New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1918-04-24


property.
THE NEW MINNESOTA DEsPOTIsM
By Ray McKaig H. r..
Past Master, North Dakota Grange, 1ow
Field Secretary, Nompartisan League.
The Farmers Nonpartisan League,
which is sweeping over the thirteen
northwestern states, for several months
has been under a barrage fire of dis
loyalty. Its pamphlets, hundreds and
thousands, have been passed upon by
the federal government and circulated
through the mails. Though all its
official papers can have the Burleson
approval, one-cent stamp put on them
and sent to the boys in France, yet
arrests of League workers and officials
are freely made by Minnesota local
politicians upon the charge that the
Leagues literature is seditious:
Though such men as Carl Vrooman,
George Creel, William Kent, have ap-
proved from time to time of the Non
partisan Leagues loyalty; and other
men like Judson King, Walter Thomas
Mills, are lecturing in behalf of the
League, yet politicians who see their
own political death claim that the League
is pro-German, disloyal, and should be
universally condemned. Several Min
nesota county attorneys have suddenly
leaped into spotlight publicity by is
suing warrants of arrest for President
A. c.. Townley.
There is a fundamental clash of in
terest between the federal and the Min
nesota governments. The federal gov
eminent sees nothing seditious in this
Farmers League, and at their big
gatherings sends official representatives.
The state politicians, dreaming terrible
dreams and seeing things, arrest organ
izers and have forbidden and broken
up over a hundred farmers meetings.
The subsidized press, shrieking aloud
their own claims of loyalty, poison the
minds of the citizens about the dis
loyalty of the Nonpartisan League.
Whom are we to believe - the Min
nesota politicians minnesota being, by
the way, the only northwest state at
tempting to break up the League) Or
the federal government? No League
organizer or League official has yet been
arrested by the federal government.
Ex-Congressman William Kent, on the
Federal Tariff Commission, as a re-
preventative from the Washington ID.
CO. government, strongly commended
the Farmers League Governor Burn
| quist of Minnesota as strongly con-
dennis the League of labor and farmer s
and refused to sit on the platform at
this state convention where Mr.. Kent
addressed the farmers.
Here is apparently the reason: The
League is against corporate greed. The
''steel trust" mines more iron ore in
Minnesota than all the rest of the
Union put toe etker. The lumber barons,
having devastated nearly the whole
Northwest of virgin timber, are looking
with longing eye upon what little is
left. The grain gamblers and the millers'
trust of the Northwest, who have preyed
upon Dakota farmers and Minnesota
grain growers, and have gouged both
consumer and producer, headquarter in
Minneapolis. The packers stronghold
is in South St. Paul. Minnesota politics
for years have been dominated by that
four headed political monster.
The Nonpartisan Leagues platform
lays down the gage Of battle to this
group of despoilers. Public ownership
must come AS the United States Steel
Trust and the Pennsylvania Railroad
have cast their blighting shadows over
Pennsylvania politics, so the shadow of
this four-headed organization has with
cred political manhood in Minnesota.
Recently the Farmers League CO.
alesced with federated labor. At, the
Minnesota convention held March I21st
the skinned classes" both city laborer
and producers from the soil, got together.
A ticket was selected from city and
country, irrespective Of party. i Ex-
Congressman Lindbergh, who made a
startling expose of the money trust Of
America, is the gubernatorial choice.
Men of equal loyalty and ability are
named on the ticket. The Republican
party will be gobbled up, or used as a
vehicle on which to set to TIE state
capitol.
Now, one can see why the Minnesota
politicians are beating the tom-tom Of
disloyalty to scare away the citizens
from such Farmers League. Event
ually, this same tonl-tom will be used to
announce the sad death of these same
politicians.