The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1921-05-12

More than 800 people heard the
Townley- LANCER debate at Salina,
Kansas, Tuesday afternoon. The
question debated was: Resolved,
that the Nonpartisan League program,
as carried out by the leaders, has not
been for the best interests. LANCER
opened the debate with attacks on
political affiliations Of the league or
ganizers, charging them with being
"reds and radicals of various groups.
At the outset, LANCER offered Town
ley $4,000 which he claims he has
been Offering him for two years but
which proved only post dated check
due in two years. He charged that
this was the kind of money Townley
had expected the Bank of North Da-
kota to accept.
LANCER put his .. X. on the league
program in North Dakota by stat
ing his approval Of previous laws Of
the same nature which he said had
been enacted in the state by referen-
dunn. LANCER stated that farmers
had been robbed year after year by
grain gamblers of Minneapolis. He
reviewed the fact that in 1916 farmers
Of the state had cooperated with law
ing a mill and elevator law. He
vided DR.. Ladd with an experimental
flour mill with which he could prove
the farmers had not been getting a
square deal from the gamblers. Town
ley was charged with having acted in
the interests of the socialist party and
attempting to line up farmers for
that party. He appealed to his hearers
to have nothing to do with league
leaders as some Of them had been
jailed.a Claims were made that Town
ley had secured organizers thru an
advertisement in the Appeal to Rea-
son and had brot them to North Da-
kota. Special mention was made of
Russell, LIE Sueur and Walter Thomas
Mills. The presence Of A. K. Bowen,
league organizer in the audience,
seemed to fire the ire Of LANCER and
reference was made to Bowen's con-
nection with the socialist party. Town
ley was accused of controlling the leg
islature. with owning newspaper in
every county in the state to be used
for the purpose of carrying elections.
He charged Townley with wrongly
using these papers to discredit LANCER
and the speaker said he was a strong
friend to the farmers instead Of being
a traitor. He said Townley had rob-
bed the farmers of North Dakota. He
said the league leaders had formed
associations with radical "reds" and
/. W. WIS. won't you lawyers,
bankers, doctors and businessmen go
out and warn your people against
such people as am telling you about"
LANCER said. The speaker referred
to the failure of the league program
in North Dakota, the banking situa-
tion, the failure of the state mill, state
home building association and other
projects.
At the close of one hour, Townley
took the platform and said he would
have to get out of the hole LANCER
had put him in, by one Of two meth
ods-either show that the hundreds
who are in the league and were organ
izing for the league were not social
lists and "reds" or he would have to
admit that they were all socialists and
that more had been done in two years
under the administration of the "radi-
calls" than had been done in 100 years,
before by the republicans and demo-
Gratis. He referred to Langer's chal-
lenge for debate and says the reason
he waited two years was to give
LANCER a chance to build himself up
and acquire a standing sufficient to
allow him, Townley, to notice him.
Townley said he was going to drag
LANCER from ocean to ocean until he
is thru or until the people know the
facts about the nonpartisan' league.