The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1918-01-18
Organizer for Boss" Town.
ley Runs Into Nest of
True Americans.
BLACKFOOT RANCHER
MAKES FEW REMARKS
ScOtty Brown, Foreign Born,
Tells Why United
States Must Fight.


and minister plenipotentiary. of A. c.
Townley. head Of the Non Partisan
league. went up the Rattlesnake valley
last night to promote the cause Of his
mentor and spoke to gathering of
Rattlesnake valley folks. And the
meeting. by which he had hoped to
advance the ideas OF the bankrupt
Flax King" Of North Dakota, ended
up In as fine a patriotic session of good
Americans as has been witnessed
within Missoula county in many a day.
Mr.. Meyer spoke FOR an hour, and
convincingly, of the difficulties of the
Dakota farmers and ranchers, which
resulted In the formation of the or
ganization which all clear sighted
Americans now believe is fast becom-
Ing, under the leadership of Townley.
one OF the most, effective organizations
for autocracy in the United States
Why II Started.
He told how the league came to be
established. and said that II was partly
due to the fact that the state Iegisla-
ture of North Dakota had turned down
the wishes OF 73 per cent of TIN. voters
~se - AChUA SAtuAbl 8Aah1HB InT Il certain
piece OF legislation. and for the rest
to their enactment taking away from
the good Scandinavian farmers their
much beloved "snus."
Il ask you why" said the speaker,
-four farmers living in the same To-
cality should belong all to four diff
ferent political parties? Is there any
good reason why one rancher should be
n Republican, and his three near
neighbors should be Democrat, Social
list and Prohibitionist, respectively"
Must Defend Themselves.
Mr.. Meyer declared that at last the
farmers had come to realize that they
must organize, producer and consumer
against the food pirates of the Twin
Cities, Chicago, and other large cities.
He detailed something of the effect the
league has had upon the politics and
legislation OF his native state, and pre-
dicted that it would spread to and be
equally effective in Montana.
Throughout his talk, which was
heard by just 20 persons, he made little
or no reference to Townley himself,
and when he had completed 1t, and had
asked whether any persons desired to
question him. one of his hearers asked
him If he did not think that the oppo-
sition which had developed to his
movement in the press. was due more
TO the unpatriotic utterances of the
leader than to any desire whatever to
injure the farmer or to prevent his
organization?
Resds From TownIey.
The questioner Herewith produced
letter in which direct quotations from
speeches made by Towniey in towns
in Minnesota and North Dakota. were
given. These quotations were read,
as follows.
The nation demands that you give
yourself and your sons and your broth
ers and your husbands and your sweet
hearts to be taken across the seas and
to spill their life's blood on the fields
OF Europe. and then comes to you and
asks you to subscribe for the Liberty
bonds to pay the expenses OF the war.
This Is the injustice Of the war. and
the manner in which officials Of the
administration are carrying ii into ef-
ect"-At DEVILS Lake. n. D., June :.
1917.
"The flower OF the young manhood
Of this nation is going across the water
to bleed, as We are told, for the honor
of the country. but it needs some ef-
fort for me to believe that these young
men are going TO fight for the freedom
OF democracy. believe and fear that
they are going to bleed for the profits
of the damned pirates who profit from
our food products."-At Williston. y.
D.. June, 1917.
Attacks Liberty Bonds.
why should We buy liberty bonds
when the government asks US to pay
enormous profits for the equipment to
run our FARMS Wen never get any
thing from the government for any
thing that We do in this struggle
Why should We help the government,
II they won't help u.s."
Mr.. Meyer took refuge against these
questions by declaring rather ineffec-
lively, that he had not heard them and
that the Newspaper in which they were
printed. the Minneapolis Journal. had
been unfair to the league from the be-
ginning. He admitted that he did not
lcentiAsed On Page Threa.l