The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-02-26
MAKENO. DAKOTA
THE MODEL STATE
OF THE UNION
No. Dakota Leaguers Make
Plans for National
Campaign
HOPES TO BE LASTING
HOPES TO BE LASTING
The Non Partisan League Has a
Fighting Program" of
IA Points

your seat in the gallery of the House
Of Representative of this North Da-
kota Legislature this beautiful spring
day, in the midst of the mildest win
ter the "bleak' Northwest has known
in As years. Look about you. Notice
the knitting women, the smiling men
with the marks of the soil upon them,
the speaker and the members, four
fifths of whom come right from the
plough.
A vote is to be taken. The Nom
Partisan Leaguers intend that it shall
be two to one vote, for two-thirds
are necessary to put their bills into
immediate operation.
The minority tries dilatory tactics
without much reward. The leaguers
bring a sick man from the hospital
and his vote gives them the two
thirds and the first of the "big bills"
that will snake North Dakota the
model state of the Union' has passed
emergency clause and all.
What a machine President Townley
and his associates have devised:
They have all the state officers and
a big majority IN both houses OF
the Assembly.
They have four of the five SUI
preme court judges, and they have
put through an amendment to the
constitution which provides that nc
law shall be adjudged unconstitution.
al unless four judges so declare.
They will put through an enormous
program of legislation and place
| $130,000,000 of state funds in a state
! bank which will be created to finance
their state-owned public utilities anc
other expensive creations.
That there may be no delay any
where they have passed an act which
| puts any law into operation immedi
ately upon it's passage if it gets th'
two-thirds vote needed to make it al
emergency measure. The league gov
ernor will sign all bills. Thus far thu
'two-thirds majority has held.
League candidates can get theil
names on the ballots only as mem
bers of a party. That is the pro
vision of the states primary law. 81
| a candidate runs as a republican O.
q democrat, and the league endorse
him, but to get the endorsement h,
/ must sign a compact at all times t.
work and vote for those measure
and amendments that will assist IL
getting justice for the farmers of thi
state as from time to time shall b.
outlined by the league"
GAS outlined by the league" TIL
"outlining," as was shown in the frs
article of the series, is done in tn
privacy of. room 408 in the Hotel Nc
Kenzie by a little group of leagu
leaders, none of whom hold Office, an
the "outlining" is delivered to ths
office holders, whose pledged votes
will decide the future of the state, il
the nightly secret caucuses that arr
held in Patterson Hall in that same
hotel.
1t certainly is a great machine.
Now this absolute autocracy
i which aims to give this state a rea
democracy" intends to become a ma
tional movement. "The next move
unquestionably, will be nationa
! convention" say the leagues spokes
men. That convention will be hell
at st. Paul, probably next fall. Th
leagues attitude in the coming pre-
.sidential campaign can be but mat
ter of conjecture. But it is a rea
| sonable guess that Labor party vii
be formed, that the league and tn
Labor party will make an alliance
and put ticket in the field. Says tn
league: "'We have the farmers, tina
is we have about one-half the popu
lation of the western states. Labo
T is frankly anxious to affiliate wit
Ius. The difficulty heretofore has bee
that the farmers were not organized
and that by nature they are consel
vative and reactionary. But labo
/ and the farm hitched up in Minnesot
and ON election day, when the leagu
had but $1,000 members, her candi
date got 10000 votes, of which two
i thirds came from the farms and one
q third from the cities"