The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1908-03-05
\. Lynch, N. D., March :, 1908.

Lynch, N. D., March 2, 1908.
Editor Ward County Independent:
Will you kindly favor me with suffi-
cient space in your paper to ask Mr..
sDevine few questions? Why should
Mr.. Devine, a man who never does
10 productive days work, who is
not wealth maker, but always a
wealth taker, a man who sustains the
same relation to the farmer that the
bug does to the vine or the flea 70
the dog, a man whose every econo-
mic interest is Numerically opposed
4 to the interests of the farmer, man
who therefore is in no sense an allie
of the farmer, presume to advise the
farmers for what gubernatorial can
didate to cast their ballots?
According to his own story, Mr..
Devine was not a hoWllnk sue
cess at working the land. He failed
to make his three quarters of land
pay off comparatively small mort
gage then it is reasonable to con-
clude that he is so much better in
formed as to voting right than ne
was in regard to farming right?
Since his experience at farming land
he has to all appearances met with
better success at farming farmers
but admitting the unquestlonaple
nroofs of his grand attainments
along that line Of faithful and self
sacrificing service to the farmers
whom he has farmed, is that suppos-
ed to qualify him to advise the
wealth producers how to cast a bal
lot which is worth more by far TO
each one Of them than the average
farmers products for two or three
years at the very least
And suppose, Mr.. Devine, that you
are qualified to tell us how to vote
Why should the farmer vote for
Treadwell Twitchell?
You say he owns and farms 5,Ooo
acres of fine land. Does he sonslder
1000 acres a fair and equitable share
Of the surface of this earth for each
man to draw the income from? 1t
wouldn't go around, would it?
And does he perform all of the
work personally? Impossible! Does
he perform the most Of it? Just
about as impossible. Does he per
form one half Of it? Certainly not
Other men perform more OF the
labor on his 5000 acres than he does
don't they? Then, Mr.. Devine, Mr..
Twitchell is at present engaged to a
greater extent in farming farmers
than in farming land; isn't ne:
Then SO, for I can figure Out
Mr.. Twitchell trots in the same class
as you hit the high places IN; you
are both farming the farmers; ano
if such an unproductive occupation
fails TO fit you to advise the farmers
If certainly fails no less to fit Tread
well Twitchell to govern the farmers
Now YOU know, Mr.. Devine, that the
farmer who farms land is wealth.
producer and he finds it necessary, as
you know from experience, to WORK
very hard in order to make his living
because along with his own living he
Is obliged to produce living for a
lot Of other men, who never do any
useful work in return for their share
OF the products Of his labor. Now il
is the interest OF the farmer to KEEP
as large a share of his products as
he can and it's the interest OF the
man who farms farmers to secure
as much of the real farmers pro
ducts as possible. They are economic
enemies to far greater extent thar
they are friends for any reason.
Now tn question is, Mr.. Devine
will the man who farms farmers ant
Is therefore an economic enemy tt
the man who farms land advise tn
latter to cast his vote for man Whf
is an economic sympathiser am
friend to the real wealth productive
ana an economic enemy to the wealth
taker? Never. Not in the very ma
ture of things. We farmers hav
learned that nothing in this worl
dominates men like their economi
interests, and if you knew that MI
Twitchell, if elected governor
North Dakota, would prove himself
true friend to labor which include
the real farmer first of all, you woul
lust as surely know that he woul
thereby prove himself the economi
enemy Of every man and every bus