The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 30, 1916, Page 13

r > e - . . v i L4 - ) 7 » i 3 R \ L5 =..; AL < (13 s b} . n T ~rd b In the courthouse at New Rockford, March 18 » addresses of Nonpartisan League organizers. it g meeting, and responses such as “that’s right,” “we’ll stick,” and “now you’re talking,” THE NONPARTISAN LEADER The above picture shows a part of the audience. THIRTEEN e number of farmers from the surrounding country to listen to This was a meost enthusiastic greeted the speakers during the meeting. Press Assassins of Reform There is a certain class of newspa- pers in this country that carries at all times a knife sharpened and pre- pared to stab in the back any move- - ment of the people to take possession of their own. Most of these stiletto and black hand workers are merely the hired assassins of the agencies that make grofit.s from the existing conditions. 'hat is to say, they are owned or con- trolled outright by railroads, eleva- tor combinations, grain commission combinations, or in the east by the great financial interests. They - get their pay in “business,” or otherwise. But there are undoubtedly some newspapers and some editors that do these dirty jobs for the sheer love of them. . All their sympathies and in- terests are naturally on the side of privilege and they go out with a kind of filthy joy to the job of lying about and disrupting any movement that threatens the rule of the parasites and grafters. They need no prompt- ing to do this. It comes naturally to them. They seem to have a kind of instinet for such work, as skunks have for garbage heaps. Some years ago the people of old New York, having been for a genera- tion robbed and monstrously misgov- erned by a combination of Tammany Hall and Big Business, revolted, formed an independent nonpartisan movement, took the parasites by sur- prise, routed them, and got posses- sion of the city government. . The newspapers of the American black hand class were not expecting anything of the kind and were discon- Experience of New York Shows Line of Attack to be Expected in North Dakota certed by the result but by the time the citizens’ government had been in- augurated they had recovered their customary impudence and were at work with their favorite weapons. Witm amazing ingenuity they made ceaseless attack upon the new move- ment. and covered them with ridicule and slanders, cunningly insinuating and suggesting every conceivable rascal- ity and selfish purpose. Most of these men had at a great personal sacri- fice undertaken the cause from the-- purest motives that the city might be set free. They had given to it their time and money without a thought of personal gain. They now discovered that they were grafting, schemming rogues that had organized the new movement merely to make money out of it. RIDICULE AND LYING AMONG CHIEF WEAPONS. The financial management of the movement was covertly attacked. Charges were insinuated that ‘there had been peculation and fraud. Cease- less efforts were made to start dis- sensions in the ranks and before long these were successful, so that the re- formers fell to-‘quarreling among themselves without knowing -what they were quarreling about. - The instant these dissensions ap- peared the black hand press ‘an- Bank Is Reopened The First National bank of Cas- selton, closed early in December, re- opened recently. It was announced by the directorate of the bank that . each of the directors put up $25,000 in cash or its equivalent, except one, who put up $30,000, to put the bank in condition to open its doors. This would make $180,000, needed to take up the bad paper found in the bank and place it in safe condition to do business again. Several hundred thousand dollars in deposits were tied up when the bank was closed by the comptroller ~ of the currency, almost all the money of small farmers, school teachers and farm hands. Some of the substantial farmers of the community were on the board of directors and were utter- ly. deceived by the president of the bank as'to its condition.. Casselton and vicinity are much relieved by the action of the directors in personally coming to the rescue. ? ‘R. C. Kittel, president, and his bro- ther, W. F. Kittel, who was cashier .of the bank, are due to be tried in the federal court at Fargo in June on charges ‘of bank. wrecking, they hav-. ing been indicted by a grand jury soon after thz bank closed. R. C. Kittel will face charges. for the second time, the =ist time being . some time prior to the discovery of - the shortages which closed the bank. He was acquitted of falsifying- the bank’s books by a jury and allowed to remain as president of the bank till his new deals were discovered. He was interested in a number of land companies and aother companies and it was announced that it was his dealings in- securities of these enter- prises, through the bank, which caused the closing. L. A. SMITH: I think I've got $6 worth already. We've got them on the anxious seat. : CARL SWAUSTROW: Just a few lines to let you and our many mem- bers know that I am a member of the League and proud of it. I joined last April and the day is one to_be remembered. There was a .terrible sandstorm that day and I thought a man must have a lot of sand to travel around as your organizer\was doing: s They went after its leaders: nounced that the movement was hope- lessly slpht and about to go to pieces. Naturally the public, reading these assertions day after day, believed them and began to lose confidence in reform. Ridicule was a weapon used ‘inces- cessantly. A part of the reform movement had been organized as the Good " Government league. This was called the “Goo-Goo” association and its members were pictured as puling infants always doing something silly. It is a«fact that this line of ridicule persistently carried out by these as- sassinating sheets, finally drove the Good Government league out of exis- tence. Every man that had been put into office- by the reform movement: was mercilessly attacked, lampooned and outrageously lied about. 'The reform ma(fror drank tea instead of whisky, and this innocent fact made him the butt of endless jokes and malicious sneers. One of the coroners was a. little German with a somewhat iras- cible temper. The newspapers found this out and deliberately goaded him into outbursts of anger and then heaped ridicule upon him, distorting his remarks and inventing absurdities to put into his mouth. DISTORTING THE FACTS TO RUIN A JUDGE. One of the reform magistrates was sternly set upon a rigid enforcement of the law. e newspapers took up a case in which he had committed a woman for street walking, pretended that she was an innocent girl and at- tacked him until the man was in peril of his'life from indignant citizens. I cite but a few instances of a campaign that never rested. It had the natural result at last. It made the very name of reform seem odious and hateful even to men that should have seen through these depraved tricks. When the next election came around reform was beaten overwhelm- ingly, Tammany and_Big Business came back with a whoop, and for the next four years New York was lit- erally the most awful place on earth. To mention but one particular, vice. was organized and developed on “true business principles” -and 'the graft from disorderly -houses alone amount- ed to $7,500,000 a year, divided- be- . twen a corrupt police and a combina« tion of business men. . “BLACK HAND PRESS” i FRIEND OF GRAFT. ' This unequalled saturnalia of crime- was_chiefly the work of the black hand press, which had made the tri- umph of Tammany possible. The sin- gular fact is that some of these news- their dirty work. They did it because papers had no particular profit from they loved it and because at all times they -and their kind take pleasure in assassinating any movement that ‘looks like a revolt of the people. Farmers of North Dakota may ex- pect for their League and the men whom it puts in office just the same sort of attacks, actuated by the same motives. and ‘carried on in the same ways. The only way to meet them is by unswerving loyalty to each other. Corrupt special interests show their fangs whenever their boodle is men~ aced. A pack of yelping curs always clusters around them. It has been so elsewhere and it will be so here. Paid Advertisement Every Patriot Should Fall in Line to “Let the People Vote on It, That’s Fair!” DO YOUR PART— SEND IN FIVE NAMES. NOW C:ltpital Rell;oval Association, 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 2 c Stands Between You q Good Government 2 C CUT OUT PETITION "IN YOUR LEADER March 9, Page 3. New Rockford, N. 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