At Lenker's Place

Since 1929. when Iowa passed a law making compulsory the testing of all cattle for tuberculosis, Iowa farmers have waged a vain fight to have the law repealed. Their objections real and fancied: 1) the State pays only part of the value of the condemned cattle; 2) the injection marks suggest that healthy cattle are infected, fail to identify those incurably infected; 3) it causes cows to have abortions instead of calves. Many farmers have also expressed dislike of Dr. Peter Malcolm, State veterinarian. Last spring 2,000 farmers marched to the State Capitol at Des Moines and demanded repeal of the law. They were refused. The Iowa

Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the law; the U. S. Supreme Court has refused to review that decision. Nonetheless the farmers have continued to protest. As another testing season came around Iowa farmers had worked themselves into dirty tempers. Injunctions were issued restraining 40 of the farmers from interfering with the tests.

In Cedar County (where President Hoover was born) President Jake Lenker of the Farmers' Protective Association boasted: "They'll test my cattle only over my dead body." Last week in the village of Tipton, Veterinarian Malcolm assembled Sheriff Foster Maxson with 62 deputies, hoisted into a truck a saddled pony to use in rounding up the cattle, and set out for Farmer Lenker's place.

At the gate the party was met by a force of 200 farmers, blocking the entrance. Without a moment's hesitation the 200 farmers fell upon the sheriff's men, doused them with water, plastered them with mud, pelted them with rocks, clods and aged eggs, menaced them with pitchforks. Through the melee the Law's truck forced its way into the Lenker farm. Farmer Lenker & friends promptly halted it, forced Sheriff Maxson to pay $5 damages, then shooed the truck back into the road. By this time the deputies were on the run. Dr. Malcolm, who tarried longer than the rest, lost his hat, brief case and suit case, had the gas line of his car broken, the radiator filled with mud, the windows smashed, the tires slit with pitchforks. He refused to get out of the car, was pushed in it to Wilton Junction. From there he scurried to Iowa City and soon had his appeal for aid telephoned to Governor Dan Turner in Washington, D. C.

The Governor wasted no time. By night he had ordered 1,800 national guardsmen mobilized under Brigadier General Park Findley. "The law will be enforced. I mean business," said he.

Next day the militia detrained at Tipton, marched through crowds of hostile farmers to the Cedar County fair grounds, where it encamped. General Findley sent his men throughout the county posting Governor Turner's proclamation of martial law. Guarded by the militia, veterinarians returned to Farmer Lenker's place determined to test his cattle. When they arrived the cattle were gone. Farmer Lenker had sold them rather than submit to the testing. He was arrested. On other farms, machine guns were set up while the veterinarians did their work. The revolt collapsed into a campaign of "passive resistance." Said Farmer Lenker as he marched his live body off under guard: "Well, Maw, I guess we've resisted all we can without bloodshed."

Seven hundred farmers in the neighboring county of Henry rallied to the support of the Cedar County rebels and threatened that unless the troops were immediately withdrawn they would pay no back taxes, no taxes for next year. Farmer Lenker was arraigned for contempt of court, released under $10,000 bond. Fifty fellow farmers escorted him home. Unmoved. Veterinarian Malcolm said he would test every cow in Cedar County.

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