The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 24, 1916, Page 3

- The Courier-News of Fargo says: Out at Plaza and some other places Geor¥e J. Smith, editor of six or eight weekly (weakly) papers flourishes and is under the impression his news- papers are unanimously supporting him. Various of George’s friends and a few of his enemies have vainly tried to persuade him that he is mistaken, that he is not even walking, but to no avail. The Nonpartisan League, with its thousands of farmers, which is hold- Ing caucuses next Tuesday and will hold county and state conventions thereafter to select candidates de- voted to the farmers’ interests, holds the key to the political situation, and George wanted to handle that key. ' Naturally enough he asked supposed friends in the organization to get busy for him—and that’s where George spilled the beans. The Nonpartisan Leader gave George a full page. free advertise- ment last week, not top of column and next to reading matter—well hardly,_xt was better than that; it gave him page 1, right under the head, and it just about put a head on him and headed him off from the race, It threw him out for seeking the indorsement of the League. George, being a newspaper man and still under the hallucination that he is a candidate, comes back with a letter which he asks the brethren of the press to print for him be- cause they have previously mentioned his_alleged candidacy. His letter is plajntive—but it will not bring ‘G. J. to the goal. In this interesting effu- sion Georgie expresses his disappoint- ment that Mr. Townley, whom he says holds the power in the League, has already showed that there is some- thing wrong with him; having climb- ed upon the common plane of honesty (whatever that is) he is crowding his fellows off—presumably Geo, J. Having been crowded off the perch thusly, George falls with a splash that is heard all over the state. ‘Whether this is the cayse of some editors calling him “Froggy” Smith we do not know, but we fear that he has gone to join the late lamented McGinty. Before he disappears en- tirely, however, he has croaked out a few sentences to his fellow citi- zens which we pass on to them for their reflection. He says of Townley: . Here he is calling a conven- - tion to be gathered together with- out the people at home knowing anything about who are to be candidates and not permitting the voters at home to have a thing to say about who their delegate shall support. It is my humble opinion that the spirit of fair play will prevail with the voters of the state, whether any of its elements are embodied - ‘in - the workings of the League Bosses or not, and that at the coming primary election men will go to the polls and vote for their own choice. So long. as the primary law is upon our statutes, the vot- ers of this state will not have its work superseded, by a private citizen. From this it would seem that vari- ous differences and some heartburn- ings are developing among the pat- - riots as the League goes on its way to take possession of the state gov- ernment. Had Smith ever been a possibility we would say that this ended him; as he was never in it we can only reflect that he seems very confident. that the primary law wiil take care of his candidacy—and we _thing it will, s : Handed George Bouquet Benedict Banner: Last week the Nonpartisan Leader handed George Smith of Plaza, candidate for gov- ernor, a bouquet, and one that was not rich in sweet p rfume, neither was it beautiful to S‘?ok upon, but savored fireatl'y of & mething very distasteful to the average politician. We do not believe that Smith is of the old class of politicians and the fact that he blundered as it were blindfolded upon forbidden ground is something to his credit and would lead one to believe that he was not perfectly schooled in the nice points of office getting. : : In the past years Smith has been a great fighter for what he consid- ered the “farmers’ rights” and we believe his sincerity has been evi- denced by the sacrifices he has made both in friends and money. We be- lieve still that he has been sincere: in his convictions, and we also believe that in seekin~ the indorsement of the League, he has made the great- est mistake of his life, for if we un- derstand this organization ‘aright, - they do not intend to spend 'their - money on men who are seeking office through selfish motives. ‘ Rizit‘ Al here we wish to say that if ’ THE NONPARTISAN LEADER George J. Smith of Plaza Writes Letter in Defense He Coqulains That He Was Treated Unjustly by Leader Printing His Letter to League Member in Effort to Control Delegates---What Newspapers of the State Say About It. the entire organization is built of the kind of timber exhibited by the Leader in this matter, that the rocks of Gibralter will cease to be when any politician has gained a foothold in it. We commend the publishers for the manner in which they handled this matter and fully believe that every po_htquan‘and office holder from town- ship I}ugtxce of peace to president of the United States should be handled in the same manner. The day of the politician is past and there is but one thing left and that is fqr some man, backed by an organization of the voters, to give the voters the record of every man who seeks or holds an office. Tell the voters what kind of a man it is that is seeking office, what he does for them if elected and do it with- out fear or favor. This of - course will mean some ex; ense, not neces- sarily a great deal, but some, for while you can: always get a lie for Editor N onpartisan Leader: publication. is corrupt. corrupt the organization.” nothing, it costs money to get the truth. When this is done we will have more law makers and fewer gamblers in our state legislature. Squelched ‘Cogswell Enterprise: “Smith of Plaza,” who still thinks he is a can- didate for governor—but no one seems to know where he got his hunch * from—is looked upon as the political joke of the season. It is claimed by those who are familiar with his po- litical views that he doesn’t stand hitched to ‘any particular- policy. However, Smith has a string of news- papers of his own that will “sound the loud timbrel o’er Galilee’s Sea” as long as there is a ghost of a chance for him to land in the gubernatorial chair. As the girl remarked when the fellow squeezed her hand: “It pleases him and it don’t hurt me, so where’s the harm ?” : Hard on “Froggy” Pierce County Tribune: The Non- partisan League leaders aren’t fool- ish, anyway—whatever else m:sv ll;;e Y said of them, as is evidenc . their prompt squelching of Froggy begun to Smith of Plaza, who had 7 have visions of realllz"‘rbeing a candi- date for governor. oggy. has been making all kinds of noise and bluster -about ‘his’ candidacy and his ‘“dollar platform”—and what he was %;)in? to o for the farmer—but in the last issue of the Leader he was taken gently but firmly by the seat of his garments and - politely catapulted through the back door into a snow drift—and we imagine he is there yet. No, Froggy wasn’t cut out for such high honors, and the leaders of the new party were not slow to ascertain his &allow pretensions to intelli- ‘gence. If there has been any one ~ thing done by the Leader that would ‘make us feel kindly disposed toward them—the unceremonious squelching ing of Froggy Smith is that one. Couldn’t Farm Farmers Dunn County Settler: George J. Smith of Plaza, who started a bunch of papers in that vicinity and boosted the cause of the Equity strongly, and now comes out for governor, received a pretty strong jolt from the Non- partisan League when he tried to work it for support for his candid- acy. It is all right to boost the Equity and the Nonpartisan League and any other good cause, if such boosting is done as a matter of prin- ciple and because the organizations deserve credit for the good work they have done. But when any man, whether he is in the newspaper busi- ness or otherwise, supports any cause merely for his own benefit and for his own ends, it will be discovered sooner or later and he will suffer according- ly. Mr. Smith did valiant work for Letter from George J. Smith of Plaza ; .I am in receipt of a copy of the Leader dated February 10th, con- taining an article on the front page concerning me to which I wish to take exceptions. I trust that you will give this letter space in your The statement to which I want most strenuously to protest against is: - “That I was attempting to corrupt the League.” I challenge you or any other person or persons to show where I have done a dishonorabe act in trying to further my candidacy; I challenge you to show where I have used money; I deny your implication that I have not.the right to ask the support of any farmer member of the League, and that to do so . I do not know what your motive may be in taking this unjustifiable slam at me. If the Leader does not want me indorsed for governor, if it thinks that my record in working for the Equity and the League is not good enough to entitle me to such distinction, it should at least show me the courtesy an ordinary gang paper would show and do me the justice of conceeding me the right to run for governor and solicit sup- port from the farmers of this state, without being acused of “trying to I am willing to submit my candidacy to the farmers of this state and I am willing tq leave it to the League members, whether I have done anything dishonorable in asking their support, or whether I have done anything that any one of them would not have done if they were a can- didate and wanted the indorsement of the League. About the leasta man could do would be to ask the League for their support. Yours very truly, GEORGE J. SMITH. the Equity cause in the northwestern part of the state with his seven or eight newspapers, but when he grasped the first chance that offered and tried to ride into a political office on the strength of his affiliations, he showed poor. judgment, and credited the Equity people with scant intelli- gence. Now when he tried to con- trol the delegates of the Nonpartisan League from his vicinity he made an- other blunder. With both the Equity and thg Nonpartisan League against him, his candidacy for governor of this state will look like -thirty cents— and it should. Poor Old Georgie ‘Maddock Stanard: Several of the chronic political office seekers of the state are trying to worm themselves into the graces of the Nonpartisan League harness, from where they will try. to climb onto the bandwagon. This is what Shakespeare had in mind when he said, “Kick the rascals out.” : _’Nuf Sed , Glenburn Advance: One George J. Smith of Plaza, this state, wrote a' letter on Feb. 1. Finis. z Love’s Labor Lost Woodworth Rustler:’ George J. Smith, the Plaza politician, has been trying to cop the support of the Non- partisan League—but got caught at it and now George’s hopes of getting into the governor’s chair are very slim. 2 Sealed His Doom -~ “Dazey Commercial: Editor Smith of Plaza, a candidate for the Repub-- lican- nomination for governor, is making a desf:rate effort to get the Nonpartisan ague indorsement in _-his campaign, but he got a little too anxious about the matter and “spilled the beans,” so to speak, by writing a letter to a Ward county friend and attempting to get him on the county and state delegations. The Nonpar- tisan Leader, which is the official or- gan of the League, came out last week with a front page article telling how Smith had attempted to corrupt the League and secure its indorsement for public office. It is very doubtful now if Smith will come within a mile of getting the indorsement. Deeds Will Tell Williston Graphic: This is the time of the year when professional poli- ticians are expected to shed crocodile tears over the conditions of ‘the “poor farmer.” The tiller of the soil has been doing some thinking on his own hook and will sift out all of these politicians carefully. They will in- quire into their past records and con- sider. “By their deeds shall ye know them.” R — Aspiration Nipped Donnybrook Courier: The Nonpar- tisan Leader, the official organ of the Nonpartisan League, does not take kindly to the efforts of office seek- ers who are trying to get on the League bandwagon at this stage of the game. It takes a hard rap at George J. Smith of Plaza, whom it brands as a self-seeking politician trying to get indorsement of the League in his race for the governor- ship. It seems that George in his “anxiety” to get the indorsemeit of the organization has been a little too previous and now his aspirations are in danger of being nipped in the bud. .. Politics Is the Life All Right Devils Lake Journal: Just as George Smith seemed to have things going nicely in his campaign, up bobs ‘a submarine and jabs him in the stern. Surely, this political game is the life, all right. MONEY AND CREDITS BILL Editor Nonpartisan Leader: g As one of the authors of House bill 331, the “money and credit bill,” I was very much interested in the ar- ticle on that subject in the Leader. I appeared before the tax commit- tees of both houses to explain the bill. It received the unanimous endorse- ment of the house committee and passed the house without a dissent- ing vote, but the Senate committee seemed afraid that it was too compli- cated, and these fears were rather encouraged by H. H. Steele, who ap- peared before the committee in oppo- sition to the measure. I endeavored to assure the committee that the bill was just about identical with the law in Minnesota and several other states, where it was conceded by all as-being successful and fair. But they insist- ed that there was much in the bill that was covered by existing law and that the bill should be simplified by the elimination of all such unneces- sary matter, and a subcommittee was appointed for this purpose. The re- sult of the labors of this subcommit- tee was the monstrosity described in the Leader’s article. Conference Comittee’s Work 'This bill passed the senate and was messeged to the house on March 3. The house declined to concur in the amendments and A. G. Divet, S. Th. Westdal and J. W. Smith were ap- pointed conferees. ‘As soon as the senate conferees (F. Luetz, H. P. Jacobsen and N. N. Nelson) had been announced, a meeting was arranged for and the committee met on the morning of March 5 (the last day of the session). All members were present except Senator Jacobsen, and after considerable discussion the compromise section was elimin- ated and the bill was reported to both houses and passed by the house. In the senate it fared otherwise. Jacob- sen, who had not attended the com- mittee meeting, protested against the action taken and prevailed upon Senator Luetz to move that the report be not concurred in, which motion prevailed. ] Only A Makeshift - The committee named in the Lead- er’s article was then appointed, and the best that the house members (all ‘of whom I believe were favorable to the bill in its original form) could do was to' raise the rate.at which litigated taxes should be compromised from two to twenty-five mills. . I felt that the validity of the bill had.been endangered, but was con- vinced that no reasonably satisfactory measure of that sort could secure the . approval of the senate tax committee, and as it was the_last day, with scores of other measures of importance to consider, it was evident that the best that could be hoped for was that this bill might “get 37" the courts or, if not, that it would make possible the enactment of a satisfactory law at the next session of the legislature. : S. TH. WESTDAL, Editor McKenzie County Journal. s