The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1920-07-30
INTERVIEW WITH sen. CONAN.

Senator Ed T. Conan, of Spokane.
candidate for the republican nomina
ltion for governor and the man who ia
Idrawing the fire of the NOnpartisan
League organizers. addressed a gather
ing of Oroville citizens at the Civic
League park Tuesday evening. Though
his coming was known only few
hours in advance, handbills were
quickly printed and fair sized audi
ence greeted the speaker.
According to Senator Conan the
nonpartisan league is the greatest is
sue before the voters of the state OF
Washington at the present tire.
says that this is due to the fact that
our primary system makes 1t possible
for small minority to come into the
primaries and wreck either the repub.
lican or democratic parties. He says
the .non-partisan leaders openly boast
this is what they intend to do and they
are thoroughly organizing their forces
for this purpose.
Senator Conan says the organizers
of the league are not republicans or
democrats but that they are paid So
cialist agitators. He says they are not
even citizens of this state but that they
have been gahered from every state
and sent here by the Townley organ
ization of North Dakota for the pur-
pose of trying to foist a socialistic gov
ernment upon the people of this state.
In discussing the subject, Senator
Conan said:
"Townley the self appointed head of
the afes its policy IN every sruyc
wnIch they are contending for power,
is registered socialist. Arthur LeSuer
the executive secretary, is the attorney
who defended l. w. VS., in several diff
ferent trials. have in my pocket COP
les of the minutes of an l. w. w. meet
ing where Arthur LeSeur was present
for the purpose of forming an alliance
between the ]. w. Ws. and the nom
partisan league
81 cannot think of anything more RI
diculous than a union of farmers with
the !. w. w., and yet that Is exactly
what the nonpartisan leaguers are
seeking to bring to pass in this state.
l cannot believe that farmers will re-
haih III tHio vi 6dAILdJlOu Wucu Lu6y
know that every disloyal citizen, every
radical, every l. w. W., and every So
cialist in the country is joining the
league. These radicals propose to seize
all property including the farms and to
have them conducted by the state Or
ganization for the Joint benefit of the
idle and shiftless as well as for the
industrious. 1t will be remembered that
Big Bill Haywood. said Mr.. John
Farmer with his little 100 looks Just
the same to us as Miller & Lux of the
lO1 ranch with their million and d
quarter acres of land. We propose to
take it all for the working man."
The non-partisan league has caused
taxes in North Dakota to be increased
at greater rate than those of any
other state. This. after promising to
reduce taxes. They have also shifted
the tax burden onto the farmer so that
the farms of North Dakota are paying
more than 70 per cent of the tax bur-
den. The unfairness of this can be re-
allied when it is known that the
farms of Washington pay less than IS
per cent of the taxes.
The great danger in this state at tho
present time Is not that the on-parti-
zan league are so numerous, but they
are so active and so much alive to their
opportunity while the greater number
OF citizens are not aware of the danger
| and will scatter their votes against the
leagues candidates among so many
men,"
Senator Conan says that wherever
he has been he has been given hearty
assurances Of support and he fels sure
that he is to be chosen by the repub-
lican voters to lead the fight against
the non-partisan league. He says this is
particularly true since his debate with
the non-partisan league organizer, II.
II. Stallard at Yakima, last Friday
night.