Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-05-20
PREVENTED FROM
EXPLOITING PARTY
FOR PRIVATE GAIN
Townley, Bowen and Rest Once
Dyed in the Wool
Reds.
LEFT ORGANIZATION
WHEN FUNDS WERE Low
Tried to Line Up Farmers but
Methods Were Too
Raw.

(The writer Of these lines has been
one of the prominent Socialists Of the
state Of North Dakota, having served
as one Of the executive committee Of
the state Socialist party for the long
est term as such committeeman OF
any person in the state, all OF which
time he was auditor of the state rec
Ords of the party, and has been active
in the Minot local organization. What
he has to say of the near-Wrecking Of
the Socialist party in this state is
from firstlhand information, and the
charges he makes are backed by doc
uments that cannot be refuted. He
has made charges in open meeting.
and not one of the men implicated
could answer them.)
Since the birth of the Socialist
movement there has been constant
tendency of Socialists to align them
selves into two factions more or less
clearly defined. One standing for q
a revolutionary program of the abOli-
stion Of capitalism, the other lcontent
with more or less radical reforms!
Socialists everywhere have been apt
to b patient with the reformist ele.
ment, charitably and foolishl ycredit-
ing them with the same sincerity a.
themselves, willing to make the wild.
est possible allowance for supposed.
ly honest difference of opinion, to
preserve unity in the movement,
something which cannot be credited
to the reformists, as the history OF
the movement will show that they
never have hesitated to cause an open
break or to secede and organize q
they could control, often
for very personal and foolish ends,
and large numbers of ill-grounded,
sincere, members have been induced
to ollow, dazzled by the short cut
ound by those Moseses to lead them
out the wilderness. The writer has
had ample opportunity to study the
discovery and growth Of the latest
short cut so blatantly announced by
and his gang, having been
for several years member of the
state executive committe and fre.
quently forced to fight this same gang
while within the party. So much has
been said about the leaders of the
Non-partsan league being Socialists
and the Socialist party of North Da-
kota endorsing them that I am COM
PEELED to touch upon some phases OF
Socialism that would seem unneces-
sary, in order to clear the Socialist
of the infamy of appearing
to support this gang of renegades and
crooks who have done all in, their
power to wreck the Socialist party
in North Dakota, when they foun9
they could no longer use it for their
own selfish purposes.
Sometimes I feel that there Is no
adjective in the English language
strong enough to apply to myself and
my comrades for letting men Of the
Townley stripe denude US Of our
senses to the extent of allowing our
to be used as step.
ping-stone to deceive and defraud our
fellow men.
Townley Trouble Maker.
A. E. Bowen, one time Socialist
party candidate for governor. playing
safe, resigned from the party; charg.
es ranging from violation of the party
pledge and constitution to other Sc
rious acts have been prepared against
o. NJ Thomason, %. G.. Dorman, H.
G. Teigen, Grant s. Youmans. Leon
Durocher and A. C. Townley. the
king pin of our troubles and the pres.
ent czar of the Non-partisan league.
He showed his true colors early when
in the fall of 1914 he was sent - IN
organizer for the Socialist party to
county. He promptly forgot
his duties as laid down by the Social.
ist party and, unknown to the execu,
tive committee, induced . few Social
lists to put up enough money to buy
a Ford auto, explaining that he could
cover the county quicker and better
that way Then, as now, Townleys
great aim in life was to get the mo-
ney. Surveying Morton county, he
saw an opportunity Of interesting .
large number of farmers In q pseudo,
Socialist organization and naturally
the best way to arouse their interest
was to have them pay for It, telling
his unsuspecting victims the he was
the farmers-but not that
he was an accredited Socialist organ
yer. He proceeded to lure them Into
Continued O f0S0 9V1l