Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-18
REFORMATION OR CAMOUFLAGE

A. Therefore I urge in the strongest manner possible
that all farmers prepare to plant more wheat, to the ex-
clusion of less needed crops, purely in the interest of
patriotism
That sentence is from an address delivered on Sat
urday by a. c. Townley. president of the Nonpartisan
league and numerous other organizations. Some of
those who have heard former speeches Of MI. Townley
may scarcely recognize this as at all consistent with their
recollection of the man whose contempt for the gov
of polite pharses utterly inadequate to express it, and
who found it necessary to descend into the gutter for
language in which to express his opinion of those who,
in his opinion. were waging war in the interest of the
rotten rich and the damned pirates'-a war which
he now finds glorious and worthy of self-sacrifcing sup
port.
But those who have not followed MI. Townley
closely may need to be informed that he changes his
method from time to time. At one time he found him
self unable to advise his followers to buy Liberty bonds.
At a later date he concluded that the bonds of the Uni
ted States were a proper investment for the farmers
money, and said so. On the witness stand. under oath,
while he said that he had not bought any bonds directly
for himself, he believed that some of the boys who had
formed a pool for the purchase of a few bonds had set
a 500 bond aside for him and he did not mention that
he had any conscientious scruples against owning that
bond or receiving the interest on it.
A year ago MI. Townley found himself unable to
advise the farmers to increase their wheat acreage, al
though the government was importuning them to do
SO, because the war was in the interest of the rich and
the pirates above described. Today ne is advocating
the largest possible acreage of wheat, solely in the in
terest of the patriotism which he was unable to per-
ceive a year ago.
= Evidently Mr.. Townley is making progress. If he
continues we may yet find him declaring that the Min.
neapolis chamber of commerce is a benehcent institution
and that some Of the individuals whom he has made il
his special business to traduce are decent citizens. Who
knows?
And yet, there arises a question. We find that ir
the same address in which he advised the farmers tc
raise more wheat Mr.. Townley took special pains to in.
form them that they could make more money. by rails
ing corn. rye and barley, and one disposed to be critica
might conclude that after all his advice had a string tt
it. The earlier efforts to create dissatisfaction with, ant
to arouse antagonism against the government wer,
frank and unconcealed. Efforts of that sort are becom
ing a little dangerous. To what extent does the ole
spirit persist under the newer form Of words. How
much of this speech are we to understand. is intended
really as advice to the farmer to grow wheat, and hov
much to the desire to impress the farmer with the be
lief that the. government asks him to grow wheat whel
he can make more money growing something else?
How much Of Mr.. Townley's present attitude repre-
sents reformation, and how much is camouflage?