The Sauk Centre herald., 1918-03-14
GOV. BURNQUIsT 4.
ARRAIGNS LEAGUE
Continued from page one)

later lind are nothing but pretended
friends-1wolves parading in sleeps
clothing Yt{t'
Defended Murderers.
"You, who appear to be the execu4
tive secretary of this organization,
were the attorney who defended the
murderers in the I. w. w. trouble
on the Range two years ago and who
has assisted the I. w. w. organiza-
tion which has publicly announced
that it is it's intention ultimately 20
take the farms from the farmers,
whose headquarters since the COM
mencement of the war have been
raided by the Federal government
and whose members are now taking
refuge in such organizations as the
National Nonpartisan league.
"How, under such circumstances
the farmers of Minnesota, who have
been threatened with the loss of their
farms, who have time and again been
compelled to appeal to peace officers
for protection against the members
Of this lawless, anarchistic organiza-
ton, can now join a league with
promoters whose sympathizers have
been with this law-breaking Bolshe-
vik element in our society is well
nigh incomprehensible.
'The only explanation that can be
given is the fact tina tsome of the
leaders and organizers of the Non
partisan league evidently are not yet
known as well to the farmers and
aabbSSfefs Ct SuE Sar state az az they are
those who have had more experience
with them.
Fears misunderstanding.
"Another reason for declining your
invitation is the possibility of con-
STRUNG my presence at your partisan
campaign rally by some as an in
dorsement of your propaganda. 1t is
of course, the duty of the Governor
to be fair to all classes and to oppose
any program which is apt to resul,
in a division of our state into classes.
"Such arraying Of class against
class would be welcomed by the enc
mics of our republic for such course
will tend TO defeat our nation in this
war and eventually will mean the dis
solution of our form of government
and the undermining of the econor1-
1c and political freedom of our people.
HE who, in normal times, needless
ly arrays class against class is most
often the ambitious demagogues,, but
any individual who will do so when
our nation is in a life and death
struggle is knowingly or unknow-
ingly traitor to his state and to
his country.
"In declining to speak at your par
try's rally, I wish to say further that
for me there are, during this war
only two parties-one composed of the
loyalists and the other. of the dis
loyalists. The only party whose
cause shall strive at this time to adj
vance is the party composed of those
Americans who, heart and soul, are
loyal to their country. 3${l
"The only issue that to me is para
mount at this time is the winning
of this war and that cannot be done
If our house is to be divided against
itself through false accusations on
the part of political agitators such as
those who head your organizations. /,
1.-The only party and politicians who
l am in this campaign going to OPP
pose are that party and those poll
ticians who, for party purposes, BY
lnnuendo or otherwise, are discour-
aging our people by claiming this is a
war begun by the rich or that the
burdens of the conflict will fall more
heavily on one class than another
or make statements which in some
other way will lengthen the conflict
by creating dissatisfaction at home
and thus Indirectly cause the death
of additional thousands if not mil
lions of our fellow citizens on Euro
pean battle fields.
Not Rich Mans War.
We oil agree IHdG war pfOnCeefS
should be dealt with as drastically
as it is possible to deal with them.
But it cannot be said tha this is a
rich mans war for those who have
gained most from it would have made
great profits if the United States had
not entered it.
II hold no brief for any class, but
to make the farmers or laboring men
believe their sons are Disseminated
against in this war, as implied in
your statement of principle lis trea.
sonable conduct, for the rich m ans
sons are conscripted proportionately
to greater extent than the sons-o1
the farmers and laborers.
"This is apparent because of the
exemption of those needed to suppor,
their dependents and the exemption
afoyved because Of agricultural ane
a,ssastrial pursuits. Up to this datt
9bout per cent of the male popula
tion of our country has been callet
and 90 per cent of the war taxation
has come from business profits an:
| incomes, falling mostly on those hes