Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1920-10-01
SOUND GOVERNMENT
SUBJECT OF TALK HERE FOR AS
ISOLATION BY T. q. r.
~.r- GORDON

SUBJECT OF TALK HERE FOR AS
| ISOLATION BY T. q. r.
~.r: GORDON
F. G. r. Gordon, formerly prominent
" identified with the American FEEDER
alton Of Labor, addressed small gath
ering of people on t'Sound Govern
ment'' at the Elks hall Tuesday eve-
ming. He was sent here by the Min
nesota. Sound Government Association.
Charles Sylvester Introduced the speak
At the request of Mr.. Sylvester, Mr..
Gordon first told in few words, the
aims and purposes of the Minnesota
Sound Government Association, saying
that it aims to keep the government
sound and free from radicalism.
Mr.. Gordon attacked socialism as a.
| menace to every country because of it's
aim, that Of socializing business and
industry. He said that socialism has
grown enormously in late years and is
now spread all over the world. In the
year 1914, there were only 200, 1000
socialists in Europe outside of Russia
many alone and twenty to, thirty mil
lion in Europe. There are many social
lists in this country and many, othe1' or,
ganizations back of them. He quoted
Berger, the prominent American Social
ist, as having said that eve cannot get
this movement going right until we can
get the farmers into the organization. -
The result of this statement by Berger,
the speaker said, was that all sorts of
schemes were tried and soon we found
that in North Dakota such. movement
was started. The Socialists were back
of it and 80 per cent of all the men who
have to do with the Nonpartisan
League, whether they be farmers, bus
mess men or editors, are Socialists. If
the Socialist ideas were to be taken out
of the Nonpartisan platform, there
would be nothing to it.
William Lane of Canada, according to
Mr.. Gordon, was one of the first expon-
ents of the ideas of Socialism. Lane
went to Australia and organized a CO.
operative family association. Represent
atives went to Paraguay, South Ameri-
ca and there secured from the govern
ment, free, q large tract Of land on
which to start a colony. They went
back to Australia, told Of what they
had gotten, secured money and charter
ed ship and went to Paraguay. The
colony was the extreme in socialistic
ideas, everything being divided equally
between the colonists. In year, Lane
and some of his close followers seeded
because two factions had arisen. Ancth.
ec colony was started in South America,
but in this one all were to Get what
they produced or. earned, with the re-
suit that this is the most @suceessful
Socialist colony in existence.
Denmark was named by Mr. Gordon
as country where everything is social
lied, the middleman eliminated and
socialistic ideas appear upon the stat
utes. After a careful examination of
conditions there, Mr.. Gordon found that
every time the farmer of Denmark ac
quired 81 in wealth, the farmer Of this
country acquired $4.20. The working
class there got only oce-third as much
as the working class here. The Ameri-
can peoples*aad six times as much
money. Taxes in Denmark were much
higher than in this country. This com
ra1rison was for 1914: Scfore the war
broke out.
Government ownership Of public ut:'-
;1ies. is the Socialists aim, according
to Mr.. Cor Ion, and he attacked the dea
Of Roveramtn: ownership and oos a.
tion, rs val a. municire: ownership, o;
utilities, as vicious, expensive and fu-
t1ls:y. He named Germany; Italy, and
Canada as il stances Of where tbs hiss
proven q i, :iure, not b, cause the pcc
lie who C!.elated the utilities we:e d.
honest, hut because il is operated by
tie government and il not run right
He gave "a the reason for the poor ser
vice that they are politicaized. Aus
tralia was named as q country where
the Nonpartisan League platform has
been in existence for Is years. Every
thing there is socialized. ). No other
country has such high taxes and nation
al debt as the Australasian states,
the national debt in 1914 being greater
than that of America with population
four times greater. The wages were
40 per cent less and the cost Of trans
portation was six times greater.
As for America, the speaker picked
out what he called the "sociaized
postofice,'' and said that there is no
business that is run with so many mis-
takes as the postoffice; it has no sur
plus and never will have; it is grating
on the treasury department as its run
ming expenses are paid therefrom.
Townley was branded as dangerous
man by MI. Gordon, who said that
Townley has never denied that he will
hire a Socialist to promote his work, if
he possibly can. The big men Of the
country do not fear Townley and pay
no attention to him and others Of like
calibre, merely thinking that they are
crazy, but the men right here at home
Eare the ones who are concerned. In
conclusion, the speaker Informed his
hearers that T. W. Bouck Of Royalton
has announced his willingness to run
for representative-at.large from Morri'
SON and Grow Wing counties in opposi-
ton to s.. G. Gartner Of Brainerd