Pueblo chieftain., 1921-11-28
The Chieftain's Monday Morning Farm Page
LIFE
IS NOT SUITED
TO THE SOVIET

The Non Partisan league lacked sew
eral jugfuls of bsing non partisan. On
the contrary it was very much parti-
san in the line of attempting to dis
place all other political parties and
setting itself up as a party all of it
self.
Perhaps this is the explanation OF
the general hostility toward it which
cropped out in all the newspapers. Or
it may be that the unanimous ennity
grew out of the supposed socialistic
trend of the Townley project, along
with the idea pervading this country
that socialism and soveitism try to
place premium upon the low class OF
life and pcnalize ambitious industry.
Whatever the animus, it is fact
that the Dakota enterprise was met on
all sides by jeering bitterness. Last
issue of New York Independent has
this editorial, which is a type of jour-
nalistic comment in general:
'Lenin Is having troubles of his
own in Moscow but he must have ex-
perienced pang Of sympathetic re-
gret when tlsa radio flashed the sad
news that n recall election in North
Dakota had overturned the promising
much promising-young Soviet there
and cut short the career of his faith
full congeners. And with regret doubt
less was mingled apprehension, for he
also may haNe to face recall and the
recall In MOSCOW Will llDl be ii pluh IT'D
'"The Non-Partisan experiment in
North Dakota was a much milder per-
formance than its prototype in Rus
ssa but it had many points of Similar
ity. The farmers Of North Dakota
had real grievances. In the matter OF
marketing their crops. insurance, bank
ing facilities, and the like they felt
themselves at the mercy of the eleva-
tor men, commission merchants, and
bankers of st. Paul, Minneapolis. and
Chicago. Working on these grievances
Townley and a corps OF gnp-talklhs
adventures came into the state and
quite carried the people off their feet
with pictures of a sort of state Socia-
lism that would save them from their
oppressors and bring them Utopia So
the Soviet was set UP and the precious
gang started to carry out the sociahs-
tic programme. How 1t worked Is now
a matter of history. All the various
state institutions, the State Bank, ele-
vators, mills, hail Insurance.. and SO
on, collapsed from graft and tncom-
petence and left the farmers groaning
under a burden of debt. Like their
Muscovite brethren the Non-Partisan
Leaguers ruled with high hand, con-
| troiled the press, and resorted TO cor
ruption. coercion, and chicanery, but
| the people finally found them out, rose
In their anger. and overturned them
| by means of the very weapon. the re-
call, that they themselves had intro
duced for their own purposes.
"The lesson Is clear. This North
Dakota farmers, like all farmers. are
a sturdy lot of individualists. To them
Socialism Is something utterly foreign.
They were fooled for a brief space by
the Establishments of the glib agita-
tors and the taking garb under which
the socialistic schemes were concealed.
But when they saw 1t for what It wass
when they experienced its tyranny, in
competence, and corruption and found
themselves at the mercy of band or
unscrupulous Adventures. they turned
and drove 1t out OF power. This does
not mean that they have given up hope
of running state-owned enterprises or
are entirely disillusioned with other
"progressive' measures, but tho So
yIet Is down and out.
Another thing is clear. Townley.
Frazier. and the rest were entirely too
saueamish. In Moscow they do these
things better. Tho hangman's moose
and the firing squad are the proper
means to keep in the saddle when you
really start out seriously to build a
Utopia of brotherly love and mutual
helpfulness."