The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1920-10-21

as the NOnpartisan League, When, ne
gets large part Of the substantial
farmer class behind him, this question
has got to be asked. If the leaders
are honest, the people who have start
ed out on an experiment with them
will give them a fair trial; if they
are not, they will gradually drift away,
as the farmers of this state seem
to be doing. -,
They may drift away anyway. If
they determine that the leaders, meth
DDS are unsound, unwise or unprac-
teal, they will leave him even if they
believe in his honesty But if they
can't trust his honesty, the end has
come.
Let's review Townley's history
briefly. He started as a bonanza
farmer, to make big money/by farm
ing on large scale. Hewas openly
a socialist in these days. Under
stand US; he had perfect right to
be . socialist if he wanted to. But
keep in mind that he was.
Failing at his large scale farming,
he organized the Nonpartisan League.
Why? As he says, to get the farm
ers their rights. Nothing was said
at the start about socialism, farther
than starting certain state industries,
A terminal elevator, for which the
farmers had long asked, was the first
thing on the program. Grain grad
ing and marketing was of immediate
interest to the farmers. Then follow
ed state mill, state bank and
state home building association.
Townley did not get into complete
noI
1919. In 1917 the senate was still
against him by small majority. But
he could have had the terminal ele-
vator then. The "standpatter' SEN
ate passed the bill, which the Non
partisan house at first rejected, but
afterwards passed. BY the way, o.
Connor, fusion candidate for governor,
voted for it. Then Governor Fra
zier vetoed it. Why? AS he said,
because he wanted the money to build
it raised by bonds and not by direct
taxation. The elevator as planned
was to cost three hundred thousand;
one hundred thousand had already
been raised by tax established years
before. 1t would have taken two
hundred thousand more. But note
this; the getting Of terminal elevator
for the farmers of the state did not
appear to Frazier to be Of as great
Importance as a program of state
bonding. And in 1919 Frazier APP
proved bill to raise the same amount
Of two hundred thousand by direct
taxation for a purpose much less in
teresting to the farmers-the promo
ton of immigration.
Was Townley-who, has controlled
the League from it's beginning to the
present day, and is certainly respon-
sible for it's acts-just as certain as a
lot of it's substantial members are
NOT responsible for them = was
Townley really interested in the pros
perity of the farmers, or in putting
over a special program of socialism,
of state owned industries?
If the farmers want state owned
industries, all right. They evidently
do want at least state managed
mill and state managed bank, and,
since they want them, they have the
right to have them. It is right
which is conceded to the people of the
state by Mr.. O'Connor, who believes in
majority rule.
But they really are, not for a whole
program Of state managed industries,
but for certain things that touch them
nearly-protection in getting rea-
sonable price for their grain.
Seated in power, what did Townley
dc with the bank, for instance? Did
he try to run it economically, so that
it would have as much money as pos
sible available to use for the benefit
of the people of the state? Or did
he have Cathro appointed at salary
Of ten thousand dollars, and give him
besides his travelling expenses from
his home at Bottineau and his living
expenses at Bismarck? Most of us,
on ten thousand dollar salary, would
think we could afford to pay carfare
and hotel bills, or even to move to
the capital. Did he use the banks
money to make loans to small farm
ers, such as the readers of this paper,
or to ..'bonanza" farmers who owned
thousands Of acres? Did he keep
the banks money in North Dako'a
or send it down to Minneapolis and
St. Paul-where he had moved the
Offices of the League? Did he run
the public schools in an efficient man
ner, or, when the peoples choice, Miss
Minnie Nelson, was elected to office,
pass SUCH laws dS W CdNC away - Jill
her most of the power the voters in
tended she should have? Did he ac-
knowledge beforehand, honestly, the
meaning of the laws passed? Didn't
he say instead, and didn't the league
newspapers all say, just before the
referendum election of 1919, that these
laws did not take any powers from
the superintendent of public instruc-
ton? And after that election, didn't
Rev. Totten tell Miss Nelson, "Did
you really believe that?" How that
campaign pledge has been violated
everybody in North Dakota knows. :.
If we are to believe Brinton and
Waters, whose articles we are pub
fishing in this paper for what they are
worth, that the people may hear the
story and Judge for themselves, Town
ley has done many other things. Ac-
cording to Brinton, Townley was from
the first the real owner of the Sisal
Trust and it's Florida lands, and made
the preliminary deal for them in 1915
80 -.