The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-03-08
WHERE } LEAGUE
HAS FAILED TO
KEEP PLEDGES
Christ Flagel, Former German
Organizer for Nonpartisans,
Hears From Members
TOWNLEY'S CORPORATIONS
Theodore G. Nelson of Dunn,
Center, Asks What These
Organizations viii Do 49,

center, ASKS What These
Organizations viii Do
Light on the condition of affair!
within the league is shed by the fol
lowing letter, received this week u,
Chris Flagel of Kuhn, a former prom
tnent German-speaing organizer fol
the Nonpartisans, and written by
Theodore G. Nelson of Dunn Center
proprietor of the Hill Top farm, ant
formerly an active and enthusiastic
league member: ~" 80 IS
H. .l5@ 5i.a March /, 1918.
Mr.. Chris Flagel,
Kuhn, N. D., .tt.%s&s, 81. lst;lena
Detar Mr.. Flagel: >f :.-.-&t .r.'t!. rs
Your letter came some time ago
I presume you have been waiting for
an answer SO here goes. ,..a H.
You ask how the Nonpartisan league
movement has been coming out here
since you were here last summer
The speeches you made in German in
behalf of the league program and peo
Pies government no doubt. did a whole
lot of good and know that many Of
our German farmers joined the league
through your efforts. But you know
that there are many farmers out here,
as everywhere else, who have during
their lifetime had considerable ex.
perience, in the way Of farmers or
carnations and many of them have
ho1 {hoi~ firno,c NJ
and farmers elevators have failed in
many places, sometimes because the
farmers who put their money into the
creamery or elevator and sometimes
the store elected men as directors
because they were good church mem.
beers Of particular church, or some
men would boost a relative that they
thought was deserving Of a little hon.
or. The result was that we had a
set of dummy directors who would en-
trust the manager to do anything and
everything. The manager would,
piece by piece, work the business so
as to get a little more out of it for
himself until he had very good in
come, and if he did not bust the com,
pany by negligence he would do it by
r"'THa'v fn most or ne mana gers
were honest, however, and the failures
OF many OF the enterprises were due
to ignorance and Indifference. OF late
years you know splendid methods of
keeping accounts have been developed
and managers have been trained and
stockholders are holding directors
responsible more than they used to,
and as result these farmers cooper.
alive enterprises are now nearly al
ways success. >"@
How to Handle League. d. -.
Well, these boys that have gone
through the; mill have a. notion that
the Nonpartisan league. should be
handled the same way. That is, they
can't see why the members of the
league should not elect fair.sized
board Of directors to manage the af-
fairs of the league and be held re.
sponsible for their own acts and. for
the acts of all officers and employees
that they may put to work.. ....
There are also some who feel that
the leaders of the. league in this state
are not true to the league program
when they are encouraging, or at least
not discouraging, the formation Of
lot Of private corporations in which
the farmers are asked to invest on
the presumption that they are part
of the league program.
-. II the Farmers Knew,
I have an dea that If the farm
ers generally know that there have
been formed in lhis state five or six
corporations to do banking, merchan-
disi"o. manufacturing: mining, bri-
quoting, buy and sell patents and
lraue AlarAs, promote private anu
public utility corporations, ETC., and
that, the directors of nearly all Of
them include either A. G. Townley or
his stenographer or some office en-
ployee of his or one or more close
personal friends, they would be still
more backward about pushing the
league or even taking an interest in it
as it now stands. Isl fA
will confess, Mr. Flagel, that it
looks to me as though privately own.
ed corporations have been formed to
do. everything that the league pro
gram provides that the state should
do and that it has all been done with
Townley's consent or knowledge. I'll
does sometime look to me as though
he. ought to publicly warn the farmers
and league members in particular that
formation of private or semf-co- opera
tive corporations for such purposes
are contrary to the league platform
advocating state or federal ownership
and operation of public utilities. It
is not right to stir up enthusiasm
for governmental reform and then
take advantage of that enthusiasm to
secretly and openly further personal
anloition and promote private enter
prises.
The Old Equity. 7
This whole matter reminds me of
our experience in the early days Of
the American Society of Equity. You
know we woke up one year 5000
and found that the man who was pres
ident Of the society owned its official
organ and refused to turn it over to
the society. Also that he had three
other corporations through which he
juggled public confluence for private,
gain. We had noticed for some time
that it was almost impossible to make
hi II