The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-02-20
Devote Most of Their At
tention to Attack ON
Men Exposing System
ARRANGEMENT TO
REDUCE THE COST
Say Like Contract With
Trusts Would Solve
''H. G. L. Problem"

tablishing a chain Of retail stores in
North Dakota under the direction Of
A.. C. Townley, president of the Ma
tionaI Nonpartisan league, have fol-
lowed in the wake of the original
story of the project, published Jan.
10 by The Forum.
J. w. Brinton, personal represen-
tative of Mr.. Townley and general
manager Of the stores company, in q
signed statement published by The
Nonpartisan Leader on Feb. IL,
comes to the support Of the project,
at the same time making attacks
upon the newspapers that have given
the facts relative to the system.
The other statement is in the form
of an editorial by The Nonpartisan
Leader, the editorial policies of which
are directed by Mr.. Townley.
Say They Are Cooperative.
Mr.. Brinton and The Nonpartisan
Leader both deal with the store
project on about the same basis.
They term the stores as cooperative
in their nature, declare they are
farmers enterprises, and Mr.. Br1n-
ton declares himself complimented
with the attention paid 'the modest
organization that we have formed, in
order to supply farmers with their
localities" and which "is credited
with the power and millions of dol
lars which these attacks attempt to
show,
Tt was Mr.. Townley who testified
that the stores had already collected
$3.50, 900, his testimony being given in
the bankruptcy hearing at Bismarck
some time subsequent to the first
story published by The Forum,
wherein 1t was stated that the stores
had collected $3.50, ,0O0-the exact sum
that Mr.. TownIey personally testi-
4 fed to under oath.
No mention is made, either by Mr..
Brinton or by The Leader, Of the
disposition OF the educational and
prepagandan fund that is being
created 900 to date.
Would Solve Living Costs.
II might say that, If such
contract as the Consumers' Unit
ed Stores company has with the
farmers existed between the oil
trust and the farmers, between
the sugar trust and the consum-
ers, between the leather trust
and the laboring man, and be-
tween the steel trust and the
government, the high cost of
living would be largely solved,
and the government would not
now be forced to exert tremend-
GUS efforts to prevent itself be-
ing skinned by the profiteers'',
says Mr.. Brinton at one point in
his article.
Very largely Mr.. Brinton gives
himself over to q discussion of the
position that The Forum and several
other papers have taken with respect
to the store question. He insists that
the stores were not organized to fight
the small town merchants, and that
they, the small merchants, have
nothing to fear from the company.
An editorial note, as follows, pre-
,cedes Mr., Briuton's article:
editors Note: - The Leader
has always supported farmers
cooperative enterprises, such as
stores, creameries, local eleya-
tors, etc. Recently the news
papers that have fought the
Nonpartisan league, and that
fight every farmers organization
and business enterprise, made a
sensational attack on the Con-
sumers' United Stores company.
a farmers cooperative company
Of North Dakota, which is suc-
cessfully operating five stores.
Wild and impossible statements
about this company have been
made by the anti-farmer press
of North Dakota. We asked J.
wv. Brinbon, general manager Of
the Consumers United Stores
company, to make a frank state
ment about the stores and what /
FNnTF nnHm0 TV4 VanTnYVy IN fhEma 4
attacks. We publish herewith
his statement, which is coRclus-
i've evidence that the attack on
the stores is part OF the same old
game to discredit, IL possible, all
farmers enterprises everywhere.)
The complete statement published /
by Mr.. Brinton follows:
There recently appeared in the |
newspapers of North Dakota a /
vicious attack on the Consumers /
United Stores company, a farmers
cooperative store organization now /
operating five farmers stores in |
North Dakota Of which / am general /
manager. So much misinformation /
has been spread by these attacks,
which have been widely copied in /
the press hostile to the farmers in
other states, as well as in North Da-
pany believes that it should issue q
frank statement In regard to these
stores promoted by the farmers. The
farmer members of these stores and |
their patrons are, of course, perfect
ly familiar with the enterprise and |
all its details and highly pleased with
the great success that the stores have
had to date. But it Is probably In
order, since the newspapers hostile |
ito the farmers and their enterprise
have so grossly misrepresented the
matter, to make a frank statement /
for the benefit of the general public.
THE Consumers United Stores
company is a cooperative farmers
organization now operating farmers
stores in North Dakota at Minot, /
Neumare, Crosby, Garrison and 1
Devils Lake. Several hundred farm /
ers are members in each of these /
stores and are now buying their sup
plies at q considerable saving, which Il
promises to be greater as the busl- i
ness becomes more firmly establish i
ed. The United Stores company viii i
start other cooperative farmers Il
stores now being organized. and as /