The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-08-15
THE SPREADING
OF THE LIGHT
The Farmers Movement for
State Ownership Spreads
From N. d. to the Gulf, and
From Washington to Iowa.
A NEW CIVILIZATION.

A NEW CIVILIZATION. I
The ''Solid West" a Political Puz-
zle - It's Political Strength
! Matches the ''Sofd South.
Farmers Hope of Movement.
st. Paul, Aug. 13.-The "Sol-
i'd West" is the newest figure in
the political world. This new
giant matches in political
strength the Solid South, and is
without the complacent leave
things-alone attitude that char
acterizes the older states. Farm
ers are the mainstay Of the
movement, although in several
states organized labor already
has made treaties with the farm
ers and will unite to indorse
representative men for office.
| Take a map and begin at the
Canadian boundary. There's
North Dakota, the seed of the
new movement. Almost four
i years ago the farmers there de
cided that the way to- obtain
legislation badly needed by them
was to organize and vote as a
unit. There was formed the Ma
|tional Nonpartisan league. The
working principle of this inno-
vation was to unite all the farm
er votes on a friendly candidate,
no matter what his political par
|ty. The method was a success
from the start, and resulted in
turning the state government
over to the agricultural class,
which is in an overwhelming
majority.
From North Dakota, the back
bone of the Solid West runs
south to the Gulf of Mexico. In
1 South Dakota the farmers have
Iput a full state ticket in the
field for the November elections.
Their candidate for governor is
M. P. Bates, a farmer who is
noted for his fine stock.
Backing Government Ownership
Next comes Nebraska, where
the farmers league has indorsed
a large number Of candidate for
the legislature. The movement
was too young to be sufficiently
organized to venture the indorse-
ment of a candidate for state Of
flee, since it wants no defeat
chalked up against it. Rather,
the farmers are willing to play
a waiting game, and have their
eyes on the election of 1920.
They are content for the present
to elect a solid block of farmers
to the legislature and thus con-
troll the law-making body.
] From Nebraska the league
has extended into Kansas, al
ways fertile field for radical
ism. The backbone continues
through Oklahoma and into Tex
as.
| Then there are a number of
ribs extending from this back
bone. There's Colorado, where
the farmers are making the state
candidates bid high for their
votes, and have named candi-
dates for the legislature. Earth
er north is Montna, where, in
the absence of a general state
election, the farmers have put
up a long list of candidates for
the state legislature. In Idaho,
the farmers have put out a full
state ticket, headed by H. F.
1Samuels, a millionaire who made
his money in mining and is
spending it as a farmer. Senator
William E. Borah,a Republican,
and Senator John F. Nugent, a
Democrat, have been indorsed
by the Nonpartisan league for
reelection.
In Washington state are al
most 10000 members Of the
farmers league. Other farm
land cooperative organizations
are working hand in hand on the
political program. From Oregon
and California farmers are
watching the spread Of this po-
litical movement, whose princi-
lpal platform is for government
ownership Of public utilities and
| control Of marketing conditions
by the state rather than by the
lmonopolies.
A New Civilization.
Even as far east as New York
i and Maine the farmers are stu
|dying the new movement. Mich