The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 18, 1916, Page 12

| { | { { i { i | { { 3 T e = e { e R T A Tt et e e BN o g HURRY call had brought the gang to- gether in Crafty’s headquarters at the Pickem hotel. In ad- dition to the regular gang there were pres- ent all the candidates and would-be candidat- es of the Republican persuasion for the gov- ernorship. Suppressed excitement pervaded the atmosphere as the mem- bers of the party, grouped in twos and threes, discussed the situation in low and solemn tones. Crafty, M. T. Head and Big Biz sat huddled in a corner by themselves while Crafty snapped off red hot words with steel trap jaws that made his listeners wince and cringe at every utterance. Crafty did the talking - and the listeners nodded approval. “By Gad,” exploded Crafty; as he rolled a cigar from one side of his mouth to the other, “that’s the way the thing will go or it will not go at all—that is if I stay on the job. That’s the only scheme by which we can stay the tide of sentiment and turn the votes to a man that we can handle.” Over in another corner I. B. Flip- flop, editor of Public .Prejudice, talk- ed earnestly with Slipry and bobbed ‘his head up and down as he declared with emphasis that he would be nom- inated by a good majority. Slipry watched him cunningly while a smile of amusement wreathed his thin lips. . FLIPFLOP TELLS, HIS DREAMS ALOUD ; “0, Flip, old top,” said Slipry, tap- ping Flipflop on the knee, “you’re dreaming. - Forget it! You haven’t got any more chance in this campaign than a one-legged man at a foot race.” /oH FLP : N oP ! “Why in thunder ain’t I”? question- ed Flipflop as his head made a vigor- ous bob. “Ain’t I a friend o’ the farmer? Ain’t I boosted for the Equity and didn’t I shout for the League until—er—er—until I found out who the leaders were?” “Until thunder and Tom Walker, Flip,” exclaimed Slipry. “What a’ye tryin’ to put over on us? Yeu knew who the leaders of the League was all the time. You knew who they were before any other politician in the state did and you tooted your horn from the housetops in their favor .until you found out that you could not use them and then you flopped against them. D’ye think ‘you’re goin’ to ram such stuff as that down the throats of the farmers o’ the state? Why, you won’t know you wuz in the race—un- less you look on the ballot for your ame.’ : Flipflop looked sick and twiddled his thumbs in silence while Slipry slapped him on the shoulders and ex- claimed, “Wake up, Flip, wake up, you're dreamin’.” : He then whispered in Flip’s ear these heart breaking words: “You can’t get anywhere Flip, without the support of us—us savey,” and_Slipry tapped himself on the chest. “Well, ain’t I goin’ to get it?”” came Flipflop in painful tones. ) £ Slipry snorted aloud. “Yes you’ll get it, Flip,” he continued mockingly, “you’ll get it—in the neck,” and he walked away leaving Flipflop in his misery to return to twiddling his thumbs. . At this juncture Crafty moved his large chair over to the end of the long table which occupied the center of the room and ragped his fat knuckles for ~order. The buzz of conversation over the room died ouf and all eyes were turned toward the big boss. ; “WE'LL TEACH FARMERS TO STICK TO FARMING” “Gentlemen,” he said, “it’s fixed. We’re going to teach the farmers of this state that farming and not poli- tics is their job. We’re going to teach this gang of untried neophytes at - Fargo that if they play politics they’ve got to play a square, honést . game, 'We'll teach ’em that the peo- PAGE TWELVE oy It’s a Disgrace to the State to Have “Hand Picking” Done by Any Other ' : By N. P. Dictagraph : G ‘ple of this state won’t stand for secret conclaves and slate making. We’ll teach ’em that the people must have a voice in the selection of, public of- ficials.” { “Now here’s the way we’re goin’ to do it,” continued the big boss as he surveyed the faces before him. “Usta B. Butrick will be the man to pit aginst the farmers’ candidate. He has—"" “But what about me,” exclaimed Flipflop, nervously and with -much agitation. Crafty turned a savage visage upon the cowering, cringing editor that would have scorched the wings of an asbestos imp. ENOUGH OF “HAND PICKING;” LET CRAFTY DO IT ALL “Flipflop,” roared the big boss, “you’ll be good and shut up or I'll have you thrown out through the win- dow. TI’ll give you to understand that I’m runnin’ this campaign and I'm goin’ to yun it to suit myself and on the square, too. There’s been enough slate makin’ and hand pickin’ of can- didates .in this state to disgrace the nation: an’ its got to stop right now. I’'m goin’ to run this thing on the HowShobel .ostOut “Taken Care of” by a Banker-Merchant for Fifteen Years, He’s Poorer Than at Start Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I was present at the Nonpartisan League meeting in Devils Lake and heard the League speakers and’ obtained some idea of the benefits you intend to bring .about to the farmers and in- directly to the business -men of the state. - The loan proposition discussed at this meeting appealed to me as. I have had some experience with extortionate interest. I came to this state from Illinois in 1900 and after. being here a year bought a half section of land in this county on the crop payment plan at $10 an acre. It became necessary for me to do some building and buy machinery, and horses. After a couple of years here I be- came entangled with a man who was a banker and merchant. I am not a drinking man. I commenced to deal with this man and gave him my business. He in turn took a mortgage on everything I had, and acted as my banker and adviser. This condition continued up till 1911. In the meantime I had raised crops on the half section and a quarter I had acquired by purchase, still owing something on it. ‘ BANKER OFFERS TO BUY In July, 1911, this banker came to our farm and made a proposition to buy. He stated that he had figured up all of my indebtedness and knew what I was owing as he had bought my outstanding claims and stated that if I would give him a deed "to the half section of land at $27.50 an acre and the other quarter at $30 an acre he would give me one-half of the crop then growing, pay all of my debts, release the mortgage ‘on my personal property and give me $900. This looked good to 'me and I ac- cepted the offer. The banker told me to come in when called, and he called me in about October 1st. At this time he held besides a mortgage on the land a mortgage of $2730 on my per- sonal property which was to be released. ; . When the deeds were delivered h told me there might be some other creditor and that he preferred to have ° the chattel mortgage stand. - SOME “MERE FORMALITIES” In good faith, not suspecting any wrong, I consented to let it stand. On January 2nd, 1912, he called me into the bank and requested me to make a new note as protection against possible loss. ‘He said:the mortgage had outlawed. I signed a new note for $2814, and later gave a mortgage covering all my horses and' farm machinery with the agreement that 1 owed the banker nothing. e Nothing was said by the banker about this debt for a period of two years and I continued to trade out my balance of $900, till I-had about $400 traded out. I then commenced an action against him for the balance and he put in a defense that I owed . him the $2814 note and mortgage »with interest. ! : - JUDGE REVERSES JURY The case was tried in Devils Lake before a jury, Judge Buttz, My wife, son and daughter agreed with me as to the conversation with the banker and the banker produced his books, but stated he could not remember the _conversation.: The jury found in my favor. : ST ; I have been told by lawyers that questions of fact are’ entirely for a - jury to decide. It-seemed to be dif- ferent in Judge Buttz’s court. About six months after the jury had been excused he set aside the verdict and entered judgment in favor of the banker. : The result of his act was that the first day I was in the field to harvest the grain I had put in on the land I rented, the sheriff came out and seiz- ed my horses, 21 in number, and later sold them on orders from Judge Buttz. FARMER’S HORSES TAKEN We tried to have the sale in some town where a crowd would be but the court ordered them sold in a pasture. It developed during the trial that in ten years trading with this banker that I had paid him nearly $10,000 in money, given him a deed to 440 acres of land and still he claimed that . I .owed him $2814 and interest, in all $24,214. My stock and machinery were taken ~away from me so that I cannot farm. If the loan plan the League proposes had been in existence my property might have been saved. You can use me as an example of what high interest will do for a farm- er. The banker got about $10,000 cash for my land valued at $11,400 and claims that I owe him the $2814 note, making the total he has received from me $24,214, not including inter- est on the note. All I have for my fifteen years work is a law sult in the supreme court in which I try to show ‘that the twelve'men on the jury are the judges of fact instead of the trial judge. If T win eventually I get the value of the personal property taken. : M. J. SHOBE. Devils Lake, May 11. - : A J. OSHEA ARCHITECT AND ENGINEER FARGO., NORTH DAKOTA - ~ Fargo’s Only Modern Fire Proof Hod = POWERS HOTEL ~ Hotand Cold Running Water and Telephone in Every Room On Broadway, One Block South of Great Nortkern . FARGO, N. DAK level and give the honest voters of this state a fair shake or nuthin’. “Now, here’s what'll happen. But« rick’ll be our candidate—our real can- didate, I mean. . Freight Traine will be our dummy—dummy, see? No. other candidate will be permitted to enter the field, at the peril of all their political future., “Here’s the dope, as we’ll-dish it up. We'll hammer it into the farmers that that Hoople farmer has no show. That the more votes he gets: the few- er votes Butrick, the farmers’ friend, will get. This will give 'Freight Traine a better chance. We'll put up a righteous wail about keeping out the ‘reactionary’ candidate, Traine——" Col. Freight Traine squirmed in his seat sand his face showed all ‘the colors of the rainbow. “We'll make the holler,” continued Crafty, “that in order to keep the re- actionary Traine out we must con- centrate on Butrick. We’ll lay stress on the allegation that Frazier has no chance anyway—that every vote he gets will only lessen the chances of the old stand-by farmers’ friend and in- crease the chances of Traine.” . He paused a moment and shot quick glances around the room. . “We'll pass the word around among our henchmen that Traine is.the dum- my, to scare the farmer vote to But- rick. This will give us a -fightin’ chance to put Butrick over, an’ its the only chance we have. It’s that or nothin’, remember that. : “Now this is the plan by which we are going to beat that gang of politi- cal crooks, the Nonpartisan League. ~“We'll show them that the people of this state will not stand for closed doors and. slate makin’. Go out and 2o to work and remember the rules o’ the game. ’ Don’t stop at anything that will gain us a vote. ' In-the mean time deplore. and condemn all’ politi- cal jugglery, - secret _conclaves and slate: makin’” ° . N When the meeting broke up, Flip- flop went down the elevator looking .as flabbergasted as a frozen dishrag in :.a spring thaw while "Col. “Traine had a few. solemn wo;fis of Freight conversation with Crafty. S “That’s all right,” cooed Crafty, to Traine, “I'll see to it that you get the appointment. as Public Henroost In- spector and Flipflop will be the of- ficial Gopher Killer and Tumbleweed Chaser.” Traine nodded and smiled a weak, sickly smile and departed. When In Fargo Go To DEWEY’S STUDIO Photographs and Portraits: Wedding Groups a Specialty’ Over Alex Sterns Cor. Broadway and N. P. Ave. If Your Radiator ' Leaks Send it to us. The Fargo Cornice & Ornament Co. . ’ 1002 Front St., Fargo, N.'D.’ i g S e