Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-03-21
THE NON PARTISAN
LEAGUE GIVEN ROAST
BY ARTHUR FOSTER
Says Greatest Enemy to
America Except Kaiser
Calls TOwnley CRATER

monthly membership meeting last night
at the Commercial club was made by
Arthur Foster, who spoke on the Non
Partisan League. Mr.. Foster lived in
North Dakota when the league was
first organized and has seen two years.
of its workings, and his advice is that
every effort should be made to pre-
vent it from getting a foothold in Ore
gon.
Some of the high points of Mr.. Eos.
ter s address were as follows:
Next to the job of licking the kaiser
the non-partisan league is the biggest
thing in the United States today that
has to be met.
"The non-partisan league controls
three states and is working in three or
four more. 1t has a campaign fund of
three or -four million dollars. The next
campaign will be decided by the league,
for it will hold the balance of power.
"The league was organized to con
troll the politics Of North Dakota. Its or
a~nizers never go near a town. They
stay away from business men, and work
in secret. Township and whole counties
are signed up over night. The business
men Of North Dakota thought it was
a big joke at first and that in q few
months it would never be heard of. In
six months the league controlled North
Dakota. In three years it has gained
control of North Dakota, Montana and
Idaho, and has a strong following in
Minnesota and other states.
"'The Non-Partisah Leader the
leagues newspaper, reminds one of
reading a certain paper published in
Kansas, the "Appeal to Reason"
~ have lived in North Dakota and
made a living when ! sold my wheat ut
40 cents a bushel, oats at IS cents and
hops at 4 cents a pound. They bring
five times that price now. Any man
who tries to tell you that the farmer is
downtrodden today has a screw loose,
and any attempt to stir up discomfort
among the farmers is criminal.
"Townley is q failure as a farmer
and as a business man, and he is in
bankruptcy proceedings now. He would
make Get Rich Quick Wallingford'
look like 80 cents. He has collected $4,-
100000 from the farmers of North Da-
kota and adjacent states in two years.
"Townley ought to be in Jail. He is
going about right now and preaching
sedition among the farmers. He is en-
couraging an ~antagonistic spirit among
the farmers to help the Red Cross and
to subscribing to Liberty bonds.
"When the league gained control Of
the lower house all kinds of radical and
farcical bills were passed. One bill
passed the house that three members Of
the supreme bench should be farmers.
Bills were passed throwing the state
open to bonded Indebtedness, which had
they not been prevented from becom-
ing law by the follower senators IN the
senate, would have had the state bank
rupted by today. If the league gets
complete control of both houses this
election and puts into effect its So
cialistic and radical constitution, ! will
take $25 an acre for my farm, worth
considerably over 800 IN acre now.
Giving in North Dakota without
being a member of the league is like
living with your face against a grind
stone. You can't reason with them, nor
argue-nothing. Farmers who are my
best friends and the truest fellow in the
world take TO it like religion. They live
and swear by it. / don't know why it
is, unless they have had the gospel of
discomfort preached to them so long
that they consider themselves the most
oppressed class Of people on earth and
grab at anything that promises relief.
Whole counties and townships sign up
to a man.
"Anybody who says the non-parti-
san league is not affiliated with the
i. w. w. is either a liar or very ig-
%norant. 1t is affiliated with the !. w.
W., and is the same thing among far
mers that the ]. W. WIS are amoGe he
labOring classes
Arthur f. Gibbard, superintendent
of the mails at the local posto1tiee,
made a short talk, asking greater CO.
operation between the business men
and the postal department. Mr.. Glib
bard stated that one way in which the
business men could help greatly was
ito mail their letters earlier in the day
so that outgoing mail would not ac-
cumulate at the post office all at once
HE suggested that business houses
make at least two maiings a day, one
iof which should be before noon.
Z. r. Barnes moXed that a petition
hbe presented to the postal department
lco install mail boxes at the intersec-
ltlcns of State and Court streets with
kChurch, thus making it more conyen.
Iient to mail letters.
A letter was read by Secretary Ivan
g. Mcdaniel of results accomplished
in several cities in centralizing all Red
Gross, Y. M. q. A., Y. w. G. A. and
other war funds campaigns into the
hands of one committee. Short talks
were made by r. A. Harris and Rev.
Robt. Gill favoring the plan, and a
motion was made by w. NJ. Hamilton
that a committee be appointed to in
'vestigate various methods.
F. G.. Deekabaeh spoke on the i'm
pending liberty loan DR. We which is
scheduled to open on april 6. Mr..
;Deekebaeh emphasized the fact that 1t
.is not a question Of giving but a ques-
.tion Of saving. awe must back up tho
government in debts it has already in
.curred, ,; said Mr.. Deekebaeh. at is
mot the intention Of the government
ITO take money for liberty bonds out
;of the regular channels of trade, not
to take money needed in carrying on
business, fer that would defeat the
ends aimed at. But it is from savings
and profits that the bonds sre to be
subscribed from