The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1921-06-16
A. c. COMES TO TOWN
Townley and LANCER, Ostensible An
tagonists, Pull OFF an Alleged
Debate at the ArmOry.
Fight Was, to All Appearances, Cut
and Dried With LANCER Making
the Most Points,

IoWnley, accompanied by LANCER,
arrived here last Thursday morning
and pulled off a debate before a large
audience at the armory upon the even
ing of that day. The debaters put
forth the same old stories that have
been going the rounds of the press for
weeks, but LANCER seemed to have the
best of it, for Townlcy refused to
answer many Of the questions pro-
pounded by his ostensible opponent.
He, however, admitted that from 1918
to the present time the taxes imposed
upon North Dakota farmers have in
creased 600 per cent and made several
other admissiones when interrogated
by Ranger. To an impartial observer
the whole procedure savorcd largely Of
a monkey show. y
LANCER opened the debate-if it can
be so called-and Numerically
scourged Townley for the schemes he
had put over the farmers Of North
Dakota, while the nonpartisan league
chief sat complaisantly in a corner
apparently unconcerned. !.
LANCER accused Townley Of appro-.
priating vast sums of money for which
the farmers of North Dakota had to
dig down into their pockets, aired the
state mill fiasco end introduced fig
ures showing the manner in which the
Bank of North Dakota operated. He
asked many questions of his alleged
opponent in the debate, among which
were these:
Why have taxes advanced 600 per
cent in North Dakota?
Why is it North Dakota farmers
now pay a greater percentage of the
tax than they did before tie league
obtained control and the railroads now
pay lower percentage?
Why were you convicted in Jackson
county, Minnesota?
Do you still maintain that the Min
nesota supreme court is composed of
Duncn OF! crooks!
Why has the nonpartisan league
lost votes steadily in North Dakota?
Did you and your associates receive
$4,000 Of every $4,000 paid in to
organic units Of the United Consum-
ers stores in North Dakota?
lie said that Townley is a socialist
and ne wanted to show the people what.
sort of scoundrel he is, and went so
Tar IN one instance as to characterize
MN as liar. LANCER produced pro--
Geographic reproductions of letters
checks and other documents to hear
out his contentious and defed Townlev
TO refutc them, but the nonpartisan
car treated the exhibits with i'm
punity.
When Townley's turn came he re-
tuted few of the charges brought
forward by LANCER but permitted mosf
OF them to go by default. Townlev's
chief aim seemed to be to embrace the
opportunity to preach the propaganda
OF the nonpartisan league, and in this
he is surely master mind. He gave
the history Of the league from it's
organization (by himself) and SET
forth-or rather tried to make tho
audience believc-thct it had proven q
godsend to the people of North d.
kota. Now and then. in tho co,,r-, ~
his speech, he fired barrags into
LANCER, but he, en- ex-nonpartisan
Lacquer, merely smiled as he cast his
optics DER che audience and, perhaps.
made IN estimate of how many ducats
ne would receive when tie gate re-
ceipts were split.
1t isn't worth while to give this
Langer-ToWnley story in detail. for
the so-c?lled "debate between anita pon-
ISIS" is being sprung in every tom of
su1lclent size to insrre sufficient gate
receipts to pay each Antagonist" q
very good wage for his days labor.
Many people characterize tae debate
as f-ame-up with the gate receipts
as the objective point. But Of this we
DO not know. 1t is unusual, however.
for two "bitter enemies" 70 travel
around the country together and cccu-
ply the same room at hotel. Again.
politics makes strange bedfsl,ows."