The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1918-05-31

Burnquist has so well said: There are
during this war out two parties, one the
| loyalists and the other the disloyalists.
| 'Ttricue Appeal to Weakness
In carrying out her work of intrigue
in America. Germany has made strong
appeal to every class of our citizens
where weakness, dissatisfaction or dis
j loyalty could be found. Four classes
which she found especially useful for
! her purpose are the unassimilated Ger
/ mans, who have consistently refused to
! adopt our mode of life and language; the
, malcontents, such as the l. w. W., the
peoples council and the Nonpartisan
| league; and other ultra socialists and
anarchists; the Anglophobes, who hate
England so much that they cannot be
! loyal to America, and the pacifists. OF
these there are Icne so dangerous as the
malcontents who have gone up and down
our land preaching ultra socialism, an
archy and sedition under the guise and
pretense of advocating industrial free
DOM They are especially dangerous be-
cause their appeal is to much larger
number of our citizens and because their
ultimate aims are not known to the great
mass of our people.
Mr.. Nicholas then showed briefly what
German propaganda had accomplished in
Russia, Italy, India and Ireland, and what
/ today it is accomplishing in the United
States. He showed that the Nonpartisan
league was conceived by socialists, that
it's officers are socialists of the most radi-
cal type and that the secret purposes of
the organization is to inflict upon the
United States socialiStic regime as
dangerous and menacing as the Bolshevik
movement in Russia. There was never
a time in the history of our country or
any other country when the purchasing
power of what the farmer has to sell was
as great in all commodities which he
has to buy as at present, and that this
for the farmer. He said the NonpartiSan
league leaders were using the most sly
and deceptive methods in gaining the
support of the farmers of this state
'"They put their arms around his neck
whisper honey words into his ear, and
the while stick dagger under his fifth
rib
The way to rid America of the menace
of Townleyism is to tear off its mask, to
drag it into the light of day. No farmer
who owns his own land or ever hopes to
own any would stick with ToWnley for a
minute, if he understood the true char
acter and secret purposes of the Organi-
zation.
The speaker impressed his audience
with two fundamental facts with great
force: First, that the leaders of the
NonpartiSan league movement are ultra
socialists and, second, that they have
been amazingly diSloyal.
When La Toilette Was Brought In.
He demonstrated that the leaders of
ming of their operations i'm this state
have been disloyal in the extreme. He
commented at length upon Mr.. Town
ley'S bringing Robert M. La Toilette into
this state to open up their big campaign
of discomfort and seditiOn, and which
resulted in q perfect orgy of disloyalty
to our government. After reading the
portion of Mr.. La Follette's speach re-
ferring to the sinking of the Lusitania,
he said, after La Toilette had thus
discussed the sinking of this ship with
the resulting murder of hundreds of wo-
men and babies, and more than a hum
dred of our own citizens, in violation of
the law of all nations and Of the law OF
God, the men there assembled howIed and
laughed and cheered approval, just as
they howled and laughed and cheered
with delight in Berlin when the event
was announced there" These same
gentlemen are now whining about the
state because their loyalty has been
questioned, and they say: You are at
lacking the loyalty of all the farmers"
These gentlemen also attack the Com
mission of Public Safety. The reason is
it has been the most serious
obstacle to them in carrying out their
program of bolshivism and disloyalty.
They do not like the members of the
commission because they are not work.
ing in the interests of the Torzkys, the
Town-eys G-1c the Potsdam gang; be-
cause they have some regard for Amer
lean institutions and because they are
men who respect American ideals.
Activities in jackson County.
The activities of the Nonpartisan
league in my county Jackson county,
from the beginning were disloval i'm the
extreme. It's agents, speakers and So
licitors went about the county preaching
that the farmers should not invest in
Liberty Bonds, that it was not safe for
them to do so; that England and France
were bankrupt and that in a short time
the United States would also be bank
rupt if we continued in this war, and
that if the farmers had any money to
invest they had better put it into Nom
partisan elevators and mills; that the
boys should not be taken off the farms
and put into the trenches five thousand
miles away, that they are better off
if they We're sent there would be no one
to feed them.
The last statement was made by Jo-
seph Gilbert in an address delivered at
Laketield, January %, 1918. Gilbert also
saio in his address: you farmers have
had to produce more crops than ever
before You have had to subscribe
to the Liberty loan, the Red Cross and
the Y M c; A. and on top of all that
they now take your boys. When they
your boys they didn't con-
script wealth, if they had, we shouldn't
have to have wheatless days, meatless
days and heatless days" The last state
ment was made in sneering and deri-
sive manner, Gilbert also said to a large
gathering at Lakefield on the same day
that men had never before been drafted
INTO the armies of the United States.
The League Literature.
Mr.. Nicholas also made a careful an !
llysis of the league literature showing that !
t is disloyal in the extreme. He con-
,rasted it with statements of President
Wilson on the same subject. One quo
alton which struck the audience with |
some force was that from the league /
var program and statement of princi- |
)les as to the causes of the war, which
eads: '"The contributary causes of the !
present war are various, but above the |
horrible slaughter loom the ugly in |
;ightings of an economic system, based |
lpon exploitation. 1t is largely a con-
yulSive effort on the part of adrot rul-
constantly diminishing market. Rival
'roups of monopolists are playing a
eadly game for commercial supremacy"
After all this these gentlemen protest
heir loyalty. They say they are behind
PRESIDENT Wilson. They are SO far be-
lind him that they will never catch a
limpse of his vanguard. We should
hank God for such men as Governor
,urnquist and Judge MCGEE. Irrespec-
i've of our political views it is our duty
S patriotic citizens not only to sup
crt Governor Burnquist but to make it
ur chief business to see that he is
e-elected. 1t is not only a question
t keeping the party loyal, it is a. ques-
ion of keeping the state and the nation
oyal. and to help to save America from
he fate which befell Russia.
At the close of the meeting a
'urnquist club was organized. II
~ Hl ~ Ii