The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 18, 1915, Page 7

A { \ i & i THE NONPARTISAN LEADER PAGE SEVEN The Farmer’s Rugged Road To Success and he starts back over the hill. : A bullet sings by his ear. “Stop!” echoes the sharp command. Oldham turns his head, but keeps a-going- % “There’s a freight just over the hill, I tell you. There will be a wreck if I don’t get there,” he retorts. The Colts crack again. Close enough this time. The tips of two fingers fly off the brakeman’s hand. Not the lantern hand, though, thank God. : : “I’ll 'shoot to kill next time,” warns the robber, as he follows up the still retreating ‘trainman. Oldham answers, but ‘he plods doggedly on- “Can’t help it, I must flag that freight.” The robber lowers his gun, a look of admiration glinting in his eye. “One game durn fool,“ quoth he. Then he listens intently. Far away over the hill, comes a rumble. “There sure is a train coming, boys,” he says to his mates. To the brakeman, “Come along!” They break into a run together, pant up the steep, gain the crest, the rumble growing into a roar. Then the red lantern waves warningly, brakes whine, and as the headlight flashes over the rim of the hill, the freight stops—just in time. Three Pullmans of sleeping passengers, besides ‘the pack- ‘ed day coaches are saved from the death-dealing collision. That brakeman was trained to obey. He knew his duty and did it. Is any soldier upon Europe’s firing line, officer or man, doing more? Only a railway private, but a hero. And it’s true, every word of this tale.: ‘THIS IS APPREGIATION WEEK. _ OVERNOR L. B. Hanna has proclaimed this week—Nov. 4 14 to 20 “appreciation week.” The Leader has.had no “special request” to spread a- broad its appreciations of the State of North Dakota but it does not wait for gpecial requests. It is appreciative -of certain things and it is going to express | " ‘that appreciation. And what it shall say is :not mere ‘con talk. Tt is not inspired by any desire to cover up._or conceal anything|: that we ought to ‘be ashamed of. It will not be top-heavy, lop-sided nor filled with hot air. : We fully appreciate the fact that the Government Census report indicates North Dakota as-the best wheat producing State in the Union. S _ Because of this fact many people have made good here. ' Many poor people have gained foot-holds that they could not have gained elsewhere. : : ; Moreover, there are great future possibilities here. North Dakota has unbounded resources and ‘offers vast opportunities to ‘the honest, the industrious and the thrifty. : ~ North Dakotd’s population is of the best. Her people are hardy hard-working and honest. They are progressive, broad and open-minded. They love fair-play and honest dealings. For a-commonwealth of free, prosperous and independent people there is not an equal on the North American map. For all this we are duly and sincerely appreciative. But, to all rules there are the inevitable exceptions. These honest and patient people have been miserably ex- ploited. Their inalienable rights have been wickedly betrayed—and by the men these trusting people have befriended and exhalted. Public men, backed by men entrenched in economic power, have grown wantonly drunken with that power-and have misused and abused the might conferred upon them by the peopie. By such misuse and abuse they have brought about certamn’ conditions in this fair State that we do'not appreciate. We can- not appreciate any injustice imposed upon the humblest citizen. We cannot appreciate any infringement of the rights of the most humble toiler. . We cannot appreciate any discrimination against | any honest and industrious producer. ‘We cannot shut our eyes'to ‘facts. ‘As much as we loath them we must and will face them: The fact that we have the nerve’ to point out that more than half of the farms in the State are mortgaged, does not create the' fact. :Neither does our action: prove that we appreciate and rejoice in the fact. ‘We detest the fact and for that.reason we proclaim it from : the housetop in the hope that the light of publicity may help to remove it. . We cannot, by any stretch' of our enthusiasm, bring our- self to appreciate the fact that even ninety national banks in this State have been extracting from the farmers an unlawful rate of interest. The fact that we give publicity to this outrage does not. prove that we are inappreciative of all the good that exists in. this State. 'We do appreciate the :good, but most vehemently; detest the outrages. ; WHERE DOES IT.ALL GO? HE farmers of the United States produce annually abouti $9,000,000 worth of food products, for which the cons sumer, it is said,” pays ‘$27,000,000. Perhaps that is because the farmers are doing so much motoring :and not enough working. : Perhaps it is because they spend the evening occasionally, in 'the village, take in the movies and smoke a cheap cigar. Maybe it is because the average farmer gets up at 4 A. M. and does chores till 9 P. M. Or, maybe it is because some of them join an organization which the bankers did ‘not start-and subscribe to a paper which Big Business does not control. ; ; If it is none of these things, will. some pie-hungry politi« cian please rise ‘and “tell us? The state of Missouri has 232,720 wage-working women and girls over the age of 14. The old dictrine that a woman’s work is : in'the ‘home is not true any ‘more.