The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-08-15
Exchange Expressions.
In Full Cry, Again.
bismarck ~Palladium)

In Full Cry, Again.
bismarck Palladiurn)
The active spirits having thelwelfare Of the
Nonpartisan League of North Dakota at heart
have never been accused IF being asleep at the
switch, yet it is perhaps not out Of place TO
sound note of warning at this time There
can be no possible reason to doubt that a we'll.
organized and carefully arranged campaign OF
villification, Misrepresentation and downright
lying is now in full force and effect, through the
medium of certain state and twin city papers:
Apparently in no way abashed or fearful OF
the definition Of what constitutes seditious talk
by high federal government officials and the
state council Of defense, nor vet OF the still
more recent judicial ruling Of Judge Amidon
Of the federal court, these hyenas Of the press
have again taken up the slogan OF disloyalty
as applied to the League, and appear to be now
in full cry along their chosen avenue Of invec-
tive. That they themselves are guilty OF the
ofense with Which they charge the League,
should they be unable to prove, it seems in no
way to stay the virulenoe of their epithets, on
the principle, possibly, that there is safety in
numbers. Even the moribund I. Y. A. seems
to have taken a new lease Of life under the en-
couragements of these other falsifiefs, and it's
feeble squeak is again heard in hotel corridors.
Among twin city periodicals joining in the hub
ton devoted to the interests of bankers and
loan merchants. It's columns appear to be al
. ways open to Trades against the League, and
the sky appears to be the limit when abuse
of that organization is the subject, as witness
the following taken from it's issue OF August 3:
The Nonpartisan League is a political
party which is frankly communistic, frank
.ly antagonistic to our national ideals. It's
program is one of sabotage. theoretically,
is for the purpose of improving the con-
dition of the farmer; practically, it is an
absolute attempt to undermine the ConstiS
tuition of the United States. It calls for
state or municipal operation of banks,
mills, public utilities of every description,
and specifically advocates CONSUMPTION by
the state of all profits and all personal in
comes in excess of $4,000. The promise
has been made to the farmers that, with
financial institutions once under state oper-
alton, financial help without the fornality
of security in return will be extended for
the development of farm properties.
That accusation of sabotage is pretty strong
stuff, and distinctly actionable, but the writer
had a better one, as witness the following:
The Bolsheviki of Russia have made the
experiment of discouraging by legislative
fiat all Individual thrift, initiative and en-
ergy, and reducing all to a common level.
And in consequence the world now has be-
fore it the sad spectacle of a country, ma
turally rich and prosperous, slowly dying
of %inaction. The Bolsheviki program of the
Nonpartisan League Is beginning to have
the same effect upon North Dakota. Al
ready the blight of a rotten economic sys-
tenn is beginning to be felt there.
"Discouraging individual thrift, initiative
and energy" is a gem Of reckless misstatement.
If that is the case, will the Commercial West
please explain how it came that the farmers of
North Dakota, who are solidly behind the Non
partisan League, doubled their rye acreage to
more than two millions of acres in the fall of
1917 and added six hundred thousand acres to
their spring wheat acreage in the spring of
1918? This was in immediate and practical
response to the worlds cry for bread. The rye
acreage is the largest of any ever planted by
any single state or province on the North
American continent, and much of the wheat
acreage was added only by borrowing money
from the state, after the Bankers had refused
to finance the seed and feed act loans.
If these things look like loss of individual
thrift, initiative and energy" to you, Mr.. Com
mercial West, you yourself are suffering from
mental atrophy, superinduced by too long and
too servile obedience to your financial dictator.
Lost Their ShibbOleth.
(Parshall Leader)
Atop Secretary Bakers severe rebuke of po-
lltlclans who attempt to make loyalty an issue,