Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1918-01-05
THE AMERICAN WAY
By DR.. Frank Crane.

In North Dakota there is a farmer
bv the name of A. C. Townley. His
main crop was flax. This was what
happened. l quote from Eleanor
Taylor in the Survey:
"In order to buy new equipment
seed, etc., lie borrowed a large sum
of money from a group of interests
which controls not only the credit
offered to the farmer, but also the
TRANSPORTATION and marketing tacll-
tiles of the state. When his crop
was ripe it necessarily passed through
the hands of this group to be put on
the market. They paid Mr.. Townley,
as they did many Of the farmers,
low price for his flax, and sold 1t Tor
a high one. Their price to him was
so low that he found it impossible
to make the required payment on
his mortgage. The mortgage was
foreclosed, therefore, and his farm
taken to liquidate the debt.
"Townley saw other farmers in al
most similar predicaments. In spite
of hard work and intelligent effort
they were so at the mercy of food
and grain spectators that they barely
made both ends meet. He gathered
a few together, therefore, talked the
situation over, and out of their con-
ference grew the North Dakota Non
Partisan League, with today mem
bership of 10000 farmers and an
annual income Of about $1,0OO,0OO."
Very soon the combined farmers
saw that they could not do much
toward relieving their economic
troubles without going into politics.
The old parties, both Republican and
Democratic, had been side-stepping
in their usual way. The farmers put
their own men in the primaries. The
1916-1917 elections seated their can
didate in the governors chair, and
got them three supreme court Judge
ships and 1O5 out of the 1873 members
of the legislature.
The labor unions have co-operated
with them.
The point l want to bring out in
all this is that this is fine sample
of the real way to run a democracy.
Instead of standing about berating
your country and mourning the in
justice of the laws, why not get busy
and create majority to remedy the
bad conditions
Why complain of politics? Why
not go into politics, clean things up,
and get what you want in straight
forward, American way?
If you don't like the parties on
hand, start a new one.
Anything that will break up the
old, traditional political alignments,
that have come to mean nothing but
phrasemaking, is welcome. Perhaps
Townley and his co-workers have
shown US the way. At the recent
convention he said: "The farmers
control 35 per cent of the vote of
this country; labor controls about 27
per cent; a combination of these two
elements would make itself felt
through the nation"
Illinois is to be one of the battle
grounds of the National Non-P Partisan
League in the near future. Word has
gone out from the leaders of this
agrarian labor fight against the old
political parties and special interests
that if the league can elect 100 con-
gressmen next year or aid in the
election of that many representatives
favorable to its purposes the "steel
barons," "coal barons" and others
suspected by the farmer of making
billions of dollars from the war will
lose their influence at Washington.
With North Dakota already won
and the Non Partisan League sweep
ing through Minnesota, its leaders
are now planning a congressional
campaign to take in Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas and several other western
states, and congressman who have
failed to heed the appeals of the
league are to be bitterly fought for
reelection. Popular Finance.