The Washington herald., 1921-01-17
The Nonpartisan League.

IN
partisan League. His reason for going
there after his Minnesota disaster, is probably that
ne needs the money and judges the farmers Of
Kansas to be easy.
1t would be difficult for anyone to point to
single thing of practical benefit the Nonpartisan
League has done for the farmers Yet it expresses
agricultural discomfort, based upon an economic
need.
In the perfecting OF the marketing machinery
IN this country, the farmer has frequently been the
victim He has lost through uneconomic methods
OF marketing profits his own product and has
had to pay for like methods in the price of what
he bought
This machinery should have been formed with
special regard for his betterment 1t should have
aimed to make farming profitable and so more
attractive. Instead, it based on human nature
IN the raw. Those who have gradually perfected it,
have thought first, if not only, of themselves.
Now the results coming home to vex them
Naturally those who provide for distribution from
the farms to the consumer, being only handlers and
producing nothing, looked increasingly to their
own personal interests Simple handling has in
many instances become Juggling
Mr.. Townley's proposed cure is Socialism. He
would replace distributors with the State He would
have the State, at public cost do everything the
distributors handlers have done. He would have
State owned and controlled elevators, mills ware
houses, banks and other sempublic agencies.
y Wise for himself, he would supplement all this
with league owned newspapers, chain stores and
local banks. The initial fee of league membership
he uses promotion stock maintaining with this
host OF propagandists and statesmen.
The farmers, knowing only condition. were
not in a state Of mind to analyze the remedy More
less isolated, they were easy victims in North
Dakota for individual missionary work to get them
to invest $I8 in exchange for unloading all their
troubles the State.
Only after several years have they discovered
that as the principal taxpayers in that State, they
must also pay most of the after cost to carry out
this elaborate program and then they began to
weaken.
1t natural for Townley to then move with
his cohorts into Minnesota, just door, with its
great mines and industries. He reaped a rich
harvest. He entered his economic organization
into the political without distinctive name
undertaking there, as in North Dakota, to capture
the organization of the Republicans, the majority
party.
He failed at the primaries in 1918 and went to
the election as the Farmer-Labor party. In 1920
he stacked this partys with unopposed nominees and
again tried the Republicans in the pri-
n1aries. Again he failed and though his candidates
had made oath that they were Republicans, he put
them in the place of his Farmer-Labor lpigeons
them independents.
They defeated in the completely sane,
economically sound campaign ever made against
the league. The farmers were not only shown the
leagues failures and the inevitable failure of its
remedies, but were also told how they could do for
themselves effectively, all Townley would have the
State undertake for them, ineffectively.
In this they were pledged the States moral
support, and far as necessary financial aid Min
nesots farmers are exceptionally we'll organized at
the farm end They have had consistently pro-
gressive legislation in their behalf so that they
can legally do for themselves all that needs to be
done
The State maintains agricultural department
devoted to their interest Nearly every county has
its farm expert, demonstrator and adviser There
are several State experimental farms and two
State farm schools.
The farm cooperative creameries have gone
through the fight with the central creameries and
have won The is true of farmers elevators.
There is now like potato marketing organization.
In fact the farmers have learned to act co-opera-
lively.
The State only needs to extend its inspection
and standardizng Of grain butter and milk to other
products providing the State machinery to protect
further cooperative marketing This will be done
at the present session of the legislature in ways
approved by the farmers themselves.
Kansas in its organized opposition to the league,
has wisely started its campaign contemporary with
the Townley campaign. 1t will be still wiser if it
studies the laws of Minnesota from the first admin
istration of Knute Nelson as governor, to today.
1t viii find there the most complete, sanest,
most useful and economically the soundest body Of
laws to build up and make profitable the farming
industry there is in this country. They will then
know why the Nonpartisan League is no longer re-
garded as a menace there, why its membership is
disintegratng and why the league grasshopper
horde has raised from its soil to blight if possible