Milo Reno

Milo Reno
Born	January 5, 1866 Wapello County, Iowa
Died	May 5, 1936 (aged 70) Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Parent(s)	John and Elizabeth (Barrice) Reno

Milo Reno (January 5, 1866 - May 5, 1936) was president of the Iowa Farmers' Union from 1921-1930 and the leader of the Farmers' Holiday Association, a populist organization established in 1932. He was born in Wapello County, Iowa. He died in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, of a heart attack following influenza.^[1]

Early Career

Reno grew up in Iowa, in a family influenced by Populist politics. Reno was involved in organizing famers, and in 1918 joined the Iowa Farmer Union. He was elected president of the IFU in 1921, calling for better prices for farmers and public works programs supported through a more inflationary monetary policy.

He supported Democratic Party candidates in the 1928 elections (Al Smith) and the 1932 elections (Franklin Delano Roosevelt). He later turned against Roosevelt and the Democratic Party and bitterly criticized the New Deal, supporting such figures as Father Coughlin.^[2]

The Farmers' Holiday Association

Reno's public persona is largely shaped by his leadership of the Farmers' Holiday Association, a Great Depression-era organization of farmers based in the Midwest that campaigned for populist measures, including currency inflation, agricultural production and prices controls, and an end to foreclosures. In October 1933, Reno led the call for a "farm strike" until these demands were met. On October 30, this call received the support of the governors of North and South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.^[3]

References

^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

1. Dictionary of American Biography, Volume XI, Part 2, Supplement 2 p. 551-552
2. The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa
3. David M. Kennedy, Freedom from Fear, p. 196
4. Choate, Jean. Disputed Ground: Farm Groups That Opposed the New Deal. 2002.
5. Influence of Milo Reno on the Iowa Farm Holiday Association as Covered by Three Iowa Dailies Harold Andrew Stickler Iowa State College, 1958]
6. Let Them Eat Gold: A Violent Uprising in the Great Depression. By Curtis Harnack
7. The Farmer Takes a Holiday: The Story of the National Farmers' Holiday ... By Everett E. Luoma

External links

• Papers of Milo Reno (University of Iowa library)