The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-06-09

the nation be to take over. az least
during the war. the business of trans
porting and distributing food and all
things necessary TO win the war.
Last Tuesday about ten million
young men went TO the registering
booths and declared: i am willing TO
defend the nation In war. ! will de-
fend her with all / have; / will give
my life, my blood, my ALL
But there is something more TO be
said. These ten million men and the
fathers and mothers and brothers and
sisters, represent the workers of the
nation. BY the act of registering they
have done their part. They stand
ready to make any sacrifice TO defend
right and liberty.
Attacks Bonds.
Comes the government OF the
United States-I fear too much DOM
mated by the trust and corporations;
come the agents of the government, In
defense Of liberty, and say to win the
war you must buy government bonds
to finance the war ! am not against
financing the war. Let me discuss the
methods OF financing ii as proposed.
These United States bonds draw three
and one-haH per cent interest. You
are told that IL Is your patriotic duty
to buy bonds. II the war can't be
financed any other way. then it is
your duty to buy bonds. II IL can be
financed any other way, then it's your
duty to see that 1t is done that way.
Why are the corporations buying
Liberty bonds? They are doing 1t as
matter of self-protection. The bonds
are tax free and bring a high rate of
interest. Meanwhile, you are urged
TO buy bonds and pay or per cent
to buy them. ] am not in favor of
this method, because I believe there
is q better way, a more efficient way,
and, unless a more efficient way is
found, we cannot win the war.
THE United States is worth some
twenty billions Of dollars. Not more
than fifteen or twenty billions are
needed to win the war, and there are
now in the hands of the over rich cor
porations billions enough to pay for
the war. They don't need you to pay
the expenses. Billions have been pill
ed into their laps by you farmers. You
already have raised an amount to pay
for this war.
Horrors of War.
your government is asking your
sons, your brothers, your sweet
hearts to give their lives for the
success of this war. Their bodies will
be torn to atoms; they will lie, in the
heat of the summer, in No Mans
Land, with flies by the millions
swarming about them. Sons of
American mothers will die by the
thousands across the water, where
your hand may not nurse them. They
will die in the defense OF your country.
They will be placed on the altar, we
are told, for freedom and democracy.
When the war is over, the country
will give back as much Of their lives
as 1t left. They will come back with
out an arm. without two arms,
with all their limbs taken
away. blind and emaciated. in
same and mad and raving. Some will
not come back. Thousands will rot
there In the trenches. You will get
back as much of their lives as Is left.
Again, you will get back as much
of their lives as is left. And these
plutocrats of the nation, fearing the
plutocrats of another nation; fearing
not so much for your lives, but theirs;
fearing that the plutocrats Of another |
nation will come and take from them
their wealth-they call upon you to
give the lives of your sons and they |
call upon you to finance their war by
helping them make ten times more |
profit than they have made. That's |
what this war Is.
Have Better Scheme.
But we have a better scheme. We |
will say to them: If you do your |
part, If you go to war and give what |
YOU can and take what is left, we'll |
go with you. We demand that we shall |
not come back to pay the debt Of the |
war, not to labor in the fields to pay |
the interest upon millions you stole |
from us during the war.
I'VE demand that the government |
also conscript the wealth OF the ma |
ton IL 1t is needed, and when the |
war is over give back as much of the /
wealth as Is left"
The resolution, which then was |
presented, demanded an immediate |
upon the part Of the gov
of terms of peace without /
or indemnity.
Thomason, in opening the meeting, 1
called attention to the late lamented /
House Bill A and the. twenty eight /
his House Bill A." parody on John
Browns Body"
Critics, of Lisbon. spoke very briefly /
on the work of the Equity. He de-
clared that he, a Democrat, had sup
ported Frazier for governor and still |
was for him.
In introducing Governor Frazier,
Thomson called him the peer of all Il
the governors in the country"
The governor spoke OF the registra-
ton and the patriotism Of North Da-
kota men, and then launched into an 4
attack of those responsible for the
high cost of living. He declared that
the people must elect men who will
them, that they must take
an interest in political affairs. Re-
forms for the better of the producer
and consumer, he said, will be brought
about by the use of the nonpartisan
ballot, for the ballot, independently II
voted, is the greatest power in the
nation.
J. NJ. Baer gave a brief address. in
which he pledged support to farmers
II elected. II was illus II
Erated with a few of his cartoons.
A z. Bowen, who was introduced
as "the cock-eyed son Of Jezebel",
Il -