The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, December 23, 1915, Page 6

{ S M s SIX THE NONPARTISAN LEADER THE NONPARTISAN LEADER PUBLISHED WEEKLY - Official Paper of the Farmers Nonpartisan Political League of N. Dak. " Entered as second-class matter September 3, 1915, at the post office at Fargo, North Dakota, under the Act of March 8, 1879. D. C. Coates, - - - - - - - - Managing Editor Advertising rates on application. @ Subscriptions, one year, in advance, $1.50. Communications intended for the paper should be addressed to the Non- partisan Leader, Box 919, Fargo, N. Dak,, and not to any individual The Leader solicits advertisements of meritor.ous articles needed by farmers. Quack, fraudulent and irresponsible firms are not knowingly ad- wertised, and we will take it as a favor if any readers will advise us promptly should they have occasion to doubt or question the reliability of any firm which patronizes our advertising columns. Discriminating advertisers recognize The Nonpartisan Leader as the best medium in the state of North Dakota through which to reach the wide- nwake and up-to-date farmers. CANADA GETTING BUSY QUICK ‘ INCE the conference on marketing and farm credits held ! at Chicago the last days of November, the Manitoba &3 government has determined to extend a helping hand to the farmers. It was decided on December 14 to use three and a half million dollars of the government trust funds deposited at Winnipeg as loans to farmers. Now watch grandfather Congress fiddle around all next year and then hand the farmers a gold brick. UNCLE SAM, THE BIG “BEAR” Y NE of the biggest, if not the biggest, factors in bearing | the wheat market this season was the United States § Agricultural Départment. As often as twice a month the department came out with its report announcing an unparallelled and unequaled bumper crop. In the matter of mere number of bushéls these reports were justified. But in view of the condition of winter wheat and southwestern wheat, some modiflcation should have meen made. Not once did the government tell the public about the many millions of bushels of wheat in the southwest that were unfit for milling purposes. Many millions of bushels of wheat, even in Kansas and Nebraska, it is reported, had to be fed to hogs. Indeed the loss due to damaged wheat reduced the actual crop of milling wheat to less than 750,000,000 bushels. These unqualified reports had a decided bearish tendency on the early market. The results were that farmers dumped their wheat on the market and knocked the bottom out. The speculators will get the benefit. It’s a grave question whether the department of agriculture is serving the farmer or serving the speculator. WHAT’S ALL THE “HOLLER” THEN? N the last number of the Cooperative Manager and Farm- er, a Chamber of Commerce publication, masquerading as a friend of the farmer, appeared this statement: “In our opinion the members of the Chamber of Com- merce of Minneapolis have made more money on the grain ship- ped to the Equity Co-operative Exchange than if it had been shipped direct to the commission merchants, members of the Chamber of Commerce.” Well, if that is the truth what is the Chamber of Commerce “hollering” about? { : Don’t the members of that body want to make money? Aren’t they in the game for that purpose? If the above state- ment is true we should think they would be boosting for the Equity Exchange. On the contrary they are knocking it with all their mighty power. 3 The facts are, we do not believe the statement is true. We believe it is an absolute falsehood. If it were true the Chamber of Commerce would not be bringing suits and otherwise perse- cuting the Equity Cooperative Exchange. 3 No, the Chamber of Commerce will never kick because it makes money. < It kicks because it doesn’t make money. Then what’s the “holler?” - “CREDITABLY INFORMED” UBLIC OPINION, a weekly paper published at Bismarck. statement: “The Nonpartisan League has issued a call for the local mem- bers to have a rally on Dec. 10, 2 P. M. The League memeber. are supoced to meet in every township in the state on that datc and ‘start the ball rolling’. We have not seen a copy of the call but we have been creditably informed that such notices: have been sent out to the various members.” : This is the first we have heard of these meetings—that is meetings in every township in the state. in its issue of December 9th, publishes the following A few local meetings have been held but no general call for such meetings as Public Opinion elaims to have been “creditably inf9rmed” of has come to our notice. il Such an inacurate statement as the above is above and about on par with all the “inside information” and “first hgnd‘» tips,” that the newspapers of the state have been peddling out about the League. These papers would like to know something and not being in a position to find out, they make gusses. If their information is as increditable on othe.r‘mai.;- ters as it is on the League what are we to say of their reli- ability? "™ OVER SIX THOUSAND POUNDS OF PAPER i E WISH every member of the Nonpartisan Leader couldj take a peep into the Leader office and see the work BOZH] done, especially the printing and mailing of the paper. If they could, there would be no doubt left in a single mind about the magnitude of the paper, its s.tabiht.y and strength to fight the battles of the farmer and his family. Here we have many men and women preparing the paper, printing it and sending it on its mission of helpfulness. ; The great circulation of the paper can perhaps be be-zst im- pressed on our readers by the statement that the edition o_fx last week required over 6000 pounds or more than three tons of paper upon which to print it. . Not only is the Leader office a busy one, but its gr_eat‘ growth and business has made the Fargo postoffice the busiest place in its history and together with the holiday mail has com: pelled the employment of additional help there to transact the business and get the Leader out promptly to its subscribers. = When you come to Fargo, be sure to come to see us an@ get an actual glimpse of how your paper is made, printed and sent out. CANADA’S WAR MEASURE. of wheat. Yk The action was taken to prevent extortion by wheat speculators. = The action was not designed to protect the wheat grower but to protect the allied nations from high wheat prices. While it is not certain that the grower will get any more for his wheat than he would had this step not been taken, it is certain that the speculators will get trimmed good and proper. On the contrary the action of the U. S. government, when the American wheat was being marketed, was decidedly bearish. In the early marketing season of the American wheat there were two bear influences—the agents of the allied governments, who caused wheat contracts to be cancelled under pretense that the Dardanells was about to be forced—and the agents of the department of agriculture who were giving out figures to show that the United States had prduced the world’s record crop. Between these two .influences the American farmer was caused to dispose of his wheat far lower than the price the for- COUPLE of weeks ago Canada seized 20,000,000 bushels eign purchasers could have o' ained it for if the officials at Wash- ington had felt the same cuncern in wheat that they did in cotton. ‘ g When the bulk of the wheat has passed into the hands of the speculators the bearish influences will fade away and bullish influences will appear. : We are neutral and mean to show it by keeping the price of wheat down while it is in the hands of the producer and push- ing it up when it reaches the hands of the speculators. MORE HELP FOR THE FARMERS? UST as soon as it became manifest that the farmers of this state were determined to do something for them- selves, there was no limit to the offers of help from other sources. ; This fact had a forceful demonstration at the convention of the North Dakota State Federation of Commercial Clubs held ,in Fargo last week. 3 Bankers, high interest, real estate agents and others, were hauled over the coals by different speakers, in a way that would make the most rabid agitator turn green with envy. Appeals to cooperate with the farmers, to help make it possible for the farmers we already have, to be more prosperous instead of boosting for more farmers were emphasized by a number of-speakers. We welcome these gentlemen to our midst. We are glad to have them join in with us and do their little part. But we are not going to quit just because they have started in. We are willing to work with them as long as they work like they talk—provided, however, that they do not try to “help” the farmer too much. The big thing we are after is to get the farmer to help himself. Once that is accomplished he will need = very little help from the outside. 5 £ ~ We regret to note, however, that there is one bad looking fly in this nice 3ar v°..f, ‘ointment Thi; consists of the fact that . i s T Zearroe P G £ S @ .