Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-02-19

the future.
II America refuses to adopt policy
of universal military training we will
be inviting new wars. 1t would not be
polite, perhaps. to point the direction
from which war may come when the
present trouble is over, nor is it neces.
sary to mention any names to those
Americans who read world news, and
domestic news, intelligently.
POOLING IoWANs
The most convincing proof that
Iowa farmers are not immune to the
wiles LOT the Nonpartisan leagues
smooth-tongued organizers is found in
the fact that many Of those farmers
are paying their $16 annual dues. sign
ing membership blanks and lending
their names to the organization which
already has been denounced as dis
loyal and dangerous by the defense
councils of Minnesota, Wisconsin and
Nebraska. 1t has been denounced,
too, by many members of the Iowa
council of defense, but that body is
withheld from a formal statement by
Governor Harding's attitude. an at.i-
tude which obviously is dictated by
the governors ideas Of personal polit-
ical expediency.
The organizers for the Nonpartisan
league receive handsome commits
sions. OF each SIG payment of mem
bership fees, the organizer retains IS.
II he obtains one member day he
realizes a good income. II he signs
up three or four day his share OF
the proceeds is sufficient to put him
ir the excess profits class within a
few months.
So the Nonpartisan league leaders
have been able, to command the SER
vices OF some Of the ablest spreaders
of socialistic propaganda to be found
in the country. In Iowa they are
proving their ability by remaining ST.
lent on socialism and presenting
such arguments as the following:
Just as long as there is nothing
traitorous about the organization,
why should not the farmers or
ganize if they want to?
Have they not as good q right
to organize as the laboring classes )
or the merchants of city to
form a commercial union?
Cooperation on reasonable
basis would be an excellent thing
for the farmer.
OF course, such doctrine as
that all middlemen should be
eliminated is preposterous. The
value of the farm is largely de-
termined by the success of the
town which affords the local
market, and the educational,
spiritual and financial center OF
the community. But such level
headed men as comprise the
farming class Of this county are
not liable to be stampeded into a
purely socialistic, bolsheviki
movement of that extreme char
acter.
Let the farmers organize. We
have recently established a farm
bureau, under government aus
pices. 1t is for the purpose OF
helping the farmers to help each
other, and in this way help the
government, or the entire people.
The farm bureau was organized
by the council of defense in this
county and this bureau as well as
the council of defense will be
glad to cooperate with any organ
ization of farmers, for larger pro-
duction and profitable distribution
of farm products.
Let the farmers unions be or
ganized, and let their council
chambers be the places of decid-
ing the questions that arise be-
fore them. and helping one anoth-
err to solve the perplexities that
may arise among their number in
the successful prosecution OF
their great business.
The farmers of this county are
not of the pro-German type OF the
Dakotas. No acts Of theirs are
likely to endanger the delivery Of
the crops to a nation at war, nor
are they liable to wreck their
communities by the boycott sys-
tenn. They are too patriotic and
have too much good sense for
anything Of that sort.
This is the sort Of talk that is gain.
ing members for the Non-partisan
league in Iowa. 1t is dangerous be-
cause it does not reveal the truth
about the Nonpartisan league.
Strange to relate, it is an extract
from an cOlIOIldI III Wcchly AcWS.
paper published in southern Iowa
county and circulated largely among
the farmers. In that county an organ
izer for the Nonpartisan league is OPP
Grating successfully, and the tone of
the editorial reproduced here indi-
Gates that he has deluded not only
many of the farmers but the editor of
the newspaper as well.
But he is not the Nonpartisan
league, nor does he dictate any Of its
policies, any more than the farmers
whom he deludes can dictate its poll
cies. Those are defined in the leagues
newspaper which the members re-
ceive and which Is devoted to a propa-
ganda of prejudice, class hatred, so
.cialism and even thinly-veiled disloy-
atty. The Iowa farmer does not learn
this when he pays his money to the
willy organizer, any more than he
learns that he is inviting court action
against him, as member Of an unin-
corporated organization. should the
latter fail to meet it's financial obliga-
tons.
The only dependable method for de-