The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1919-05-15

North Dakota farmer is shrewd and
thrifty. He is able to see good deal
of the world. He knows the ways
that are dark and the tricks that are
vain," and avoids them. Probably
more gold bricks are sold in Wall
street before noon every day than in
North Dakota in the course of year.
If Arthur Townley had gone to the
state with new political offering, if
he had called his program socialism,
the farmers would have laughed at
him. They know what modern social
ism implies, better perhaps than the
socalled eastern 'intellectuals' who pat
Mark on the back but never have TAX
en- the pains to read the stern, unin-
viting logic of this great work.
But Townley put socialism in the
back ground, mounted drygoods box,
started the "ballyhoo," and when his
audience had been properly tuned up
"sold" them scheme of finance and
government that must be nearly as old
as the Missouri river and should be
described as a geological rather than
a historical phenomenon. Essentially
it is populism revised, for which west
ern farmers "fell" in 1892 and 1896.
1t presents the same general theory of
rule by farmers as a separate class,
the same kind of romantic financiering
and is accompanied by the same emo
tional MISUNDERSTANDING, music
and poetry-that marked the political
spree of the COS.
We cannot find proof of most of the
bad things his enemies say about
Townley. He seems to be fairly sin
cere, and certainly he is, in his way, a
genius. Any man who can beguile
S3,20O,O00 out of the pockets of intel
igent citizens for privileges already
guaranteed to them by the constitu-
ton has qualities that make his fail
ure in business almost unbelievable.
There is no question that in the past
the northwestern farmer suffered
from extortions that often outTan
what might reasonably be expected in
trading between the unwary and the
calculating. But who could think that
Townley could parlay these grievances
into political party as we'll organic
ed as the Steel corporation, and that
the members would subscribe out of
their earnings millions of dollars for
the "cause" and place at the disposal
of this gifted individual state funds
amounting, it is said, to over $780,
10000?
And please remember none or few
of his projects have been actually car
ried out AS we understand it, the
Bank of North Dakota is still on pa
per, the elevators and -four mills and
packing houses unbuilt, the "homes at
cost" not yet planned, the Ignite
mines unsurveyed.
The people of North Dakota have
paid a fortune for a prospectus. Let
US hope that when they come out of
the dream, and Townley has folded up
his tools and definitely migrted into
the party of nationl socialism, they
will have no greater loss to write off
or charge to the years amusement
than the amount now in his posses
sion.-Collier's Weekly.
THINK IN 1S7EREs7-sAvE-
The petitions for the referendum
election will be filed in Bismarck next
Monday we have it from reliable au-
thority. There will be about 5000
names filed with the petitions. Gov.
Frazier has already set the date fsR
this election and from now on until
the 26th day of June the fight will
wax warm and fierce. The league has
already arranged for big list of pic
MICS to be held all over the state and
with large army of speakers will do
the best it can to bolster up the cause
which has received such a jolt this
past few months. The Independent
Voters Association will undoubtedly
put up campaign of education and
from now until the election the voters
will hear all sides of the question at
issue.