Wheat farmers jeer‘at Trudeau,’ PM refuses to endorse demands By MURRAY GOLDBLATT Globe ond Mail Reporter REGINA — Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau climbed up on the back of an old green stake truck parked in front of the plush 16-story Regina Inn yes- terday and told a crowd of 500 jeering farm demonstrators te couldn’t endorse their de- mands. But he said his Gavernment would have to devise new measures to give Western grain growers a fairer deal over the Jong haul. . Mr, Trudeau agreed to in- terrupt. his formal tour sched- ule and face the farmers after the demonstrators, members of the Saskatchewan Farmers Union, massed in front of the hotel for more than three hours. The SFU demonstra- tion was climaxed by a pa- rade of 85 tractors through downtown Regina to the hotel where they parked and blocked one lane of Victoria Avenue with the sanction of city police, 4 Mr. Trudeau spoke’ for 35 minutes: amid boos and.taunts ahd shouts of “shut up.” D in windbreaker, hirt and trousers for an. afternoon helicopter trip toa wheat farm 35 miles southeast of the city, Mr. Trudeau took the microphone from SFU president Roy Atkinson on the truck's rear platform. shoved pool presents PM BIO Wheat with plan — Page his left hand in his trouser pocket and traded quips and gibes with the demonstrators. ‘The Prime Minister was called such things as ‘‘stu- pid.” “stonehead,” a “rich playboy" and a “Commu- nist''by the crowd, : “Good Lord, he's com pletely nuts," a woman com- mented, “Kiss me," a man shouted atthe Prime Minister. | There were dozens of picket signs displaying such slogans as .Trudeau Resign, Hustle Grain and Not Women, and some. shouts of “Let's go in and get him out” before Mr. Trudeau appeared. But with some coaxing hand motionin; from Mr. Atkinson, the cror remained orderly. As Mr. ‘Trudeau ended his talks, one youth handed him a piece of card to auto- ‘aph_and another tossed up a rawn paper bag full of grain. Mr. Trudeau grabbed a hand- ful of the seed, poured some of it back inte the bag and sprinkled the rest playfully aver the boy's hair. Then the Prime Minister jumped off the truck and made his way to his car for the ride to the official helicopter. Mr. Trudeau was escorted ‘through the crowd one RCMP constable in uniform, four Regina policemen anda city Inspector. Inside the hotel lobby, however, a 26-man RCMP detachment was drawn up in case of trouble. , Before Trudeau ad- dressed the crowd Mr. Atkin- son reviewed the SFU's de- mands and later he said his erganization had no objection to orderly changes in market- ing patterns. But he said he was opposed to turning a sur- Plus of grain into a surplus of mieat—thereby — undercuttin, the livestock producers al- ready in the ficld. The Saskatchewan Farmers Union had called on the fede- ral Government to inject $200-million in direct cash payments into the Western farm economy to prevent what it says will be disastrous conditions for Prairie grain growers. The SFU refuses to give specific membership fig- lures but other farm organiza. tion officials estimate SFU membership at less than 20 per cent of Saskatchewan's 85,000 farmers. Under Mr. Atkinson, the SFU has been conducting tractor marches through the province the past two weeks. Yesterday, Mr. Atkinson and Bud Fogal, an SFU district di- rector, claimed they had more than “4,000 tractors on the highways. When Mr. Trudeau finished speaking, Mr. Atkinson called on the demonstrators to go kK to their tractors and “block the roads like they've never been blocked before" until action was obtained on their demands. Tractor demonstrations begun Monday by Saskatche- FARMERS — Page 3Farmers on foot and on tractors, carrying placards reading Flower Power, and Trudeau's hotel in Regina yesterday to protest the lack of wheat sales. The Prime Mi ts Farmers taunt PM in Regina, stage tractor @ From Page One wan farmers have spread across the Prairie provinees _to become the focal point of farm resentment and frustra- tion. Hundreds of tractors yester- day crawled along major highways and near Prince Al bert more than 200 tractor! were stretched out for 25 miles. Alberta farmers have alsa taken to the highways with their slow-moving trac- tors in sympathy with the Sas- katchewan demonstrations. At Prince Albert on Tues- day. a group of tractors headed for the city’s main street but were turned aside by city police and RCMP offi- cers handed ont mare than 40 traffic summonses to the driv- ers. An estimated 5.000 Sas- katchewan farmers and 2.000 Iractars were reported in- valved in 40 to 50 highway slowdown demonstrations across the province. In. addition to direct cash payments to farmers, the SFU wants feed-grain marketing returned to the jurisdiction of the Canadian Wheat Roard. The organization maintains that without the board's quota and price mechanism, farm- crs are being exploited. Mr. Trudeau strode to the back of the truck from the -hoteLafter a meeting with fight officials of the Saskatch- ewan Wheat Pool, a co-operai- embracing an estimated. 35.000 of the province's farm- ers. The Pool submitted a brief to Mr. Trudeau suggest- ing short-term and long-lerm measures to assist Western farmers. After this session, Mr. Tru- deau conferred with Sakatche- wan Premier Ross Thatcher and members of the Liberal caucus at a luncheon in the Regina Inn. Mr. Trudeau also met the caucus of Saskatchewan's Lib- eral Govwrnment. They [o- cussed on sagging wheat sales in their talks, and Premiec Ross Thatcher said later: “It looks like things could get worse they get. better. The Prime Minister said that with the world wheat markets the way they are, there is no eas solution, and J] am afraid I agree.” a OWT With hotel guests gazing down from an outside mezra- nine balcony and a few more nonchalant ones Jolling in the coutdonr swimming pool, Mr. Trudeau began a review of measures already taken the Government to assist Prairie farmers. Me noted that Ottawa had authorized doubling of cash advances to these with farm- stored grain, ‘here was a wave af boos, : the SFU as a direct cash grant was a substantial sum which had 10 come from somebody. “What about the $80-mi you gave to the U.S. auto in- dustry?" shouted one deman- strator. “What about the cor- porations?” shouted another. Amid another chorus of boos and shouts, Mr, ‘Trudeau said that all wheat-praduciny s were in the same dil as were Canadian pro- ducers. He said that im some wheat-producing nalions such as France and the Soviet Union the slate bore the risks which were carried in Canada by the wheat producers them- selves, But the state also took the profits. Mr, Trudeau said the fede- ral Government had to deal |; not only with the problem of a marketing wheat for Western q farmers but with housing for those in the slum areas of the cities, assislance {to fisher men, help to Indians and Melis to bring them into the mainstream of Canadian saci- ely and provision of more ac- commodations in schools and universities for the growing student body. . “Dm not going to try to pa- cify you or sati ing right here Tm going to give $200-million to the wheal farmers, “Stich a maye would not be equitable for everybody and it would encotirage Same people ta remain as wheat producers when they shouldn't.” The Prime Minister did sug- gest that the wheat marketing Problem was of such a size and scope that additional measures would have to be worked out to a the farm- ors, He refused to pive ground to the SFU. demonstrators, however. Mr. Trtideau noted that some farms in ather provinces were being phased oul be- cause they were no longer evonomic units. Wher this was greeted with more boos. Mr. Trudeat said that if Saskatchewan farmers. wanted to keep their farms and continue growing, wheal on them inspite of the world glut the federal Government had no intention ef stopping them. “What do we do with this wheat and who do we sell it te" me ‘in {he audience it to the poor Mr, ‘Trudeau re- countries," viewed Canada’s record of in- creasing assistance Lo less de- veloped nations and noted that in the past few months Olt awa had extended special credit arrangements to some countries thal were prepared to buy more wheat but didn’t have the cash. This was one of the few occasions that Mr, Trudcau’s remarks were greeted with applause. Several times Mr. Trudeau CP Wirephoto Me Pierre, assembled outside Prime Minister Pierre ter spoke for about 35 minutes amid boos and taunts. protest made allusions {o the fact that the SFU is considered an ally of the New Democratic Party in Saskatchewan but he did not mention the party by name. At one point he said that if the demonstrators knew af a government or a party that could get money out of the pockets’ of other nations * rather than those of its awn to assist the farmers, they shauld vote for that pari