The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-02-11
CHAIN STORE PLAN
FOUNDED In STATE
BY TOWNLEY
Continued from page IL

Continued from page ID
will give it back to him with 10
per cent, he was asked.
YES, SIR, replied Mr. Town
lev.
%. That is the purpose-so if
anybody sues you you can give
it back and keep out Of court?
A. / can state 1t better than
that.
@. Well, probably you could,
but l get the purpose Of 1t, don't
A. We make better progress
talking to farmers than to law
yers. ....
UNIoN's OPPOSITION is
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT.
The action taken by the board of
directors Of the North Dakota Farm
ers' Educational and Cooperative
Union of America probably is one of
the most significant developments in
connection with the store plan. At a
stormy session in a Bismarck hotel,
when A. c. Townley attempted to OBJ
tain an endorsement Of his project
by inviting to his aid a group of
Nonpartisan league workers, most of
them paid organizers, the number
@AEO &AhGAAh4AlE SohGAAApT ENd1AGEv ALLE
union directors served notice on the
president that they were against his
plan and that they would wage war
on it on the ground that it was
fraudulent and not conceived with a
view to the best interests of North
Dakota, or of the states IN which it
might later be attempted.
1t was at this conference. that
President Townley made known his
own ATTITUDE toward those who would
make inquiry into the methods of
the company, when he declared, in
response to repeated requests for
information, that it was none of
their damned business.
The break between President
Townley and the Farmers Union has
been pending several weeks. Early
in December, at the time the unions
annual convention was held in Bis
marck, James Mammalian, attorney for
the National Nonpartisan league, and
j. NJ. Brinton, Mr.. Townley's personal
representative and manager of the
stores project, sought without sue
cess to obtain an endorsement Of
the proposition, the union directors
insisting that they wanted to do bust
ness with headquarters and de-
manded that Mr.. Townley, PERSONAL
ly, present his proposition. 1t was In
response to that demand that Mr..
Townley appeared before the union
directors in Bismarck late in Janu-
airy.
The resolutions adopted by the
Farmers Union at the December
convention were silent so far as
the National Nonpartisan league
was concerned despite the fact
membership included State SEN
ator Cahill, Of Morton county,
and Representative Fay Harding
Of Emmons county, both promin-
ent league men. The resolutions
endorsed the administrations OF
Governor Frazier and Commits
sioner Of Agriculture John NJ.
Hagan, but nothing was said
about the league.
Significant, however, is one clause
in the resolutions that were adopted,
the paragraph in question follow
ing:
Resolved, that we heartily
pledge our unqualified and UNI
divided support to the Farmers
Union and all its business enter
prises, and that we deplore the
efforts OF Big Business and 9TH
ers to create dissenslon in our
ranks and Aisruptour enterprises
The term, Big business and 9TH
srs" was aimed directly at the
United Stores company
and was the conventions
answer to the pleas by Mr.. Manahan
and by Mr.. Brinton.
UNION HAS TREMENDOUS
MEMBERSHIP IN NATION.
The Farmers Educational and Co
operative Union OF America was