HEAUTH, HARPINES, PEACE, LIFE yKuman Being You: want them more than anything whole world, no matter who el even, for ator to implant the a in the human he a not be ableto fu eu ts proved by ordinary wil revel in the uniq ¢ whole UhOPPRESSION WHEN WILL IT END? Written by Judge J. F. Rutherford Internationally-known author and radio lecturer ‘The Harp of God Deliverance : Creation His other books \ Reconciliation Government and many others have a combined circulation exceeded only by the Bible ‘Mae in U.S. A. Hnted 1929 and published by the International Bible Students Association Brooklyn, New York, U. 8. A. Londos, Toronto, Melhourne, Cape Town, Teme, Magdeburs,it. PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD J GIVES us great pleasure to pre- sent this treatise trom the pen of Fudge Rutherford. Like every one else who takes note of things going on in the world, he recognizes the oppre: sion of the multitndes of people of every land, His interest in humanity inspired him to search for the cause and also, if such a thing could be found, the remedy; and here in this hooklet is set forth not only what he found to be the cause of the distress, hut also the only possible solution to the problem. att’ commend this booklet to you in happy anticipation of your r and aroHen pe ‘gue PUBLISHERS OPPRESSION WHEN WILL IT END? HE 5:15 pam. train was beginning to move out of the station as Jacob Gershom swung aboard, He was a commuter and rode that train six days in the week. As usual, he arrived at his modest home shortly before 7:00 pn. To the joyful grccting by his wife he only gave a grunt and a sigh. A wholesome supper of plain food awaited him, He ate in silenee, little thinking of what he was eating or how. His wife was concerned about him, and at the con- dusion of the supper ingnited about his dis- tress of mind. “Blizabeth, this earth is a beautiful place,” he replied, “and yet the world is cold, eruel, and oppressive. ‘The train, as you know, tra- verses some pleasing country on the way up from the city. At this season of the year the foliage is so amazingly beautiful, and the hills and valleys so quiet and peaceful, that one is drawn to them. I am immediately reminded, however, of the condition of the people about ns, including ourselves. I feel like an exile from the things that would make one glad. You know, my name ‘Gershom’ means exile. I wonder if that has anything to do with my feelings.” “But, Jacob, what is there ina name? If you would insist that there is something, then you must remember that my name is Blizabeth. You 2* ‘OPPRESSION have always liked that name, and it means ‘con- secrated to God’. You should trust Him and know that all things will be right in due time.” __ “That is mighty nice of you, Hlizabeth, to put it that way. But how many people are like you? On the jonrney up this eventing I spent the time reading a condensed statement of some of the conditions that the people have to contend with. Some man has collected these facts from the papers or elsewhere and put them in form and published them, and a copy fell into my hands. The sum total of these statements is this: “There are a few that roll in material wealth and continue fo increase their holdings. ‘The: are even eruel arid wicked and great oppressors of others, and yet they are of the ones that seem to be proud and happy. There are millions of people like us striving to make an honest liv- ing, pay for the little home, and lay aside some- thing for a rainy day, but like us they do not seem able to steceed in making much prog ress. Thad a little run-in today with the head man of our company. He was unreasonable and exuel, and I presume that is the reason why my mind turns specially to these things tonight. ‘You know that my salary is not what it should he for a man of my attainments and ability, But what am I to do? When we were married Thad a little business of my own, but ‘the big fish’ soon swallowed me up and I was compelled to go to work for a salary or let us both starve. Our home is not yet paid for. Regularly and promptly every tliree months the interest must he paid on the mortgage, and the taxes con- tinue to inerease and must be paid. In fact, our HARDSHIPS OF THE POOR 5 taxes now amount to more than we had to pay r rent before the war. a tor ine cout of food continues to inerease; our dbthing, which is very modest, is more expen- sive than it used to be, and the material is not so good; the electric light, the gas, and the tele- phone bills are higher than they formerly were, End the railroad rates still continue high sinee ie 8 led to Ii onomically “We are compelled to live more ec i than gedid tem years ago. T know that the big corporations are making much more money than they did a few years ago; 1 know that the company for which I am working is rich and daily growing richer, and that my se ie more valuable to that company than when regan to work there. : : “Phe head of our company is fully acquainted vith all these conditions. I went to-him today and asked him for a small raise in my salary, ‘and, do, you helieve itt he would not even be reasonable enough to listen to me. He ordoxed jne out of his office in an angry. mafiner an said: ‘If you are not satisfied with what you are getting here, you can go somewhere else, Well he knows that I must meet my obligations, that T ean not afford to quit and hunt another job, because jobs are not easy to find. I am just one of the many millions who are being Oppressed and who are compelled to suffer be- eause of the harshness of the few. I wonder if this cruel oppression of human beings wil ever end. Qn the way to the train some one handed me this magazine. I see that our condition is6 OPPRESSION not even as deplorable as some others. Misery oves company, so T read this with considerable interest on the way home today. More than ever Lam impressed with the conclusion that the men who rule the world are cold, heartless, cruel and oppressive. Shall I read some of these things that ay re? Sheae Cains pear here? Thank you, I ‘The Farmers ‘The farmers are the men that pro Ge scot ape ee nace no farmers or truck gardeners the people would starve. During the past eight years the public press has repeatedly ealled the attention of its readers to the great commercial prosperity throughout the land. In that same eight years ‘the farmers have made no profit. On thé con- trary, many of tiem have gone into hankruptey. Such has not been due to their lack of endeayor or the failure of their exops. __ The chief reason for their unhappy condition fs that the men who produce the fosd have, been cheated out of their just earnings by meri who produce not one thing. So desperate have the farmers grown that the issue in the recent polit- ical campaign for president was: “What shall be done for the farmer?” In different parts of the country the farmers grow different kinds of crops, ‘The net result to the farmer seems to be about the same. ‘They are very much dis- couraged, Practically everybody eats potatoes, and therefore there is a great Dinaeeuronporaeasel The farmer grows the potatoes at the cost of ‘THE FARMERS: a money and great effort and yet gets little for them. Often the farmer, after paying for the cost of production, has nothing for himself and family to live on and to pay the interest on the mortgage on his farm, The people who eat po- tatoes must pay a high price for them, and there are millions of people who would be glad to eat more potatoes if they could get them at a more reasonable price and in keeping with ‘their daily wages. ‘The potatoes for the large cities in the Hast are grown along the Atlantic seaboard, from Florida to Maine. ‘This is prob- ably the richest potato-growing country on earth. Practically every one of the farms is mortgaged for a8 much as the land is worth. ‘All are agreed that the farmers are in a des: erate, condition. ‘The following is a sample of some of them and their condition: Bd. Kellam, of Painter, Virginia, has a seven- ive-acre farm. In 1924 it was clear of debt. Poday, in 1928, he does not own a foot of it, and in the meantime he has farmed it every year. ‘The interest and taxes and the loss of his crops have consumed his farn R, C. Doughty, Produceville, Virginia, has a 150-acre farm with a beautiful home. Three years ago the farm was all his own. Today it Swould not pay even the mortgage. He is prac- tically homeless One of the tenants of R. D. Vail makes this statement: “I eame here three years ago with several hundred dollars in money and went into ‘the potato-growing business with my brother. This year my brother and I produced and mar- keted three thousand barrels of potatoes. My8 ‘OPPRESSION money is now all gone and I have not enough loft of it to buy myself a pair of shoes.” In the last three years an estate in Virginia worth several hundred thousand dollars has dwindled in value until it is almost of' no value to the owners. ‘The estate was eut up into small farms and rented to potato growers. The grow- es were too poor to finance their own needs for farming, and as they received practically no returns for their products, they have had no money with which to pay the rent or for the machinery and money advanced to do the farm- ing, Here is a sample condition of the many po- tato growers: One man makes a cash invest ment of $4277.09 to plant, cultivate, and produce his potato crop. He produces 1300 barrels of potatoes. He takes his potatoes to market and sells them and xealizés only $1687.50; so there is a net loss of $2589.59, to say nothing about the necessities fox himself and family during the year. R.B. Johnson, of Concord Wharf, had seyen- ty-five acres in potatoes, and his loss was $3000, besides all his labor. He received about ninety cents a barrel for his crop. It used to be that potatoes were marketed without regard to size. ‘Phe buyers took them as they came. But now the chain stores control most of the foodstuff of the country. ‘They do not want small potatoes, nor do they want large ones. ‘They want an average size and insist on culling out all the others. The farmer must bear the cost of the sorting and then take what he can get for those that are not desired. UNFAIRNESS TO FARMERS 9 Tn 1928 there was an unusually as sep of oes grown in the country from North Rhnolina £9 Maine, ‘The dealexs smashed the pices, and the farmer Lost tg ‘Ten years ago a man took his potato erop to the market and whether he had a thousand bar- -rels or a few barrels he got the market price cash for it. In reeent years it has pacmeediferent, Now a farmer has absolutely no control of his market. He brings his product to the station, and the local commission mer- chant receives it on consignment, not promising him that he will get a cent fur it. The prices are fixed in the following manner; ‘The dealers in the big cities ascertain from the local dealers what is on hand, and wait until the shipping Stations ate jammed full; then the price 1s forced down and the big dealers buy for about ‘what they want, ‘The market may be glutted to day and potatoes be worth $1.50, barrel, anc tomorrow they may be worth $8.00. But the price always goes up alter the farmer has part swith his potatoes. ’ ote Tarmers see a few men rising to afiluence ina few years while at the same time the farmer is becoming poor. ‘They know that the com- mission mnan never Tuns any risks oF takes any chances. If anybody loses, the farmer must sul- fer the loss. When the farmer ships his potatoes the com- mission man will say to him that it is impos- sible to name a price because the product is perishable. But the farmer notices that as soon as the commission man gets the potatoes in his10 ‘OPPRESSION possession there is no difficulty i pa iculty about fixing the the farmer ean not go from door market his potatoes with the people inet to eat, ‘That part of it is a business in itself. herefore the men who produce nothing soo ie towns and citi av fi iy ies make laws that for- other sample: Mr. Johnson takes his pota- toes to the man who buys for the chain ee or big wholesalers, He is told that he can not expect to get more than $2.15 a barrel. He sells for that, and within a few minutes thereafter the same potatoes are sold for §1.25 a barrel The chain stores now operated by bi - “Gli Hagan iso Goals cae sae out: the country. Today there are 1300 chain stores in America. They buy in great quanti- ties when the market is glutted, distribute among their stores and sell at a high price to the consumer, The man who produces and the man who eats must suffer, the one because he has to pay a high price, and the other because he must sell at a loss; and the man who produe- es nothing makes the profit. Tt is not unusual for a farmer to ship his produce on consignment, pay the transporta- tion charges, later find out that his product is represented to him as being worthless, and then get nothing, Hven though his potatoes have left the shipping station in good condition, he is oftten told that when they arrived at the destina- Gon they were practically worthless. ‘The fol wing is a sample of how farm prod r ui irmisl iar nie\asanncedeRee COMMISSION MEN VS. FARMERS uu ‘A man was engaged in growing peaches in ‘Alabama, He produced fine peaches. Tie shipped acatload toa commission house in Indianapolis. ‘his was his first experienee with the commis- sion house. He recived a telegraph message that his frnit had arrived in such damaged con- dition that it was hardly worth handling. He took the first train to Indianapolis, and, without revealing his identity, called on the head of the commission house and represented himself as one who wished to buy peaches. ‘The commis- sion merchant said, “Yes, we now have in the yard the finest catload of peaches that ever tame to Indiana.” ‘The grower asked to see them. The commission man took him out into the railroad yards and pointed with pride to this car of extraordinarily fine peaches, saying, “Nothing as fine as this ever before came into this city.” ‘The grower took his revolver out of his pocket, stuck it in the’commission merchant's ribs, and demanded immediate settlement for the full price and got it. Not every man, how- ever, wishes to undertake this hazardous way of collecting his money. ‘Phe farmers are often told that. the reason the price is so low is that there is a great over- prodnetion. At the same time there are millions of people who would like to eat but can not eat because they have not the money topay the high price that is charged for food. There could be no, such thing as an honest overproduction in ‘a country where there are millions of people out of employment and on the verge of starva- tion because they can not buy food.2 OPPRESSION ‘a Prohibition nd just here there is an interesting matter for consideration sith seference to prctibition In recent years chemists have discovered that the farmers could make great quantities of aleohol from their so-called overproduction of potatoes. ‘They could also make it from the great quantity of corn-stalks that go to waste and from many other things about the farm, They are not permitted to do this, however. If a farmer should use his products to make aleo- hol, what would he do with it? He could use it to operate his tractors, his automobile, and his engines to pump water about the farm al an exceedingly low price, instead of using gaso- line. Phe Standard Oil Company and other big oil companies produce gasoline for sale and they sell it at a high price. It is a well-known fact that the big oil, companies are specially interested in having the prohibition law kept on the statute books and strictly enforced, because if the farmers were permitted to make thei own fuel alcohol for operating their engines the ol stocks would greatly depreciate in the recent campaign the big oil o} ns Se eetcieen eee preachers worked hand in hand to keep the pro- hibition law in foree, and they threaten to en- force it more rigidly henceforth. Of course everybody understands that the big oil com- panies, like the Standard Oil, are “great moral and charitable” organizations, Some of the big: men in them are the chief advocates of Sunday school and chureh organization throughout the land. Many of the law makers know that this NEED OF FARM RELIEF 1B statement is absolutely true, and yet Big Busi- ness prevents the farmer from using Ins own. product for his own benefit to operate his ma- thines; and while it is doing this the preach- ors, as the great moralists, furnish the smoke- sereen behind which Big Business works. If the farmer could use his surplus crop of pota- toes, corn-stalks and other produets to produce fuel for his farm machinery, his automobile, ete, he could greatly reduce the cost of operat. ing his farm; but in that event the poor oil companies would suffer and the preachers would have nothing to rant about. Here is a statement from a man who travels about amongst the farmers: “During the past few days I have talked with a number of farm- ers. Tfound that a lot of them will not dig their potatoes because they can not get the cost of digging, sorting and marketing out of the price at which they ate forced to sell.” Great fields of potatoes in Kansas and the Dakotas and along the eastern seaboard have een left in the ground undug beeause the farm er could not afford to pay the cost of digging and taking them to market, If permitted, how- ever, to produce the fuel for his engines from them he could manage to save a little money. Probably he would be able to haul in trucks at least part of them to the towns and sell them to the poor and give them a chance to eat. Of course the big corporations will permit their “moral duty” to compel them to make and en. foree such laws as they say are for the good of humanity, but from which only the rich profit. ‘Another man writes in one of the leading