier.
Williams Go to Covington Tonight;l
Accuser Tuesday
(By International Nes Service)
COVINGTON, Ga., April 4—Ev
erything is in readiness to begin the
trial Tuesday morning of John Wil
liams, the wealthy Jasper county
planter accused of complicity in the
murders of sixteen negroes on his
plantation in Newton and Jasperi
counties. Clyde Manning, the negro
whose sensational confession resulted
in the indictment f Williams will be
brought, heavily guarded from At
lanta early Tuesday and Williams
will be transferred here during the
night. o
n
KNOX RESCLUTION
(By International News Service)
WASHINGTON, April 4. Ap
proval of the Knox Peace resolution
and the declaration of American for
eign policy to be embodied in it, has
been expressed by former French
Premier Viviani as a result of con
ferences had with Republican mem
bers of the senate foreign relations
committee, it was disclosed today. ‘
THE FITZGERALD LEADER
WEATHER—Georgia - and Florida
fair tonight and Tuesday.
‘ THEN CAME THE DELUGE |
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Union Chiefs Charge Strike Breakers
With Violence To A.B. & A. Strikers
TRUSTEES ELECTED
Two New School Districts Rep
resented on New Board
LENGTHEN SCHOOL TERM
Expect to Make Ashburn Best
Country School in Georgia
.n.t'o_‘s;:- ¢
W. H. Robitzsch, Wiley McMil
lan and B. H. Dormixlw;elected
trustees for the Ashtdn school at a
meeting Friday of the patrons from
‘the Ashton district and the two new
districts which will consolida , with
Ashton. Mr. Robitzsch r{ i 1s
Ashton, Mr. McMillan r s
Horton and Mr. Dorminey} “repre
sents the Dorminey district.
The election was in charge of B.
F. Harding and Professor Lamb, of
Ashton. About fifty patrons of the
schools were present.
According to plans outlined at the
meeting, the school term at Ashton
will be extended from six months to
eight months. The faculty will be
expa.aded from four teachers to six
or seven., One of the seven will be
an expert from the Unifed States De
partment of Agriculture, the most of
whose salary will be paid by the fed
eral government under the Smith-
Hughes act. The schoel will also get
an additional $l,OOO from the state
because of the consolidation.
Patrons of the Ashton school ex
pressed regret that Evergreen and
Eureka had not joined the consoli
dation movement. The two schools
will probably be consolidated with
each other and the patrons may in
future take advantage of the oppor
tunity of sending their children to
the Ashton school.
“When a country boy or girl gets
through the country school his edu
cation is usually finished,” said Wes
ley R. Walker, of the Ashton district.
“If he goes to a nine grade school,
that is all the education he will ever
have.”
—— e
®
Union Delegates At
Valdosta Conference
Found Valdosta with False Impres
sion of Strike, They Say
A dclegation of Fitzgerald union
men including M. J. Meeks, George
L. Kilcrease, J. B. Smith and Otho
Coate-spent the week-end in Valdosta
‘where they addressed a meeting of
the federated crafts employed by the
G.S. &F, G, &F, and A. C. L. rail
iroads. They were entertained at a
supner while in Valdosta. 4
~ Mr. Meeks stated this) morning that
‘a wrong impression of the condition
on the A. B. & A. seems to prevail
in several points off its route. The
iValdosta men were under the impres
sion that the road was doing business
as usual, According to union offi
cials, the road is actually spending
several dollars for every dollar it
takes in. During February an aver
age of fifty cars of freight was de
livered to the Seaboard at Thallman
each day. During; the first three
weeks of the strike less than that
amount was delivered all told.
FITZGERALD, BEN HILL COUNTY, GEORGIA MONDAY, APRIL 4, 1921.
Fitzpatrick and Hogsed Declare
That Big Corporations -
Own A. B. & A. Stock
Charge that Strike Breaking
Agency Sent Bad Men to
Work on Road
ATLANTA, April 4—While the
Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic rail
road was maintaining the same pas
seger and freight schedule that was
established two weeks ago—daily ser
vice in both departments on all parts
of the system—the representatives of
the strikers who walked out on
March 5 in protest against a wage
reduction on Saturday issued a state
ment relative to the financing of the
road and the character of its stock
holders. ‘
The brotherhood representatives
still maintain headquarters at the]
Piedmont hotel and for the past few
days have been issuing statements
concerning various phase of the con
troversy. Their statement of Satur
day follows:
“Information reaching us from re
liable sources indicate that acts of
violence and persecution of former
employes are being indulged in by
persons now in the service of the At
lanta, Birmingham & Atlantic rail
way, and it is also alleged that these
persons are guilty of serious indiscre
tion ‘toward employees who have
withdrawn from the service. These
are matters which officials in charge
of the railway should control and it
is hoped that they will sce to 1t as
they must admit that the former em
ployees are entitled to enjoy their
lawful rights in the premises, which
rights they will insist upon enjoying.
“Instead of the stockholders of this
railroad being ‘widows and orphans’
as usually stated by officials of rail-‘
way corporations; it should be noted
that 123,536 shares of stock are he]d!
by corporations located in Boston,
New York and Chicago, while 35,-;
000 additional shares are held by cer
tain individuals whose connections, as.
shown in ‘who’s who, make int’crest-i
ing reading. |
Lee Dodd, who is in jail at Fitz
gerald for rioting had admitted,
among other things, that he had
been a detective at one time; had been
in the employ of the M. & N.A. Ry.
in Arkansas where he and other of
his type had practically wrecked that
railroad. Right here is where atten
tion should be called to a matter of
utmost interest to the public-—the
public who risk their lives and pro
perty when using the, so-called, ser
vice provided by the A. B. & A. Ry.
at this time. As is the custom jn
situations of this kind, railroad offi
cials, through the medium of regular
Strike Breaking Agencies, import
what are known as professional strike
breakers, consisting largely of men
not specialized in any trade but who
are willing to temporarily fill the pos
itions vacated by the strikers, and at
wages far in excess, and often times
double, of what had been paid the
regular forces.
From actual experiences with this
class of men we can authoritatively
say that the greater part of them, as
a rule, are radicals and the riff-raff
and scum of the country, and with
whom no self respectfing person
would desire to associate . A few,
cf course, claim to have railroad ex
perience, but it is that type who have
been refused employment by officials,
“Offensive and Defensive Alli
ances” to Be Formed
FOR CLOSER AFFILIATION
Representatives of 175,000 Em
ployees Discuss Proposal
NEW YORK, April 4—Represen
tives of 175,000 organized railroad em
ployees in special convention here to
day called upon the executive heads
of the national and international rail
road unions to sanction the formation
of - district “offensive and defensive”
alliances—railroad district councils—
at “stragetic points in the railroading
industry.”
These district organizations are nec
essary, it was stated in a letter sent
to the executve union officials, to en
able the railroad employes “to better
resist the concentrated attacks of the
railway executive association” and “to
bring about a closer affiliation of all
railroad employes and perfect a 100
per cent organization in all crafts by
stimulationg intrest in their own wel
fare and educating them in the value
of solidarity.”
All Rail Unions Represented
Delegates to the convention, who
represented all local railroad unions
in the Greater New York district,
urged that “a state of status quo
should be declared by American Fed
eration of Labor so as to clear the
way, and make it possible for what
are now commonly known as the
transportatino brotherhoods to affil
iate with the American Federation of
' Labor.”
- The delegates affirmed their con
fidence in their international and na
tional officers and pledged to them
“our all in their untiring efforts to
secure and maintain for the railroad
employees the working conditions and
the standard of living that they are
so justly entitled to.” |
- kR
Macon Union Chiefs
e o .
- Visit Strikers Here
Committee Representing Federated
Rail Crafts Here Saturday
Assurances of the sympathy and
support of all railroad workers con
nected with the Macon federation of
shop crafts were made to the Atlanta
Birmingham and Atlantic strikers
here by a committee from Macon at
the Saturday night meeting,
J. S. Gonto, of the car men, and ]J.
N. Goodwin, of the trainmen, were
here Saturday in conference with
strike leaders and held a conference
with the finance committce of the
Joint Co-Operative Committee Sat
urday njght. In a short address at
the Saturday night mass meeting,
Mr. Goodwin declared that the men
he represented stood ready to give
the strikers all possible financial and
moral support.
W. M. Martin, chairman of the
Joint Co-operative Committee, made
a short address in which he outlined
the position of the A. B. & A. strik
ers. “We are fighting not only our
own battle, but the battle of every
other unjon man in America,” he said.
“In this fight we are wholly in the
right, and we are winning. In four
weeks of the strike the railroad has
not worked up enough business to
pay for the oil it uses. It will have
to yield soon.”
. &
April Meeting 0f
o
Legion Post Tuesday
The regular April meeting of the
Mars-McDonald Post of the Amer
ican Legion will be held at 8:30 o’-
clock Tuesday evening, it was stated
today by Commander Cleon Howell:
Past Commander Roy Adams is
scheduled to lead a “bull session” on
experiences of army life.
Aot
Leader Want Ads Pay!!
e ————————————————
of successful railroads, usually due to
phyical or character defects. ' This
latter type will, perhaps remain in the
service so long as the officials of the
A. B. & A. Ry. risks that property
in the hands of such proven incompe
tent forces, the former type is willing
to remain in the service just as long
a# the officials of the A. B. & A. are
wi, ag and able to compensate them
at whatever rate the Strike Breaking
Agency contracted their labor for and
in addition thereto receive free board,
being housed by the road in Pullman
cars, hotels, and other places. .
THE SAPIRO PLAN AND THE REST
Of THE COTTON INDUSTRY
—— By Victor Vietor —————
i (THIRD ARTICLE) ;i
Here are two facts about the Sapiro plan: A
1. It sets out to give the grower a fair profit on the production
of cotton which he does not get now. ;
. 2. I sets out to do this without increasing the cost of cotton
goods to the consuming public.
Obviously, then, the grower, under the Sapiro plan, intends to
get some of the money used in the present distribution of cotton,
which is now going to somebody else. Also obviously—and right
eously—certain hard-working folk in other branches, besides grow
ing cotton, of the present cotton industry, are sitting up to take |
notice and inquire of the cotton grower: “Say, Uncle Reuben,
you're not aiming to pocket my share, are you?”
The answer of Uncle Reuben to the cotton manufacturer is:
“No, I am actually going to help your busiess and I can prove it.”
To the cotton exporter, warehouseman, and commission-factor
his answer is: “No, so long as you offer me an actual and necessary
service at a fair profit. If, on the side, however, you're doing any
habitual gambling with my chips, you’ll have to cut it out.” |
To the speculator for speculation’s sake, however, Uncle Reu
ben’s answer is: “YES!"—and probably “yes” with an oath thrown
in for good measure. |
The average annual production of American cotton is 12,000,-
000 bales. These are sold 300,000,000 in a year on American exchan
ges alone! Of these transactions, 60,000,000 at the most are esti
mated to be bona fide purchases or “legitimate hedging operations”
for the protection of spinners’ and exporters’ interests. ;
The Sapiro organization, selling more and more directly to ex
porters and spinners, hopes as it grows, steadily to reduce the neces
sity for these “legitimate hedges;” and it hopes to do away altogeth
er. Eventually, with the 240,000,000 utterly useless transactions or
destroy their power to the affect the price of actual cotton.
In spite of all that has been said and written for years upon the
subject, there are still some people that cannot see that speculation
means loss to both producer and consumer. They think that it is
just a case of one gambler winning money, from another. )
These people forget that the gamblers are professional gamblers,
who conduct tneir own “houses,” or exchanges, in which the opera
‘tives, or brokers, have to be paid fat incomes; and that, under the
present system of distribution, all legitimate parts of the cotton in-l
industry are compelled to sit in at their own game. |
These professional speculators take untold millions out of cot
ton, as it passes from grower to mill, every year , no matter what
the state of the market. Moreover, they induce the existence of a
horde of “cotton buyers”, both in the South and elsewhere, who
perform absolutely no service in cotton distribution, and who enter
the market and take out several millions more just because they are
wiser than the ignorant grower in following the lead of the big
operators. ; |
The speculators are able to do all this for just one reason: they
are able to manipulate the balance of their paper transactions, and
the balance of their paper transactions is watched for the price -of
actual cotton simply because there is no understanding unit of reall
cotton in existence equipped with the voice and the authority to
tell the world what it is worth. This situation ought to be and can |
be exactly reversed. Every paper transaction is based, and can be
made only, upon the theoretical assumption that the actual cotto’n‘
could be produced to fill it. Today, the assumption is made and
accepted gratis. The actual cotton has no say upon the subject inl
the world. It is voiceless. When the Sapiro unit comes into exist
ence, the actual cotton will talk, and the exchanges will have to
iisten, not command.
There is only one class of buyers in the present elaborate cotton
market to whom the cotton grower cannot eventually dictate the
price he will have for his cotton if he is only compactly organized
for the purpose and knows how to handle himself—and that class
is his only real consumer, the cotton manufacturer. To that class,
he cannot and does not wish to dictate. He only wishes to deal with
him direct—to agree with him upon a fair price for raw cotton and
stick, with him to the agreement, to the infinite advantage of both
and the consumer of ¢otton goods. For when the only two right
parties to the bargain in raw cotton once get together, the ex
changes, and the untold millions in annual economic loss which
they represented, can go whistle. The speculators can bet each
other on the price of cotton till a certain well-known warm spot
(Continued on Page Three |
.
Airplanes Fly Over
. .
New Air Mail Course
(By International News Service)
MIAMI, April 4—Two marine air
planes on a path finding journey
from Washington to the Virgin Is
lands left today after resting over
Sunday.
Rockefeller Counsel
. .
Dies After Operation
(By International News Service)
DAYTONA, FLA., April 4th—
Starr Murphy, counsel and represen
tative of the Rockeffeler foundation,
died at a hospital today. An opera
tin had been perfrmedo Saturday to
remove an acute intestinal ailment.
Interment will be in New Jersey,
the home of the deceased.
> .
33 Die In Mexican
.
Train Wreck Today
(By International News Service)
EAGLE PASS, April 4—~Thirty
three are reported to have heen killed
between Parradon and Monterey,
Mexico, when “a passenger train
crashed into a freight train. Forty
were injured, many of them seriously.
Leader Want Ads Pay!!
COTTON—Good Middling ____lo7%
No Receipts No Sales
FORMER EMPRESS OF
GERMANY IS DYING
(By International News Service)
LONDAN, April 4th—Augusta Vic
toria, former Empress of Germany,
is rapidly sinking at Doorn, a news
dispatch from Berlin said today. She
is suffering from heart disease.
eorgla Belong’
Did you know that King George granted the territory
that is now the State of Georgia to James Oglethorpe “in
trust for the poor?”
THE STORY OF OUR STATES
Written by Jonathan Brace, famous American histor
ian, in forty-eight brief and quickly read installments has
been purchased by the Leader and will begin running in
its columns soon.
SEALS OF THE STATES—
The first complete collection of the official seals of the
states of the union will be published with the series of
short histories.
SHORT AND SNAPPY
NEWS OF THE WORLD
BY TELEGRAPH 3
Official Organ fi‘g
City of Fitzgerald
Parliament in Special Session to
" Consider Problem
SABOTAGE REPORTED
In Scotland and England Union
ists Come to Blows
(liy International News Service)
LONDON, April 4th,—At the op
ening of the emergency session of
parliament today, Llyod George an
nounced that the government had tak
en control and direction of all coal
mines in the united kingdom.
It was announced that parliamenta
ry debate on the strike question will
begin’' tomorrow. :
News of disorders at idle coal mines
is becoming more frequent. Clashes
are reported at Nottinghamshire. At
Rhonda the strikers have forced the
managers and officials to leave the
mines,
LONDON, April 4—A general
strike by the entire “Triple Alliance’”
iO{ miners, railroad workers and trans
port workers, is to be reckoned with,
’thc British cabinet concluded at a
conference held just before the open
ing of a parliamentiary session call
by the King as an emergency meas
ure this afternoon.
Premier Lloyd George and other
cabinet members it is understood,
‘believe that such a strike is inevitable
?and discussed plans to cope with it.
\ —_—
~ LONDON, April 4—Prince An
drew, brother of King Constantine, of
Greece, is reported killed at Rroussa,
a ncws dispatch from Constantinople
states.
SCOTCH MINERS RIOT; L
WOULD FLOOD MINES e
LONDON, April 4, Rioting was
reported early today from Scotland
where striking miners stoned the
collieries.
At Falkirk mobs attacked non':
union miners who were guarding the
railway. Naval men are being draft
ed to replace the crews manning the
mine pumps to prevent flooding,
AMERICAN FORCEON
(By International News Service)
WASHINGTON, April® 4—The
American Army of Occupation in
Germany will not be reduced in size
before next July the War Department
announced today.
~ Secretary of War Weeks said to
‘day that due to lack of funds for
transportation, every effort will be
imude to hold the size of the army of
ioccupation to its present size without
bringing any men home before the
first of July.
-~ FOR ‘SCAB’S’ DEATH
;
(By International News Service)
BIRMINGHAM, April 4—Two lo
cal mine union presidents and a third
white man were jailed here charged
with the murder of a union miner,
John Bivins, who was shot when he
returned to work prior to the settle
ment of the recent strike. 3
