[St. Charles Daily Banner-News, April 14, 1941]
CANNON SPEAKS WITH
UNPAID FARMERS SAT.
Declares That Trouble
Was Brought On By Outsiders; Scores Those Who Talk “Politics”
Unpaid
farmers from the TNT plant area met at Evangelical hall at Weldon Springs
Saturday night for an informative discussion and to hear Congressman Cannon.
Another meeting will be held held Tuesday night when farmers will discuss the
hiring of legal counsel.
Cannon
explained to the crowd of about 200 farmers that he had appeared before the
Military Affairs Committee in Washington and that the body of 23 men had agreed
that the War Department should honor the options signed in the area. He said
that the War Department, however, seemed determined to go through with
condemnation proceedings.
It was
pointed out that after every war there is an investigation to discover waste.
After this war there will probably be an investigation. It is this probability,
Congressman Cannon said, that prompted the War Department to take its present
course.
The
Congressman declared that he believed the Government’s contracts with the
farmers were binding and that even if payment to the farmers were very
excessive, the War Department should not repudiate its contracts.
In response
to a question from the audience, Congressman Cannon said that the whole trouble
was started by outsiders. At this point, Claude Muschany requested that the
investigators be named. The Congressman declared that he believed the names of
the outsiders were known to many and he didn’t care to deal in personalities.
One man in
the audience, who seemed perturbed, said loudly that he believed “we” need a
change in government. The Congressman pointed out that in many countries in
Europe, if the government wanted land, it would be taken and the owners would
have small chance of getting anything.
A large
number of attorneys attended the meeting. One of them, a St. Louisan, shouted
that perhaps the President would tell the farmers all about it in a fireside
chat. To this remark, Congressman Cannon declared that any child knows that
there are three branches of government. The president, who heads the executive
branch, does not interfere in matters in the hands of courts, it was pointed
out.
Congressman
Cannon, in response to other remarks made by attorneys and others, declared
that it was mighty small to bring into the national defense program.
