The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-01-18
AN ESTIMATE OF PRES. TOWNLEY::

exposed packing mouse COHultIoHo ohu '"""1
other abuses in Everybody's Magazine in the
days before the public was as well informed as
it is today on the extortions of monopoly, de-
clares in a series of articles that he is writing
for IT,, Newspaper Enterprise associations, that
A. G. Townlcy, president of the Farmers Non
partisan League, seems destined to an unequal
ed career in national politics.
Mr.. Russell says in part:
Politicians have good reason to be scared.
They see a farmer that never before had the
least experience in politics suddenly arise and
uate this big fighting army, then lead it to
'oml lete victory, outwitting and outfighting
| e ahlest generals in the state. 1t seems un-
amy.
This farmer is a most extraordinary person
and seems destined to an unequaled career in
national politics. His name is A. G. Townley.
He is SO and used to till a farm near the town of
Beach in the western part of the state.
All of a sudden, four years ago, he was
ruined by a manipulated fall in the price of flax.
This started him thinking about the reasons
for the fact that the farmers worked hard and
got next to nothing for their toll.
1t seemed to him clear as day that the only
reason farming didn't pay was because of artiti-
cial conditions brought about by government
conducted by the interests and laws made in
their favor.
The only way to remedy this was to put the
government into the hands of the farmers and
workers, the vast majority of the population.
So he hit upon the plan of a political organi-
cation that should not interfere with any mans
party prejudiCes, but should still enable the
farmers to get hold of the machine,
Most Of the persons he opened up his idea
to, laughed or tried to shoe him away.
But this man has such courage and devil
ish persistence he seems abnormal. When he
started for a farmer he never let 90 till he got
him. He went on foot from farm to farm ex-
planning, arguing, outlining, and getting sub
scriptions
Ir, about two months he had enough mem
bers signed up to have an executive committee
and officers; also, to have other organizers in
the field.
That was in March, 1914. When snow fell
in 1918 The had &c, 600 enrolled members at So
each. had started the Leagues weekly news
paper and had 100 organizers driving over the
state in automobiles the League owned.
He is the Leagues PRESIDENT; also it's gene
raj manager. and wise guy. He keeps it out
of trouble and furnishes the pep.
When the time came for the first battle with
the entrenched gang that had always run the
state for the interests they thought they would
go out and play horse with this raw apprentice.
He gave them the jolt of their lives.
When he got through with them, they look
ed like pikers and lie looked like the old expert
enced field marshal and that beats anything l
have known in SO years of close observation of
politics.
He is one of these thin, wiry, tireless men,
with thin lips, a powerful jaw and cold blue
eyes. You could no more rattle him than you
could rattle a tombstone.
He can make a cracking good speech, write
stuff that seems to burn the paper. carry all the
work and affairs and details of the League in his
head, think out a good scheme every three
hours, and in perfectly clean, straight politics
run circles around almost any commander | ever
saw on the political field.
At the same time he has so little vanity he
ducks interviews and can be induced to have
his picture printed or taken.
Some man, this. He commands the Lea.
que and ought to-, for he made it and led it tc
it's present position of power and success. Three
or four years ago he was riding on a gang plow
breaking prairie and thinking he was fulfilling
his destiny. Destiny? Well, who knows any,
thing about that?
YES, MATT, the Nonpartisans have leased
he Northwest Hotel at Bismarck, or at leas'
established League headquarters there. AND