The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1917-11-01
LEAGUE IS IN GOOD CONDITION
National Headquarters Deny Claim
that Organization is Unsound

G. M. Roush, league field man, re-
ceived the following letter from the
national headquarters of the Non
Partisan league and handed it to the
editor with the request that it be
published:
Dear Sir: Recently there has
been a studied attempt by certain un-
scrupulous agencies to revive the
story of A. G. Townley's bankruptcy
for the purpose Of creating the in
] ference that the Non-Partisan Lea
que itself is in an unsound financial
condition. This is absolutely un-
true and in the interests of fair play
we ask you to correct this false inn
preston.
"The national Non-Partisan Lea
que is in perfectly sound financial
condition. Even its worst enemies
do not dare to allege otherwise, but
are compelled to resort to cowardly
innuendo. The leagues books are
J audited quarterly by one of the best
known and most reliable public ac-
countants of st. Paul. Complete re-
ports Of every penny collected ard
every penny expended are made to
the members Of the league. The
leagues credit is good and it pays
and is we'll able to pay it's obliga-
tions. Any one who doubts con-
cerning this can satisfy these doubts
by. making the most searching in
svestigations. The league welcomes
such Investigations.
"It is true that Mr.. Townley filed
bankruptcy proceedings. This is
Mr.. Townley's private affair, how
ever, and does not concern the lea
que. In fact, he went bankrupt
some years before the Non-Partisan
league was organized. And neither
Mr.. Townley nor the Non-Partisan
league ever has made an effort to
conceal this fact. The whole story
is set forth on page S of recent
pamphlet issued by us, entitled "The
National Non-Partisan League, Ori-
gin, Purpose, and Method of Oper-
ation."
"There is nothing discreditable in
the story. Mr.. Townley is not the
first farmer to go broke and probably
will not be the last. Business men
fail, too. and so do newspaper edit
ors. Usually little is said about
these things, but in Mr.. Townley's
case hostile press is revamping the
story Of his misfortune for the sole
purpose of trying to harm the great
organization he heads.
"Mr. Townley and his brother fail
ed 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 practi-
cally paupers. What the elements
started the organized grain combine
completed. For three years prior
to their failure, the Townley broth
ers sold their fax at an average
price of s2.05 a bushel. In the
spring of 1912 they paid $3.50 a
bushel for seed, but when they came
to sell what was left of their crop
1000 acresSt they could not cut at all
the grain combine had juggled the
price down to 95 cents a bushel
This insured their failure.
"But it was a failure that cost the
! grain interests dear. This made
Townley realize that the farmer, the
victim Of high interest rates, high
cost Of machinery, and high cost OF
living generally, virtually is COM
PEELED to risk his farm each year by
betting on the weather. If the far
mer wins his bet with the weather he
is compelled to make another bet
with the grain combine. And he u.s.
ually loses this bet-for he is going
up against a crooked game where
the cards are stacked and the dice
loaded against him, where single
crop failure may Offset the results
of lifetime of toll and turn out the
farmer homeless and penniless.
"Mr. Townley realized that he
could do nothing to combat the ele-
ments, but he did decide that it was
possible to put a stop to this market
/
was this determination that led to
the creation of the Non-Partisan lea
que. And it is because other farm
! ers 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 its pro-
gram is enacted into law. Hence
they stoop to any discreditable meth
DDS that they think will harm the
league. They. cannot meet the Non
Partisan leagues economic argu-
ments and therefore turn to mud
singing, always the surest sign of
a losing cause.
"This is why these interests are
driven by desperation to use this old