The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1922-03-09
BUILT A POLITICAL PARTY FOR
A MARKET SYSTEM


"The transportation law now in ef-
feet makes it necessary for the inter-
state commerce commission to fix
railroad rates so that railroad own
ers can make six per cent."-ToWnley
Page, National Leader, Feb. 6, 1922.
This explanation is but warping
and twisting of the facts to try to
justify the establishment Of socialism.
The truth of the matter is that the
courts have ruled that where bust
ness undertaking, as that of railroads,
is subject to control by authority of
the government in regulating or linn
ting the charges to the public, as
freight and passenger rates, that the
regulatory authority, as state rail-
way commissions, or interstate COM
merce commission shall not fixe (lim-
it) the price SO low as to confiscatory.
If the railway companies were NOT
organized SO as to have OWNERSHIP
regulation of prices-or-putting it
in a negative manner-if the railway
companies allowed the passengers
and freight shippers (buyers) to
name the prices, like farmers allow
the buyers to name the price of their
wheat, every railroad in the U. S.
would 60 broke.
The railroad companies did not ask
the government to "hold up" the
prices for them, nor give them bath
in socialism, nor organize them so
that they may protect themselves in
price regulations. Nor did any other
class organize or help them to or
ganize. They did their own organ
izing. The high prices charged by
railway companies for freight and
passenger fares is the result Of gov
eminent operations, just like the high
taxes in N. D.-A result of too much
socialism.
If it were the duty of railroads to
organize their own market system, it
is like duty of farmers to organize
their own market system.
During the past six years the
farmers of North Dakota and neigh
boring states were induced by radi-
Gals and socialists to spend enough
money in organizing a political party,
to have organized a market system.
The farmers are NOT to be chastised
for their honest mistakes, because
whatever hurts farmers financially
hurts every class of citizen. On the
contrary we believe that the great
majority of farmers are honest and
have honest intentions, therefore ev-
cry socialist and radicals ex-
cepted-will Jsympathize, with the
farmers who are suffering from crop
failures, high taxes and the blight
of socialism. @> 81.
"The tariff. Whom does it pro-
tect? The customers? The people?
Oh, no! 1t protects the steel trusts,
wooden trusts, sugar trusts, beef
trusts, leather trusts, and the thou
sand and one other industrial combi-
nations in the U. S. The manufac-
turers say they must have the pro-
lection against cheap foreign goods
or they couldn't get cost Of produc-
ton and a profit that would keep
them alive"-Townley Page in Ma
tional Leader, Feb. 6, 1922.
If only tariff is required to enable
the various trusts to "hold up" their
prices, then by the same reasoning,
the only thing needed by farmers to
hold up their prices, would be MORE
TARIFF. If those trusts simply did
manufacturing and left it to the buy
ers to build up market system TOR
them, we would not pay such high
prices for trust made shoes, harness,
sugar, beef, implements made of
steel, and for that thousand and one
other things. And there would be
gambling, dockage, low grades, etc,
in those trust made goods just like
there is in the farmers wheat market.
The trusts organized a market sys-
tenn for their products Iownieyism
organized a political party for the
farmers products. The trusts sue
-Townleyism failed. If an
fouN q.