Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1920-12-30
OPEN FIGHT WITHIN LEAGUE ON
PRESENT ORGANIZATION

OPEN FIGHT WITHIN LEAGUE ON
PRESENT ORGANIZATION
Bismarck Tribune: A reorganiza-
tion meeting for the Nonpartisan
league Of North Dakota has been
called for next week at Fargo.
Preparations for the gathering have
been kept secret but it is known that
certain groups of leaguers are pre-
pared to be at the Fargo meeting with
a program for a radical reorganiza-
tion Of the league.
One of the chief efforts of this
group is for a decentralizing" of
league control, this group aiming at
the power of William Lemke, general
ly admitted to be the leader of the
league organization in the state.
Several Morton county Nonpartisan
leaguers are preparing to present q
plan for a new organization.
Following close upon the heels of
the attack of Arthur LeSeuer, former
ly one of the highest councillors in
the Nonpartisan league, upon the pre-
sent method Of organization, and par
ticularly upon Mr.. Lemke and state
ments in various parts of the state.
attributed to Senators Levang,
Church and others, that Townley
would not be active in the state any
longer, the rumors that have persisted
for a long time Of a serious rupture
among Nonpartisan league leaders,
appears to have been founded on fact.
Leadership in this fight will be
taken by the delegates from Morton
county, according to reports backed
by bombshen dropped in camp to-
day by the Mandan News, the official
paper of Morton county.
Features Attack +
Frank Wilder, editor, has made the
leading feature of the week review
of Mr.. LeSeuer's pamphlet and he
has backed this up with lead edi-
tcrial with a charge that the rNonpar-
tisan league is "purely despotic or
ganization-an organization without
semblance Of democracy, an organi-
zation built from the top downward.
instead of being built from the "bot-
tom up"
Then he suggests that Fright now
is splendid time for the Nonpartisan
league to reorganize along lines of pure
democracy. :"
,7, Local Organization
"a plan of local organization, with
finances going through the local to
the county, state and national depart
ments, will at once relieve the farm
ers local newspaper proposition; co
away with the inconvenience of so
many unpaid rost-dated checks, for
every local secretary becomes col
lection agent for dues and assess
ments and, being right on the ground,
all those charges would be promptly
collected.
'There would be no stopping o.
campaign work after election, but the
work would go right along uninter-
rupted.
Opportunity is right for those in
command to put the Nonpartisan
league where it can do a thousand
fold more good in the future than it
has in the past.
care those in authority broad mind
ed enough and big enough to grasp
this opportunity?"
i Politicians believe that this editor
ial attack of the Mandan News is part
of carefully conceived plan to launch
the drive for reorganization as out
lined in the article and to prevent
the adoption of Mr.. Lemke's plan.
In fact, Morton county leaguers de-
clare that if their plan is not approved
at the meeting that they will with
draw from the state and national or
ganization and go ahead and form
their county organization with their
idea.
Hit Financially
The league weekly papers have been
hard hit financially and the directors
thereof charge this to the unfortunate
general policy Of the league due to
the leaders not having their Gears to
the grass roots" and to the manage
ment. Of the Publishers Service bu-
reau. The Mandan News. has with
drawn from this bureau and is there