The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1920-10-14
THE NON bipartisan LEAGUE

TIE NON-PAkIlSAN bEAtUE
We think IL IL time to pause mo-
ment In the campaign and look at
the history and doings Of the Non
Partisan League Our readers all
know It, but may not realize how it
has changed It's purposes and meth
dds in the last four years. The league
IL composed of "A body Of men who
have the respect of all the farmers.
Il also includes in its membership a
certain proportion Of city labor and
other elements. When started, the
purposes at least 80 far IN were dis
closed, were to establish terminal
elevator and adopt similar measures.
The League was supposed to be truly
nonpartisan. to investigate and ap-
prove or disappr0ve candidates who
offered themselves in the different
parties, but not to become party in
Itself.
The League was successful, and has
become to all intents and purposes IA
political party Not content with a
Terminal elevator and state mn,
which indeed IL postponed establishing
until Il could do it by II bond issue,
rather than by direct taxation AS
might have been done with the elcvat-
or in 1917, it has inauguratcd pro-
gram of widespread state industry.
so far we have no criticism. These
are questions on which men differ, and
have the right to differ. SO far ut
least ms the terminal elevator and
state mill and bank are concerned. it
seems to the editors of this paper that
the people have spoken clearly enough
and that the enterprises deserve n
fair trial under busincssikc methods.
But now we come to things that
stand on different footing. The
dycd-in. thc-wool opponents Of the
League say that its program is tend
ing to socialism, Now let it be UNI
dcrstood that we believe that any man
who wants to be socialist has
right to be, We do not agree Mt all
with mon who abuse people for hold
ing sociaistic views. But we feel
quite certain that the great majority
Of the farmer members Of the League
are not socialists, and would oppose
socialistic measures If they saw clear
~ where those measures tended.
II has been well enough proved that
not only Townlcy. but the great ma
jority Of the League leaders. have
been socialists. As we said above,
they had right to be. Let us look
at their actions inside the League.
Laws were passed last year exempt
ing farm improvements from taxation
and partly exempting city property of
similar kinds. At first sight these
laws seems to be benefit to the
farmer. Perhaps they may be. but
II the principle is extended so as f.
nally to exempt all personal property
from taxation, We have as a result the
single tax, everything paid by tax
on land. Mr., Thomason. u Non Par
tisan leader, stated last July at Chi
cago: 1--WE put it over North Da-
kotA. They did not know they were
getting the single tax but that is what
they got"
II the single tax is pushed to its
limit. rs Henry George would have
done It. it simply means that the full
value of the use Of land is taken by
the state in the form Of u tax. and
the state becomes in substance the
owner Of the land. with the farmer
renting it from the state, This is
pure socialism. We will not stop to
argue for or against it, We will
simply point out that it means the
destruction Of private property in
land. We do not for moment be-
ievc this is what the farmers of this
state really want
Professor Roylancr, the Leagues
tax expert at the last legislature, and
a socialist, proposed that lands for
Coitcd to the state for taxes should not
be sold. but remain the property of the
state,
We want our readers to understand
that we arc not opposed to the Non
Partisan League AS such. but to the
lcaguo as now managed, 1t could do
lot of useful things. II has done
some of them, We feel very clear
that il could do more il it liberated
itself from the dominance Of interests
that are using It. We cannot read
Of smelling committees. bank scan
dals, sisal trusts. secret caucuseS with
caar.Gke methods. abuse Of every
member who disagrees with the pow
crs that be. objections to publicity
about state industries. without feeling
sure that something is wrong. We
are not anti-l.cague. but we are Anti
Tpwnley And we advise our farmer
friends to vote for O'Connor, whose
record is clean and progressive, and
whose election will. we believe. be for
the best interests Of the membership
Of the League and Of the League it
self though not of its present lead