The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1919-06-19
TEMPTATION

~o w 49,
own purposess Well use plain Ian
guage. Just as the devil took the
hungry and suffering savior up on a
high mountain and tempted him by
showing him "all the riches and
glories Of the world" and Offering
them to him an inducement for serv-
ice, so Townley appealed to the baser
passions Of men who either had or
imagined they had a grievance. The
love Of power has always been q lure
to men Of all classes. For this, wars
have been fought, nations have been
bled and ever 1.-THE angels fell because
of a desire for over-much power"
No wonder. A promise of wealth and
power always wins adherents and
robber bands, plundering expeditions,
and selfish organizations of all kinds
have come into existence through un-
scrupulous leaders of glib tongue and
reckless thought, promising "all the
riches and glory" You will own the
banks; you will hold all offices; you
will 1--WE the mills; you car load your
taxes onto the city people and the
utility corporations; in short, you can
get something for nothing. Besides,
they have been robbing you and now
it's your turn. Go to 'em. Do 'em up.
Greed, revenge, hatred, violence,-all
the lowest passions of man, but still
real passions which he often falls q
victim to, were appealed to by Town
ley and his henchmen. The fact that
the farmer in the Northwest had never
before in fifty years received such pay
for his grain, his livestock, his poul-
try or his dairy produce mattered not.
The fact that thousands of farmers
were interested in business outside of
farming, proving Townley's "class
talk" a lie, mattered not.
The farmers Of North Dakota were
jogging along having in their posses.
sion a bone, worth not less than one
billion dollars. They had acquired
this marrow bone in less than a gen.
GRAFTON. They were prosperous and,
very busy, buildings schools, churches,
farmers elevators, fine houses, send
ing their children to school, even feel.
ing a little sorry for most of those
whose lot was east in town. Then
came the evil spirit of hatred, greed,
envy, falsehood and injustice. True
to the artist conception of the evil
spirit, this messenger had evil, CLINT.
ing eyes, a long thin nose which q
prudent nan wouldn't pull even If it
was creased, a sheer for everything
holy, clean and right. The evil spirit
proceeded to pour envy and hatred
into the farmers ears, to stir up their
greed, and most surprising Of all, he
did not hesitate to tempt these patrt
otto and Christian farmers to look
down On their own government and
country which had dealt so generously
with them, given them the finest farm
ing lands in the world for nothing, do
mated hundreds Of thousands Of acres
of and to the people of the State for
which they might build Universities,
Colleges, Normal Schools and other in
situations, and in addition, Sections 16
and IS in every Township, these to
be sold and made in a permanent fund
for the education of all the children.
This last item alone would, If handled
as honestly and co~nservatively as here
tofore, amount to about $50,OOO,OOO.
This would mean two million a year
at four percent interest-Quite a lift
in paying school taxes. Besides sheer
ing at the government and finding
fault with it he never failed to sheer
at church and religion. His language,
private and public, resked with oaths.
Still this abominable creature appeal
ed to the greed and envy of his hear
ers and won the minds Of many. The
arch isnd had read in the Bible that
"love money is the root of all evil"
Knowing the truth Of mans greatest
book he turned Its information to his
own use with much success, following
the DEVILS example when he tempted
the Master. This evil spirit knew that
the more busy a farmer is and espe.
citlly the less English he knows, the
easier it is to capitalize his ignorance
and weaknesses. Thus it came to pass
that thousands Of North Dakota farm.
ers who were content and busy with
their fine, fat bone, became greedy and
envious and filed with the same I'm.
reasonable hatred that their new
teacher overlooked with. They saw
the bones the bankers, millers and Gle.
vator people had, and, while these had
all worked with the min harmony and
they had helped each other to find
bones when times were hard and they
were trying to get q start in this new
State, now they wanted their bones
also. Sicked on by the tempter many
are ready to plunge into the cold and
untried waters Of State industrialism
to set the other fellows bone and In
fact all bones in sight or imagined,
Go slow, old man-:hatred, envy, greed
and q spirit of falsehood and unfair.
ness never got you or yours any bones,
Also keep an eye on your own bones.
both those you W In your own ana
and those In the States namo held TO,
your children. An evil spirit that
doesn't hesitate to stir up hatred,
preach greed and envy and takes your
money for this service, will not hest.