Page:Evolution of American Agriculture (Woodruff).djvu/80

76 and day out the topic of conversation was the I. W. W., and the new AgricuturalAgricultural [sic] Union No. 400.

On every hand stickers and leaflets calling on the harvest slaves to organize were prominently displayed; the delegates were everywhere; men who had never before heard of the I. W. W. and those who had heard of it were beginning to discuss the advisability of joining, and a great many of them did so.

After spending their last few dollars for iniatiationinitiation [sic] fee and dues and after a most successful drive through Oklahoma and Kansas, the delegates came right up into Nebraska and North and South Dakota and even into Canada, while others went into Montana and Washington and also Idaho.

Everywhere they went the good work went on; the organization gathered tremendous momentum all the way. Along with the large increase of the membership the status of the harvest stiff was perceptibly improved.

Small town marshals became a little more respectful in their bearing toward any group of workers who carried the little red card, and the bullying and bo-ditching shack had a wonderful change of heart after coming in contact with the No. 400 boys once or twice. As for the hi-jacks and bootleggers, one or two examples of "direct action" from an organized bunch of harvest workers served to show them that the good old days, at least for them, was now over, and that there was a vast difference between a helpless and unorganized harvest stiff and an organized harvest worker. But best of all, the farmer, after one or two salutory examples of solidarity, invariably gave in to the modest request of the