The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1918-09-26
partisan j. eague.

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all Americans admire and respect. His
sympathies are and always have been
with the plain, common people, but he
detests charletans and demagogues.
The following article from Colonel
Roosevelt's pen appeared recently in
4 the Kansas City Star and is worthy
Of a careful perusal: . .......
4 The absolute prerequisite for sue
cessful self-government in any people
is the power Of self restraint which re-
fuses to follow either the wildeyed ex
tremists of radicalism or the dull-eyed
! extremists of reaction. "a
The dreadful fall which has befallen
Russia is due to the fact, that when
her people cast off the tyranny Of the
autocracy they did not have sufficient
self control and common sense to avoid
rushing to the other extreme and
y plunging headlong into the gulf Of
In this country there are plenty Of
highbrow Bolsheviki. They are 50
fatuously ignorant that it may be a
mere makebelieve, sissy Bolsheviki,
i dlIlOSC VI 4u1CS lA1l 11A1O6Os OCAAO4o az =
sincere and foolish fanatics, who mean
well and do not realize that their doc
trines tend towards moral disintegra-
ton. t
i But there are practical Bolsheviki
in this country who are in no sense
highbrows. The I. w. w. and the
Nonpartisan league, just as long and
so far as it's members submit to the
domination of leaders like Mr.. Town
| ley, represent the forces that under
Lenine and Trotsky have brought ruin
to Russia.
If these organizations obtained pow
er here they would cast this country
into the same abyss with Russia.
I. w. w. activities have been Of
fcially set forth by the Chicago jury
which found the I. w. w. leaders
guilty of reasonable practices. These
leaders protested that they were only
trying to help "the wage slave Of to-
day" and had not taken German mon
ey. But the jury found them guilty as
charged
The Nonpartisan league endeavored
to ally itself with the /. w. w. since
we entered the war. When the league
was started I felt much sympathy
with it's avowed purposes.
] hope for and shall welcome wisely
radical action on behalf of the farmer,
but only destruction to all Of us can
come from the venomous class hatred
preached by the present leadership Of
the league. #
Some Of it's leaders have been con-
victed and imprisoned for reasonable
activities. Some of the leagues rep
resentatives have been actively pro
I German.
~ Some are socialists or socialist an
archists. For the first six months Of
the war and until it became too dan
gerous, they were openly against the
war, against our allies and for Ger
many.
The only half secret alliance be-
tween these leaders and certain high
| Democratic politicians is deeply dis
creditable to the latter. I$
/ Victory Of the league in it's recent
efforts to gain control Of the Repub-
lican party in Minnesota and Montana
would have given immense strength to
the pro-German and Bolshevist ele-
ment throughout the country, and its
defeat was matter Of rejoicing to all
right-minded and patriotic men.
Mr.. Townley's leadership in its
moral purpose and national effect en-
titles him to a rank with Messrs. Lee
nine and Trotsky and the utterances
Of the leagues official organ, es-
pecially in it's appeals to class hatred,
puts the official representatives of
the league squarely in the clan with
the Bolshevist leaders who have done
such evil in Russia.
| have before me an official letter
from the league written in January
last refusing to cooperate in nom
! political work for the. benefit of the
farmers, saying "this organization is
a political one, the farmers being or
ganized to control legislation in their
own interests" in other words the
title, Nonpartisan, is a piece Of pure
i hypocrisy and its league is really
partisan in the narrowest and worse
sense. #
America should organize politically
as Americans and not as bankers or
lawyers, or farmers or wage workers.
! To organize politically on the basis
adopted by the league is thoroughly
anti American and un-patriotic, and if
Ecopied generally by our citizens, would
mean the creation in this country Of
rival political parties based on cynical
1 ly brutal class selfshness
have no doubt that the rank and
file of the members Of the league are