The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-01-20

two years ago and dipped into it's
first political campaign before it was
a year old. It's victory in the late
election. this correspondent says. is
even more astounding" when it is
remembered that North Dakota is a
state of magnificent distances and
he adds:
Not "PoIitcions.'
"Eighty-five per cent of the inhabi-
tants live scattered on farms and must
be reached by personal canvass for
the most part. That, in fact, is just
the way they were reached. Two
geniuses named A. c. TOWnley and F..
B. Wood. both farmers without for
mer political experience, organized the
campaign. They borrowed money
with which to buy automobiles to car
ry them about from farm to farm.
TO each farmer they visited they
showed in black and white the revo-
lutionary program Of the farmers
league calling for state-owned grain
elevators, flour mills. and packing
houses. for state hail insurance and
state operated rural credit system.
They asked him did he favor it, and,
on getting an affirmative answer, they
said Nine dollars, please And they
got it. The first hundred farmers they
canvassed joined the league, involv-
ing this fee. to man. After that
the harvest of members averaged. a
little above 80 per cent OF possible
crop"
Membership Drive.
AS the membership drive" expand
ed Townley and Wood gave over ac-
tive canvassing to assistant organic
ers and remained president and vice.
president of the league. Toward the
last of the canvass the league was en-
ploying one hundred organizers and
one hundred automobiles. During the
winter of 1915-1916 it promoted five
to six hundred meetings in every part
of the state, and by last February it
had obtained 10000 members and had
organized three-quarters of the state.
On Washington's birthday, 1916, a
meeting was called in each of the 1000
voting precincts of the state stimuli
taneously. The attendance was phe-
nomenal. in many cases 100 per cent,
and in not one below 80 per cent. At
these meetings delegates were elect
ed to legislative district conventions,
and these district conventions nOmin-
ated men for both houses of the legis-
lature and elected delegates to a state
convention which met in Fargo in the
latter part of March. The state con-
vention nominated Lynn J. Frazier
for governor, and named the leagues
candidates for other state Offices and
the supreme court. Then the League
swirled into the primary campaign,
we read, and tore it wide OPEN
1t rammed its candidates, including
Frazier, down the threats of the Re-
publicans. with the exception of P.
NJ. Casey. it's candidate for state treas
urer, democrat, whom the demo-
Gratis obligingly nominated" Casey,
beaten by two hundred votes, was the
only Lacquer defeated for state Of
fee
OF A. c. Townley, the inspirer and
chief founder of the league, the Trib-
une's correspondent writes as fol-
lows:
'Townley, by the way, used to be
known as the Flax King of the
slope. The slope is that part of North
Dakota lying west Of the Missouri
River and sloping up toward the
Rockies. Here, near the Montana
boundary, in Golden Valley county,
Townley had one of the worlds big
gest flax-farms, in which he had in
vested his own money and some be-
longing to relatives and friends. His
machinery, including large number
of tractors, he had bought on credit
THE first year, with 900 acres un-
der cultivation, everything went we'll
with him, ami he is said to have
cleaned up $4,000. The next year
he expanded his farm or ranch over
5000 acres, ind the railroads adver-
tised him extensively as an example
Of prosperity to prospective settlers.