The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1919-11-07

sald to nave dropped HU,UOO in the
venture.
His next big dream came to public
attention when he tried to become the
flax king of America. He started to
grow flax near Beach, N. D., on a
scale almost as pretentious as he had
tried to grow wheat at Cheyenne
Wells. The result in a very short
time was that he accumulated a list
of mortgages and judgments repre-
senting a loss of more than 100000,
$500, Oo3.54, as set forth by the Grand
Forks, On. d. Herald on Nav II,
1916. When the dreamer went into
bankruptcy at Bismarck, N. D., in
October, 1916. he confessed that his
assets and those of his brothered
totalled $43l.50, with liabilities of
$4,000 approximately.
1T was charged at the time that
Townley had gained the confidence
of many business men, and had in
volved them in evtravagant enter
prises, which failed to produce the
profits so glowingly predicted In this
very bankruptcy hearing Townley's
attorneys William Lemke, who is one
of the heads of the Eonpartisan
league, and former Congressman
Manahan of Minnesota, made such
strenuous objections to efforts to open
up the books of the Nonpartisan
league Cby then a thriving concern)
and to reveal where the leagues
money came from and how it was
spent that the attorney for the Town
ley creditors cried out in court, 4 ex-
pected you to cry politics whenever +
touched upon vital point
Not Worth Much.
Following this bankruptcy hear
ing, which was only two years ago
and in which Townley listed his per-
sona1 assets as $50 worth of wearing
watch valued at $40, a gun
held at $40 and cash in bank at 1898. So
a newspaper of North Dakota, which
had not been gobbled up by the league
printed this diverting comment:
Had Tawnley made good in his
flax adventure he would have be-
come a wealthy scion of his much
hated Big Biz. 1t is certain he would
not have undertaken the organization
of the Nonpartisan league Hughes
would have carried North Dakota in
the last election. The state would
have elected Republican governor.
Baer would not have gone to congress.
There would have been no producers
and consumers convention in St. Paul
and perhaps La Toilette would not
have been brought on the carpet OH
the disloyalty charge. And who can
say but that it would all have been
for the better"
Mr.. Hill then tells the amazing
story Of how Mr.. Townley, just after
the failure Of his private enterprises,
hypnotized the farmers of North Da-
kota with his Nonpartisan league
scheme, under which they were led to
believe everybody would get rich and
happy" 1t appears, however, that in
all probability Mr. Townley could not
have carried out his plans to the ex-
tent that he did had it not been fo-
certain extraordinary conditions, chief
among which was the discomfort of the
of the state, who felt
they were not getting a square deal
from the elevators, flour mills and
commission merchants. Says Mr.. Hill
Chose Right Moment.
There is no doubt that they had
Just cause for anger DIR. Edward r.
Laid of the North Dakota Agricul-
tural College, an expert farmer himself
and thoroughly familiar with elevator
and marketing practices, made the |
downright charge:
Fifty-five million of dollars are
lost to the farmers of North Dakota |
every year through unfair grading
rules for grain.
DIR. Ladd made this statement be-
fore an audience of 5000 farmers, who |
received the remark in sober silence. |
They made up their minds to act. The
only effective means of acting they
knew OF was to get control of the state |
legislature and to elect their own gov
ernor, so that laws to protect them
could be put upon the statute books |
One of the practices most complained |
Of was the custom of elevators to |
weigh grain in the top of an elevator
rather than upon the track. As the
grain dropped down through hopper
scale it passed spout in front of Il
which was a suction fan intended to II
remove the dust before it was