Grand Forks herald., 1917-03-17
$500, ,OOO,O ,OOOin Mortgages
To Be Sold By Tovpley To
Throttle Big Biz In State

Buxton, Mr.. ouigley and Mr.. Myro-
valid and one other who does not
care to be mentioned in this
chronicle.
Mr.. Sorlie. as the first speaker, re-
lated the fact that he was about the
first farmer of his locality to join
the Nonpartisan league because he
believed in the farmers. organizing
themselves tho same as others organ
lied. but when he learned the char
acter Of the mon who constituted
themselves the leaders Of the league
and made themselves the officers.
not follow their leadership because
he said, they were not men of the
character who should be at the head
OF such a movement nor men with
whom he would care to be associated.
Il am for a league of farmers, but
not for a Townley league" he said.
"House Bill "A is absolute rank
Socialism," said Mr.. Sorlie, ''the pro-
duct of the national Socialist COM
mittee. In its very first paragraph
1t required every man who voted for
it to violate his oath to support the
constitution of the state. The men
soap box orator type Of Socialists:
the supporters Of I. w. Wism. and
their product in House Bill a was
worthy of their efforts"
Mr.. Sorlie discussed several por-
tions Of House Bill "A and declared
the league leaders were playing into
the hands of the railroads and for a
purpose. They sought to put the
taxation Of railroads on a gross earn
valuation for the reason they did not
want the railroads to oppose their
plan for unlimited bonded indebted
ness of the state and as this indebted
ness would bring the railroads into
the peril Of standing their share Of
the losses on the experiments Of
state-owned utilities II they were still
taxed on physical valuation 1t was
buying off the railroads to put them
on the gross earnings basis.
The Socialistic propaganda is
changed in the past few years, de-
clared Mr.. Sorlie. 1t was formerly
for a division Of property by means
Of the power of the state, but now
the method was to tax property to
such an extent it would be unprofit-
able to own property and the owner
Of the farm or city land would rather
turn it into the state than to pay
pen under the regime of state owned
utilities Of all sorts. as proposed.
Referring to the attempt Of the
Townleyites to revise the constitution
Of the state by legislative enactment,
In House Bill "A, he showed how the
revision was not even limited at dur
ing the last campaign, nor in the
state platform, nor in any public an.
nouncement of the league program,
and quoted the interview given by Mr..
Frazier before election that they ex-
pected it would require two years or
more to get through the desired con-
stttutional amendments 20 put the
league program into effect-not even
intimating there was a thought Of a
revision of the constitution. He also
read Gov. Frazier's recent interview
that the city Of Bismarck was bond
ed for 100000, and he gould Ses mo
reason why the state OF North Dakota
could not bond for $500. .0oo, 900. 1'''7
Mr.. Quigley, in his reply, referred
to the league program, which he said
included terminal elevators flour
mills and packing plants, all state own
ed: hail insurance, single tax on farm
laws. and rural credit banks, but even
he did not venture to assert that
House Bill "A had been an announced
part of the program, nor did he tell
his audience that all or these items
had been passed by the stand-pat SEN
ate of the recent legislature and kill
ed in the house. with the exception of
the terminal elevator bin.
Another speaker told of the fate of
the terminal elevator bill, which he
said had been passed by both houses
In the closing hours OF the session by
the help Of Equity votes IN the house,
but has been vetoed. The speaker
made the assertion tina, the terminal
elevator was not vetoed oy Governor
Frazier, but pointed out that the veto
had been written and put in type in
the office Of tho NonparrIsan Leader
days before Governor Frazier had af.
fixed his name to the document The
assertion was intended to carry the