The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1920-01-09
Nonpartisan Leagues Stand

Nonpartisan Leagues Stand
The following from the Nebraska
Farm journal written by Tom Nc
Neal should be clarifying food for
those who think the League is /. w.
Wistic:
HMy cid friend Jess Johnson, for,
merly connect with the advertising
department of he Capper papers and
at present state manager of the Nom
partisan League in Nebraska, has writ
ten an open letter to Governor Nc
kelyvie in which he sets forth the
purposes of the League. AS it seems to
be as fair presentation of the Nom
partisan Leagues position as have
seen | quote from it the following
paragraphs:
For years Omaha was in the clut-
ches OF an ice monopoly. The citizens
demanded relief and the legislature
passed bill allowing the metro
politan water board to manufacture
and sell ice. r. b Howell, manager of
the Metropolitan Water Works, es-
tablished a municipal ice plant and
reduced the price of ice 10 per cent.
Mr. Howell has been breaking the
grip of monopoly in Omaha by his
public ownership schemes; the farm
ers simply desire to break statewide
monopolie in t9e same way.
The program of the Nonpart san
League does not call for public own
ership of all the creameries, or of all
the flour mills, or of all the beet SUI.
gar factories, but it does call for
state ownership of one or more flour
mills, creameries, beet sugarfactories
so that by government competition,
the creamery trust, the beet sugar
trust and the flour mill trust can be
broken.
The Nonpartisan League program
includes state ownership and develop
ment of water power. In the minds Of
some this is Socialism, Bolshevism.
anarchism and pro-Germanism, This
may be true but we are for 1t lust the
same. A few months ago Mr.. john
son, the state engineer, made report
to you with ference to paying the
cost OF the plant in which he declared
that the state should develop it's .
water power and sell electric power
at the switch board in Lincoln and
Omaha for 1 cent kilowat hour and
leave enough of a balance to nay the
cost of the plant within 10 years. II
we can have electric light ON our
farms at an expense of from 35 cents
to 20 cents month, we-are willing
be called Bolshevists and Socialists,
The Nonpartisan League is opposed
TO state Socialism. 1t stands for the
largest possible amount of indivduat
freedom of action and for the restor-
alton OF competition. 1t is as much
opposed to the autocracy of the state
as to the autocracy of big business.
The farmers which make up the Non
partisan League and frame it's plat
'orm are opposed to Socialism as such
IND are the last group in the world to
'avor government ownership of ali
and and industry. Those who say
otherwise do so, either because Of
ack of information, as in your case,
n because of malice and ill-wiil.
The farmer is both capitalist ana
wage Garner and is the sane balance
Wheel in Nebraska politics. The pro-
ram of the farmers Nonpartisan
league is midway between unthink-
ng reaction on the one hand and inn
practicable radicalism on the other.
Now ii Jesse has in the foregoing
DIRECTLY stated the purposes OF the
'onpartisan League then there is
ertainly no justification in resorting
o mob law to suppress the orgsniz
lon."