The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-10-25
THAT T0WNLEY BANKRUPTCY CASE

Recently there has been a studied attempt by certain I'M
rvpt c1f for t6e'r purpose oS of + creatin 10 t6e' IL inf H; r en- tf that rs G Non:
partisan League itself is in an unsound financial condition. This
is absolutely untrue and in the interests Of fair play we ask that
The National Nonpartdsan League is in a perfectly. sound fin
otherwise, but are compelled to resort to cowardly innuendo:
The he'll. hea CUE s,t books xs, are audited nltsl quarterly by one e. of the best
!plete z1 reports IT'S Of every na:gb penny een ~ collected o. edo and every penny expended ed
good and it pays and is well able to pay its obligations. Anyone
who has doubts concerning this can satisfy these doubts by max
y, It is It true that Mr. Townley filed Bankruptcy proceedings.
|Nonpsrtisan League was organized: And neither Mr.. roTnley
i fact: The 6S w. whole e1t; story i is set N forth on Rages,s Of "a recent fsss t;pam n4ihie
purpose, and method Of operation"
There is nothing discreditable in the story. Mr.. Townley is
is said about these things; but in Nj: Townley's case a hostile press
of trying to harm the great organization he heads.
Mr.: TownIey and his brother failed in 1912 when the earliest
snow storm in 26 years ruined the flax crop on their 5000 acre
farm near Beach, N: D, and left them practically paupers. What
three are years al prior Ss@' to their lei failure: the = T To1 b brothers sold their
flax at an average price of sos a bushel. In the spring of 1912
what was left Of their crop~2ooo acres they could not cut, at all
1.-The grain combine had jqggled the price down to 95 cents a
NSB But it wa was a failure faiius I'll that cost cost the grain interests dear, This
made Mr.; Townley realize that the farmer, the victim of high in
terest rates, high cost of machinery, and high cost of living gen
orally, virtually is compelled to risk his farm every year by bet
fsE Is on co" 5ns Msit tn make a5 s me- sa'P pet ~ ~ieh 9s a grain m'e eon 9&$ ss"i 2nd
he usually loses. this bet-for he is going up against a crooked
game where the cards are stacked and the dice loaded against
him, where a single crop failure may offset the results of a life
time of toll and turn out the farmer homeless and penniless.
@ Mr.. Townley realized that he could do nothing to combat the
elements, but he did decide that it was possible to put a stop to
this market-rigging by the grain combine and it was this deter
limitation that led to the creation of the Nonpartisan League.
And it is because other farmers have been compelled to face the
same unjust conditions: that they are joining the League in such
numbers.
The politicians who represent the special interests that trim
the farmer and fatten off his misfortunes are badly frightened
by the rapid growth Of the League. They realize that their graft
is ended once it's program is enacted into law: Hence they stoop
IN orv e-oIfo noofho1c hof think will h9rm hi
League. They cannot meet the Nonpartisan Leagues economic
arguments and therefore turn to mud-singng, always the surest
sign of a losing cause.
This is why these interests are driven by desperation to use
this old story, not only to injure A. C.~Townley personally, but
in an effort to cause suspicion over the financial standing and pul-
poses of the League. These effort will fall for the League is
! greater than Mr.: Townley or any other man, and it will continue
to grow greater and greater so long as its opponents refuse to
meet it's arguments and continue their exploitation.
The Nonpartisan League most emphaticaly afirms it's fin
ancial responsibility and resents this despicabe attempt to use
the unavoidable failure of a single man as the means Of a steal,
thy effort to SOW suspicion against the good standing OF a great
organization. The unfairness of this insidious attack is only
equaled by it's falsity.
Yours very truly,
National Nonpartisan League.