The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-05-27
In The Open Forum
A Column Devoted To The Task OF Keep"
ing UP With North Dakota Editors

The Plaza Pioneer tells of one subscriber 8
idea of a cooperative consumers farm. 1t is
a very timely and amusing satire on the con-
sumers store scheme. Here it is:
Mr.. Cady from north Of town was in last
week with a new idea His idea is that the
townspeople should start cooperative
consumers farm. He proposes to sell $4,000
worth of right to buy butter, eggs, produce
grain and he will sell such things raised
at 10 per cent margin Of profit, without
freight. The town people will pay $40 year
for the privilege of purchasing produce at
this farm Mr.. Cady promised to invest
$4,000 Of the $4,000 in the farm and equip
ment. In this manner tOwnspeople will be
assured Of getting their produce at a reason
able profit. With regard TO the surplus OF
$30,O00 he says, what he does with that is
none Of the toWnspeopIes d business.
He will spend it for educational, political
purposes or anything he thinks will benefit
Mr.. Cady claims that the reason people
in town are growing poorer and poorer and
the farmers are growing weather. is because
the farmers robbing the townspeople;
they have been buying too much hay at $40
ton and too much wheat at 81 a bushel,
too much oats at 81 a bushel, too many eggs
at 40 cents and too much butter at so cents.
He believes in cutting out the middlemen
and have the consumer get his produce di-
rectly from his farm, at least from one
he thinks he owns. For a small additional
fee of SIC he will also furnish all townspeople
with information how to vote. He claims
that business will never be good. matter
how good crops we have, until the towns
people know how to vote right. This de-
hired men during the long winter evening
and will incur no additional expense to the
Consumers Farm company. The Pioneer
wants 1t understood that we are opposed
to Mr.. Cadys plan for the same reason that
we are against TOWnleys plan
The Pembina Pioneer has this discussion Of
the leagues finances:
Nonpartisans claim membership Of about
$4,000. Some Of these have paid three years
membership fees of from $40 to $25. Many
have paid in 800 to the cooperative store
scheme. Averaging these figures at only
Is per member the total would aggre-
gate $1125,00O. For none Of this large sum
has there ever been any accounting or state
ment made to the general membership. We
know, Of course that much Of this money
has been invested in newspaper plants to
spread the NOnpartisan propaganda, which
papers, however, always speak Of opposition
papers as "the kept press"
The Leonard Journal discusses the Prayer
ynching incident, as follows:
German editors in Germany are highly in
dignant over the lynchtng Of Prayer in Illi-
nois.
There are hints of reprisals against Amer
lean prisoners in Germany.
country that gave "schrecklichkeit' to
the world presents an absurd spectacle when
she raves about reprisals.
A nation whose soldiers are given free
rein with neutral countries and in unpro-
teCted towns, to vent their savagery upon
babies, girls. women and old men, has
pitiful preteXt for threatening reprisals for
the hanging OF OF her citizens VINO made
a mistake by coming to America.
She can keep her pets at home.
The usual everyday treatment accorded
American prisoners will be ample reprisal
without additional "kultur' deliberately
Norway a neutral country. has lost 755
ships, torpedoed by U-boats
Suppose Prayer had been hanged in Nor
way.
in the name of reprisal
The LaMoure Chronicle, which for some time
,ast has been espousing the cause of the Non
ARTISAN league, though owned independently,
GEMS to be considerably displeased with the
eports that President Mcfarland of the Valley
lily normal school Is to be ousted. The follow
ng is an editorial the subject from The
chronicle of last week:
The Chronicle has paid little attention to
the report that the board Of regents has in
mind TO unseat Geo. A. Mcfarland, president
Of the Valley City normal. That such a
breach Of faith with the people Of this state
could be seriously contemplated seemed
preposterous And yet, cumulative evidence
indicates very clearly that the board has
been sharpening its knife. and that the vet
eran Valley City educator seems destined to
play a stellar role in a Roman holiday.
well defined rumor has it that N. c.. Macdon-
aid, state superintendent of public instruc-
ton. who stealthily undermined his pred
ecessor in office, Is the moving spirit in the
plot against Mcfarland. If this is true, it
win prove conclusively that Macdonald is
the prize peanut in the package According
to another rumor, it is the settled purpose
of the leaders Of the Nonpartisan league to
place Socialists at the head of all the edu-
cationaI institutions in this state. There
may be foundation for this rumor-We
hope there isn't--but 1t is serious enough to
invite attention and examination. The re-
Inoval Of Mr.. Mcfarland from the presidency
of the Valley City normal would be mon
strous. and would engender wave of indig-
nation and resentment which might well
prove disastrous to the league. For that
reason, lie no other. we do not believe that
the board of regents could bring itself to
perform such graceleEsr LI considersd and