Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1917-01-25


For the first time since he started
the Nom Partisan League A. C. Town.
ley last Wednesday stated ut Valley
City what his first move was to be.
He wants to establish one elevator and
one -four mill worth one million dol
lars. He proposes to issue bonds in
the sum of a million dollars and have
North Dakota guarantee them. Lat
er, his plan is to amplify this, program
of expenditures.
In the smooth phraseology Of the
dcmaeoguc he explained that the
million dollars would be mortgage on
what the farmers are to be robbed in
the coming years if present conditions
remain. The cold, bare fact remains,
however, that North Dakota is to guar
antee the million dollars worth Of
bonds for starter. If Townley's
scheme doesn't work North Dakota
will still have the million dollars to
make right some day. And, incident
ally, it might be we'll for the public to
remember that one mill and one clc-
vator costing one million dollars as
proposed will not make even dent in
the world conditions governing the
prices of farm produce--more particu-
larly wheat and flour But-Townley
and his organization will have the
pleasure of spending one million dol
lars of somebody's money other than
their own.
Townley succeeded in making mon
umental failure of his own farming
operations. He should prove dandy
at bossing this great job for the state.
All of which gets back to our orig
inal contention: Granting that market
ing conditions need adjusting, we con-
tend that seeing how much money the
state can spend is not the proper REM
edy. If grain is not ploperl.. grad
ed at the present time, as the league
contends, then the sin pie remedy is to
so change the laws so that term in
the penitentiary will stare in the face
any man who thus illegally grades or
mixes grain. Such laws would not
cost any million dollars and should
come closer to removing those things
now complained Of
If man wrecked a bank and made
good his escape, it would not ncces-
sarily follow that the state should Mt
once provide million-dollar fund to
build impenetrable walls around banks
so that in future no defaulters could
make good their escape. There is
about as much sense in such col.ten-
ton as in the Townley scheme for
righting the wrongs he complains of .
Perhaps, to safeguard the state, he
would advise repudiating all debts con-
tracted in the mill and elevator plan
should it prove failure. At least,
that y his plan of getting rid of finan-
cial obligations contracted by himself.
And, the fact remains as before, if
this million-dollar expenditure is ad-
VisaDle, tnere are enough people with
funds III this state to put tn; thing
acros in the manner the Equity is do
ing with its Equity packing plant.
No need to stick an additional million
dollars of debt on the state. But a
state-owned scheme makes it easier
for the "wise-ones" to get their feet
Al
with a privately-owned cooperative
affair.
If the state can make this million
dollar stunt of Townley's work, why
don't some Of the wealthy hackers of
the scheme put their own dough up ?
Perhaps it is because they think they
would be considered selfish in raking
i'll the easy money Perhaps!