The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-02-27
READSKEPT
PRESS PAPER

EX-PRESIDENT TAFT ADMITS At
TACK ON FARMERS MADE
WITHOUT INVESTIGATION.
=. Salienged BY a representative Of
ehe Nonpartisan league to give the
basis for his recent public staten,ant.
me theory of /. w. W.ism finds an
analogy In the Nonpartisan leaoue y
Taft admitted that he
hao heard only one side. He had oot-
ten ms information entirely from the
hostile kept press and the farmer.
natlng politicians Of the Twin Citiea
He also admitted that, while the
FARMERS of the Northwest labored un-
aer great economic injustices and had
!egltlmate grievances, he had nothing
70 suggest by way of solution. His
attitude had not changed from that Sc
several years ago, when woman with.
a number Of children asked him how !,
she was going to support them under
existing conditions, and he replied.
"God knows" .s1s,5s $50 = =
Believes The Kept Press
Eyes, I made substantially those
statements" he said.
Where did you get your infor,na-
tlon concerning the Nonpartisan lea
que :" asked the interviewer.
why from the newspapers"
do you believe the newspanera
have fairly and accurately represented
the movement ?" he was asked.
Il have no reason to question their
statements" he replied. = ,
Admits Grievances
DO you deny that the farmers Of
the Northwest labored under great;
economic injustices and had legitimate.
grievances, particularly in the matter
OF markets ?" Mr.. Taft was asked.
"No, / don't doubt it in the least -.
ne answered with great candor. ST
feel sure they had. That seems to be-
generally admitted" ---
"Well, then, what remedy would YOU.
suggest to right those grievances ?'"
the reporter asked. s,~.. ...
II can't tell you," returned Mr.. Taft.
Struggling his shoulders. Certainly,
/ have nothing to suggest offhapdss
But I know that public ownssaiip nv
not the right method" a'vSsssssyf aS''Ss Z, /.
"Men who have studied the problem
for 26 years and who probably have
more intimate knowledge of these
peculiar conditions than you have
saai6A is," answered the reporter
"Since You have no. remedy Of your
own to phopose how are you so sure
that theirs IS a wrong one?"
"Let me ,dA you somAtding )" an
nounced the exsrs 6 evids y y
indications Of annoy fha ssi6e
time lhying HIS heavy & On the
reporters knee. "Prophecy is dana
gerous, but will make prediction:
In 10 years e. neH the name Of
the the Nonpa1t 4 sin be an
with great ernesta @ re going
to confine your dangerous experiments
to one state. I am glad that it is
your state and not mine that has been
selected as the laboratoryafor the ex-
Fermentation Of these nlRerous So
cial doctrines.
This latter remark st his state
is particularly interesting, III view Of
the fact that he used to support and
work with Boss Cox in Cipeiniati, !,
Ohio, one Of the most nst6ff0us polit-
ical corrupters the country has known
Didn't Know of Court Decision
Switching the conversation sudden
ly, Mr.. Taft declared:
"I have no sympathy with Townely's
attitude on the war;"
stWhat was Townely's attitude I"
"Why, he was disloyal," replied
Mr.. Taft, looking rather wide-eyed
with wonder that any one should ask )
such a, question. Hes under indict-
ment now, isn't he :" he continued.
Mr.. Taft, was then told, evidently
for the first time, that the supreme
court Of Minnesota had dismissed the
disloyalty indictment against Mr..
Townley and had ruled that the
League pamphlet taken as the basis
for the indictment, was patriotic
rather than sedih0ue.
II did not know thai" he admitted
More Like Populists %
'tYou still persist that the move
ment is analogous to the /. w. W.T."
the League nan asked.
"We1l, ! might disclaim the !. w. w.
Perhaps that was q little too strong.
They are more like Populists. Prob
ably said they were like the ]. w. w.
but I really think I had the Populists
ii mind But he indicated that he
didn't think the correction amounted
to much, thatl the /. w. w, advocating
direct action, and the Populist faxnl
ers, seeking ! remedy through the
ballot, were really Just about ~ s1n,es
For sa1s One tyre - EAi1ianlEg
Morse gasoline sngfAs, 4 4 11e
power, ussd only Sbout fouE uao1ls
and n @ rood as new. px0oenk De1oo,