The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-02-26
SOCIALISM IJNMASKED
How the State of North Dakota has
been Dragged to the Very
Verge of Bankruptcy IN
One Year of Town
Iavism

Ieyism
And now Townley has been In con-
troll of the affairs of the State Of
North Dakota for one year. What has
been the harvest? The great cry Of
the campaign of 1916 was for an eco
nomicaI administration and yet we
find at the close of the first year of
Townley administration 100000 in
unpaid bills facing the Frazier admin
istration, with expenditures $14O,324-
SO in excess of the expenditures of
the last year of the Hanna admins
tration, and in spite of these in
creased expenditures many depart
ments find themselves in need of more
funds to finance them through the
second year of the administration.
This fact was one of the controlling
elements that induced the calling of
a special session of the legislature.
Some of the heaviest increased ex-
penditures at the Capitol will need
considerable explanation to satisfy
the average tax payer. It is very ap-
parent to one experienced in such
matters that money has been spent
needlessly and recklessly by some de-
partments and lack of efficiency and
inexperience has cost the taxpayers
thousands of dollars which might
have been saved by a business edmin-
istration.
Townley is Bankrupt, Too, He Says
Bankruptcy is an unpleasant word
to the honest man who wants to be
able to look into the faces, eye to eye,
of the men with whom he has been
associated and whose confidence he
has won, and he shrinks involuntarily
at the sound of that word, with an &C
cusing finger back of it pointing at
him.
The honest man whom i'll fortune
has thrown into bankruptcy, will not
be content to have that stigma follow
him through years of future success
full life. Bankruptcy may be justi-
fed; aye, is justified in the eyes of the
law and in the minds of honest men,
when it is Voluntarily resorted to for
the protection of all who have placed
confidence in the one who has the
misfortune to come to that state in
his affairs.
But what of the man who deiber-
ately gains the confidence of many
men in business life, involves them in
extravagant enterprises which fail to
produce the returns he had glowingly
pictured, and who deliberately ''steps
out from under" and leaves those
friends to shoulder their loss without
an effort at reparation, and who
through the following years of sue
cess, does not accumulate ont dollar
of property in his own name?
A. C. Townley is a bankrupt, fin
ancially at least, according to his own
sworn testimony before Judge H. F
O'Hare, referee in bankruptcy at Bis
marck, North Dakota, on October &c
1917. His assets and those of h
brother, C. S. Townley, were given &
% =
approximately. It was the result O.
transactions in 1911, debts accumu
lated in Mr.. Townley's "Flax KinC
venture near Beach, n. D.
Mr.. Townley testified that his SC
and only income from the Nonpart-
isan League is $4,000 a month ard
clothing and expenses of his fami:-
and himself derived from the leag1:
and $4,000 per month for ''directir
the editorial policy of the Nonpart
isan Leader and the Fargo Cour:
News"
William Lemke, Mr.. Town1ey's cl'-
est associate, and former Congress
man James Manahan of Minnesota
appeared as attorneys for Mr.. Tow,
ley, making strenuous efforts to Pre-
vent any disclosures as to the organ
ization of the league, it's manage
ment, the funds collected, how col
lected, and where, when and how G.;
pended. Their repeated objection
brought the statement from Attorne
Francis Murphy of Minot, who 81
peared for the Townley creditors g
expected you to cry politics wheneve
I touched upon vital point"
The. objections of Mr.. TownleH'
attorneys were over-ruled by Refere
O'Hare, who stated, ''The bankrur
has to answer every question or re
fI1se at his merrill
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