The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 25, 1916, Page 6

I Il i i | i e s A DN, ) ....0.0....’..’..0.........0....‘...0.....‘..‘...‘00 - the Courier-News’ part in the campaign bf slander against the Equity: “Mr. Drake (one of the Equity attor- peys). * * * I call the court’s attention” to the fact that this defendant’s exhibit (copy of the Courier-News containing attack on the Equity) was sent out from Minneapolis. “Judge Engerud (chief of counsel handling the case against the Equity).— We can save a lot-of time by putting a stipulation of the fact on the record that there were, as I recall it, something-like 4000 copies of that.Courier-News that was mailed out from Minneapolis,- “The Court—By whom?- “Judge Engernd—By the Chamber of Commerce. K “Mr. Drake—Supplied by whom? “Judge Engerud—By the Chamber of Commerce. “Mr. Drake—You know that of your pwn knowledge. . : “Judge Engerud—I know that of my own knowledge. I can tell you the whole thing; make it a mater of record if you wish. I will make the offer to stipulate as a fact and the defendant can Becept it as a stipulation of fact or not s he chooses. A day or two after the issue of the Courier-News that counsel has offered in evidence—the issue of Sun- day, July 26—a day or two after that, Tuesday, I think it was, our firm received a telegram from one E. S. Hughes, sign- ing himself as assistant secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, I think, request- ' ing us to ascertain the price of a certain number of copies—I forgot now what it members of that league, Fargo, N. D., May 15 ~ “An examination of these provisions will convince any person of intelligence - that the Farmers’ Nonpartisan Political League is neither in fact nor in lawa For the last nine years Mr. Joos has been a member of interested in the Equity movement for eight years. It will be noticed that at the head of “THE FARMERS’ NONPARTISA Further down the specified legislation wanted is named. 5 It is not possible to torture it-into that of a business organization, to the extent of their membership fee of nine dollars, and no more, create any other or further liability. - ual members of the Fargo Preparedness or \ was—of the Courier-News of that date. We inquired of the- Courier-News what their charge was and I recall it was $30 a thousand, and we wired that informa- _tion to Mr. Hughes and received another telegram asking us to order for them and have them shipped to him 4000 copies. We communicated the order to the Courier-News for these copies.” - FARGO ORGAN USED Ry TO DESTROY EQUITY STANDING It was afterwards shown by the testi- mony that- these ‘4000 copies of the Courier-News had been sent out from Minneapolis: to a selected list of farmers’ elevator officials and prominent farmers by the Chamber of Commerce. The pur- pose was to destroy confidence:among the farmers in- the Equity and its officers and thus put it out of business. The suit against the Equity was brought by Fred Schmidt, J. E. Green- field and Samuel Crumpton, each holding ° @ $50 share of Equity stock. It-was pre- tended the suit was brought in good faith by stockholders who believed they were being cheated by the ' Equity officers. Attorney Engerud, who repres- ented these plaintifis in court, previously /had demanded to see the Equity books. He had been accommodated wuntil it developed that he was seeking informa- tion to be used by the Chamber of Com- merce to fight the Equity, when he had been shut off by the Equity ofligers. The suit for a writ of mandamus to open the books for inspection followed. As a matter of fact, afterwards and no possible misconstruction, e This may well be illustrated by the Preparedness or National this nation. Would the “prominent lawyers” claimed to have held that the League members are liable individually, claim that the individ- National Defense league, are individually liable for not only in Fargo, but throughout the nation? FARM HOME OF ONE OF THE LEAGUE’S LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES = This is a scene on the farm of C. B. Joos of Pingree, League candidate for the legislature in the Twenty-third district. Mr. Joos is 45 years of age and lifelong farmer. He has been located on the farm shown here for twenty years. It includes two and one-eightth sections, of which he is farming 500 acres. the school hoard of his district and has been township clerk for five years. He has heen actively brought out in sworn testimony, these three plaintiffs against the Equity were of- Commerce, The Equity established being used by the Minneapolis Chamber that in court beyond a doubt, though it was strenuously denied by:the plaintiffs and their lawyers. The real plaintiff was the Chamber of Commerce. Schmidt never saw his lawyers till he 2ot in court and he never knew there was any plaintiff except himself. He admit- ted he did not consent to having the other two joined with him as plaintiff. REAL PLAINTIFF IN SUIT WAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE . The plaintiff Schmidt admitted talking over the suit with members of the. Chamber of Commerce. He had form- erly been a witness of the Chamber of Commerce at a hearing. before a ‘com- mittee of the Minnesota legislature re- garding grain handling. He was the manager of a farmers’ elevator which at . one time shipped to-the Equity Cooper- ative exchange, but later sent all his grain fo the Chamber of Commerce mem- bers. He had gone up and down the state at farmers’ meetings championing the Chamber of Commerce against the Equity and advising farmers to ship to the Chamber, declaring the farmers’ own organization was a fraud. The other two plaintiffs against the Equity were members of a commission firm which formerly handled the Equity business at Duluth, before the Equity started to handle its own business there. This firm had a controversy with the .....................Q.......’...0.0.0.0.....‘....O.........}.‘.....0......O.....b...‘.....O.............b.......... OPINION OF ANOTHER TO THE NONPARTISAN LEAGUE: 5 ...........0.......OO..........‘Q‘O.....0...0..0...0.0....‘..O.....0‘................Q.....‘..6........0...0.0..... ABLE ATTORNEY The claim that there is a partnership between the membership of your Eeague of a nature to make each individual member liable for any amount of debt contracted, is utterly absurd. There is no partnership in the sense of a business partnership, and if there was it would be a limited partnership of which every one must take notice: - ) s . ; . The following is of importance and shows-the only liability assumed by the members: “Therefore; we the undersigned, to secure the enactment of ‘such legislation, each pledge ourselves to aid and support the work of | organization by paying $9.00 membership fee. ) This sum to include cost of organization, subscription to Pearson’s Magazine and the Non- partisan Leader (official paper of the Farmers’ Nonpartisan Political League) and membership in the League to December 1, 1916.” A the paper upon which appears this pledge, is the following: 2 : N POLITICAL LEAGUE OF NORTH DAKOTA.” or engraft on it business liability. ~The members afe only.liable no matter how ingeniously put, can Defense organizations now in being in any and all debts created or contracted by ‘ E . Equity and had brought suit against the organization in Minnesota to collect what{ it alleged it had coming from the Equity. These, then, were the so-called “good faith” stockholders in the Equity who . ‘ wanted to see the books and who claimed the Chamber of Commerce had nothing to do with it. : But Attorney Engernd himself let' the cat out of the bag. When put on the wit« ness stand he admitted that his purported . clients, Schmidt, Greenfield and Crump- . ton, were not his sole employers.. He confessed that the editor of the Coopers. ative Manager and Farmer, a publication gotten out in the interests of the Chams« ber of Commerce had' “guaranteed” payment of his fees for handling the: case against the Eqaity. s The Equity showed by testimony that - this paper was generally known as a - Chamber of Commerce organ, was always fighting the Chamber’s . battles. and was a bitter opponent of the Equity, . How the Chamber of Commerce fin. ally succeeded in the courts through the three dummy plaintiffs in forcing the Equity to show its books; how the Chamber secured the cooperation of At« torney General Henry J. Linde to bring another suit against the Equity on behalf of the State of North Dakota, to appoint . a receiver for the orggnization, wind up its affairs and oust its officers; how the . first part of this suit, for the appoint« ment of a receiver, came to naught—all - this is a long, interesting story-and will be handled in future issues of the Leader. %S .'...Q....I.....'.‘Ol................. _partnership; its members can not be subjected to the law of partnership; no liability can attach to the members of thi . partner Ship.? ? —Extract from fipihion of M. A. _'PAGE SIX. B s organization resting on the laws of =~ N