The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-03-12
MINNESOTA stan
FALSE TO LABOR,
ON AUCTION BLOCK
Highest Bidder Will Get
Van Lear Sheet
lsp.eIal b rh, paiIr worL.rl

MINNEAPOLIS, Mimi, March 4
The Minnesota Daily Star, founded
nearly four years ago by 5000
farmer and labor stockholders to
champion the farmer-labor move
ment, will be sold in a few weeks
to the highest bidder, if nothing in
tervenes in the meantime TO prevent
the execution Of an order Of sale
issued by Judge Burlington. The sale
of the Star was authorized after a
recently appointed receiver, A. r.
Dollenmeyer, a Minneapolis business
man, reported that he was unable to
obtain funds to keep the paper going.
The cause Of the death Of the
Star, as seen here, was defective
cooperative organization, which
gave it into the control of a few
individuals who ran it in opposition
to the wishes Of its founders.
TownIey Original Organizer.
A. c. Townley, Nonpartisan
League leader, organized the Star
on the basis Of the same kind Of
cooperative" organization 10 en-
ployed in other lines. Along with
the preferred stock selling for 500
per share was the common stock
selling at 81 per share. The pro-
moters, Townley and Thomas Van
Lear, former labor leader and near
socialist, obtained the only blocks
sold of this common stock. The re-
suit was that with these votes and
the proxies they were able to obtain
they were able to control practically
every stockholders meeting.
A Townley regime which lasted
only about a year was succeeded by
a Van Lear regime which has lasted
ever. since. Under both these regimes
was the business manager, John
Thompson, who gradually obtained
possession of the paper by borrow
ing money and signing iron-clad and
ruinous agreements with creditors.
Quit Farm-Labor Policy.
Under the Van Lear-Thompson
management the paper ceased to be-
come a farmer-labor paper and pan
dered to the advertising interests
and an imaginary middle-of the
road progressive" publicity. An at
tempt was made to succeed purely
along business lines" Costly comic
strips and popular features were in
PRODUCED and the news ran largely
to sensationalism and the editorials
were designed to entertain rather
than educate.
This policy was entirely at vari-
ance with the serious spirit of the
oppressed and struggling workers
and farmers Of the Northwest. The
militant and progressive elements
were thoroly alienated and embitter-
ed. The Star lost the only support
it could depend upon to keep it in
existence. On the other hand, this
policy did not obtain enough adver-
Using from the business interests to
pay the expense. In three years a
deficit accumulated amounting to
more than the entire assets Of the
paper.
Several months ago Townley put
his Producers Alliance and Non
partisan League organizers in the
field to obtain proxies for the pun
pose Of recapturing the paper from
Van Lear. At the annual stockhold-
ers' meeting last fall Townley had
enough proxies to control the meet
ing. He retained both Van Lear and
Thompson on the board of directors
and elected three men of his own
choice.
Lesson to Workers.
Van Lear and Thompson soon
after discovered what they claimed
to be legal flaw in the election Of
the Townley directors and refused
to recognize them, thus again re-
gaining physical possession of the
paper. The resulting struggle Of
these individual owners of the com
mon stock has wrecked what was
left of a onetime labor paper and
onetime cooperative enterprise Of
worldwide fame. The workers and
farmers Of Minnesota have learned
valuable lesson. They will not be
caught again in the fake co-opera-
ton trap, nor will they depend upon
the business interests to maintain
their newspapers.