The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 1, 1916, Page 8

mexnoweraseon LILAC HEDGE FARM .o .Acou.-’nonm GRAND FORKS. N. D, " May 9, 1916. MR. DAVID JONES, Webster, N. Dak. Dear Sir:— s X I understand you have been affiliated with the Nonpartisan League of this stabe in order to assist in bringing about something tha’ you believe would be for the very best interest of the farming community, but that after becoming acquainted with the facts in connection with the character and motives of the leadership of said party, you have decided to withdraw. - Being a farmer my- self, and in fact having a greater interest in farri lands than-in anything else in the northwest, I have taken occasion to lock up the gecneral character, from the stand-point of honor and integrity, of the leadership of the organization, also to figure out, as best I could, what the motives and objects of 'the leaders were, and I want to say to you that the information I have would justify any man who has a clean record and wants to keep it clean, who has the well-fare " of the people of the State of North Dakota at heart, to absolutely refuse to have anything in any way shape or manner to do with them. If their thoughts and ideas are carried into effect I am sure it will mean at least a ten year set- He has gone to the extent of entering into a newspaper combine with Alex McKenzie’s Bismarck Tribune and with Guild’s .discredited reactionary publica- tion in Fargo and has reprinted the grossly untrue ‘stories and personal vili- fication with which these publications have been filled. 3 : “Being a farmer” himself, of course all this was perfectly simple. What more natural than that a farmer should busy himself trying to destroy a political organization of farmers? Easy to understand, isn’t it? Mr. Bacon wants Mr. Jones’ view on the matter. What for? Well, it must be something that “you would not hesi- tate to have us publish.” See? They wanted to publish it AT THE LILAC HEDGE FARM. Now what do you sup- " pose he means by that? Is the Herald published at Lilac Hedge Farm or is it ’ 7 Mr. Bacon Writes Once More ed _fdr FromMr. David Jones | _ten politics of the state of North Dakota. some other publication devoted ‘to the : interests of Mr. Bacon’s Farm Lands— that is referred to in this letter? 5 Or can it be that Mr. Eacon intended this as a communication from the Grand Forks Herald and just used the con- venient Lilac Hedge letterhead so as to make it appear more confidential and farmer-like, to lend reality to the claim that “I am a farmer myself.” Mr. Bacon wants to be “absolutely fair.” Well, we shall see. Will he print Mr. Jones’ letter, which contains just what he asked for, the “absolute truth” about the Nonpartisan League? Watch for its appearance. ' Perhaps it also will be syndicated, like letters of the dissatisfied office-seekers who are attacking the League, and the admitted fake that the League members are responsible for any obligations that may be contracted by the League’s leade and organizers. ; Mr. Jones Gives “ Absolute Truth” Mr. J. D. Baéon, Grand Forks, N. D.: Garske, N. D., May 22. back for the State of North Dakota. I would be very grateful for any information ‘you can give me along this line and I would appreciate very much a statement from you that you would not hesitate to have us publish. We are not looking for anything except the absolute truth so far as the leadership, or entire membership for that matter, is concerned and would very much dislike to publish anything that facts would not substantiate. I assure you we want to be absolutely fair. -Thanking you in advarce for any information you can give me and assuring you I would be glad to recripocate should opportunity offer, I am, Yours very truly, =~ * JDBIB HERE'S a little story to tell by way of explanation of the two letters printed herewith. Read the story and then read the - letters, or read the letters and then the story, or read the letters and don’t read this “story,”—but, anyway, read the let- ters. They’re good. 8 . One of the letters is by J. D. Bacon of the Grand Forks Herald, who is rapidly becoming one of the Leader’s most valu- able contributors, and the other is. by David Jones of Garske. ) Mr. Jones is a member of the League. He was. one of the most prominent and respected farmers of Ramsey county. He is so well known among his neighbors as an intelligent and trustworthy man hat against his own protests the League delegates meeting in district convention 4ndorsed him as one of the League’s candidates for the legislature in the Twenty-first district. : { Mr. Jones insisted in his determination - not ‘to run, for reasons that almost any man who has struggled for half a life- ‘time with the North Dakota soil and any man who thinks something of his family’s comfort will respect. Mr. Jones has saved up a little money, and as he ex- plains in his letter, he had: promised his wife a winter’s vacation in a sunnier climate. He positively refused to run ¥or the legislature. . “There are other men just as good; . men probably more competent to repres- ent you than I am,” he told his fellow members of the League. Reluctantly the members ‘of the League at last havc taken him at his word and his name has been withdrawn from the list of candi- dates. : : This is where Mr. Bacon comes in— the same Mr. Bacon whose “chief inter- -est” is in “North Dakota farm lands”— but who is also the principal owner of the Grand Forks Daily Herald, one of the loyal helners of Big Business in its fight against the efforts of the farmers of the state to organize for their own protection. ; SURELY A REAL FARMER DOESN’T WANT A VACATION. Mr. Bacon evidently had read in the Nonpartisan Leader the announcement that 'Mr. Jones of Garske had decided not to accept the indorsement of ‘the . . League for the legislature. Perhaps he “had heard the, reason, but if he had he ;;uldn’t have been expected to believe J. D. BACON. What, a farmer refuse to run for the legislature because his wife wanted him to take a winter jaunt to California or Florida! i 572 Incredible! A farmer’s place is on the farm, isn’t it, and his wife ought to be content with such diversions. and pleas- ures 4as cooking for the harvest hands and milking the cows, ought she not? Absurd for a common farmer and his .wife to go away on a junket to some place “where the roses bloom” in winter instead of staying home to take care of - the stock! - Anyway, we don’t believe it. Jones _must have just quit the League because he wouldn’t stand for “dictation by the Big Five.” He has heard of Townley’s debts as reported by the Herald and got cold feet. Jones is one of those charm- ing characters—a quitter. ° So Mr. Bacon—he of the thousands of acres and the intense interest in “North Dakota farm lands” —must have reasoned. : Hence the letter to-Mr. Jones, written, the heading leads us to believe, not in the office of the Grand Forks Herald, but at Lilac Hedge Farm. That’s pretty. good, - isn’t it? Lilac Hedge, no doubt, is a sweet-scented retreat. Is it at Lilac Hedge, under the shade of the blooming lilacs, that Big Business cooks ‘up these concerted at- tacks by the Gang Press on the Non- partisan League? It may be so; we do not know. : : " At Lilac Hedge they dictate their letters to a : stenographer. 'This is-a iarm improvement that may be a novelty to many members of the League. A Mr. Bacon has heard that Mr. Jones has “decided to withdraw” from the Nonpartisan League. ; = HE ATTACKS LEAGUE BECAUSE HE’S A FARMER “Being a farmer myself,” Mr. Bacon says, he has taken upon himself to. look: up the “general character” of the leaders of . the League. ! ; And also, though he does not so state, Mr. Bacon has made it his principal busi- ness for some months past, to make a vicious attack upon ethe League, its ‘leaders, its organizers and its member- ship, ‘He:-has raked "togeth_er'evel:y, par- ticle of ~material he could get which would furnish ammunition for -attacks on the League, but nothing which would reflect credit upon it or help the farmers in their fight to relieve themselves of | economic oppression or to purify the rot- | - PAGE * THE LADIES’ AID SOCIETY. <~ The above statement, cuvers, 1 think, t - T'have seen—and if you are in e - as they are, and oblige, Dear Sir: Yours of the 9th at hand some time ago and contents carefully noted. But I haven’t answered it before because I tvas always too glad to crawl in the hay when opportunity offered to write to anybody. I will see that I AM affiliated with the Nonpartisan League,- BECAUSE IF HAVE NOT SEEN ANY REASON TO CHANGE MY MIND. I joined the League because I. thought that when THREE MINNEAPOLIS MEN WERE BIGGER IN THIS STATE THAN THE MAJORITY OF THE VOTERS OF THIS STA IT WAS TIME SOMETHING WAS DONE. . * 1. have lived in Ramsey county since April, 1884, and I have never noticed the railroads or the banks-handing anything to the people unless there was a handle to it somewhere. I have shipped bin-burned grain to Minne- apolis commission companies on the Chamber of Commerce and at the same time the same grain that was not bin burned and got nearly the same price for both cars. % I don’t see any crime in trying fo build up our own state instead of hand- ing it away just because we always have done so. THE ONLY CRIME THAT THE LEAGUE AND ITS ORGANIZERS HAVE COMMITTED SO FAR IS THAT THEY FAILED TO GET THE CONSENT OF A FEW OF THE GANG PAPERS. And said papers are hollering about it. They have a holler coming. : : I am.not a candidate for the legislature BECAUSE OF AN AGREE- MENT ENTERED INTO ON THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY, 1916, between my wife and myself, to the effect that if we both lived we would spend next winter in the sunny south or west, or somewhere that THE ROSES BLOOMED OUTDOORS. : ; I have tried to convince her that it will be ALMOST THAT WARM: IN BISMARCK NEXT WINTER, but she insists that it won’t be the same, and that, anyway, there ought to be other men who have had more school advan- tages than I have had, who would be willing to go in my stead. 7 I'AM ONE OF THE SUCKERS THAT SUBSCRIBED CREDIT TO THE NONPARTISAN LEAGUE AT THE CONVENTION AT FARGO, MARCH 31, 1916, AND I AM NOT ASHAMED OF IT. : I was a delegate to said convention and will say that everything was done according to the instructions that I had received before going to Fargo and ° that the officers and organizers had nothing whatever to do with choosing the ticket selected and that the St. Paul accountant who was examining the books of the League at that time made an itemized statement of he books to the state delegates, about fifty of us, and said that he found all moneys taken in and paid out had been properly accounted.for and that there was a nice halance on hand, giving all accounts in dollars and cents—and I had my pencil along. I questioned several of the organizers and they confessed that they had talked and even voted socialism, which is very serious in itself. Now I don’t see how socialist ideas could ever be worked out. They seem absurd. But I° will say this, that if the crowned heads of Europe had been socialist two years ago this terrible war would never have been. - ‘ I .am proud of the men I met at the convention and of the ticket that was chosen there and no matter what the past or the future career of the organizers may be, it is-now up to the people and not the organizers. ; Had it not been for the untiring and remarkable efforts of Tovmle‘y'lnd ? the big men back of him, the organization would have been impossible, and if the farmers can’t improve the situation they can’t possibly make it any worse than it has been, anyway. About the only people who are going to holler against progression are the men who are going to lose a good fat job—and I don’t blame them for it. ; A IF THE PEOPLE CAN'T OR ARE UNFIT TO ' CHOOSE . FOR THEMSELVES, THEN WE HAD BETTER GO TO DENMARK- AND | BUY A LITTLE KING, GUARANTEED TO GIVE ENTIRE SATIS- FACTION. e Son:_e' of lf::e gang paperal! have just discovered that the members ofo the onpartisan League are jointly responsible for all debts which mi i < red. But the banks settled that last summer when th AT FINANCIAL - RATING FOR THE LEAGUE T AND THE BANKS WILL SEE TO IT THAT TH FURTHER IN, EITHER. If th Jerry Bacon or Peter Stromme or an would be knocking with their little hammer, and there is no hel But we can count every knock a boost and live in hopes.( ‘ EY DON'T GET ANY private opinions, as I have worked them out—and a correct account of ‘what arnest about wanting to he fair, publish DAVID JONES, Garske}.N. ey established the SAME The o b LHAT THEY DID FOR = e officers of the League can nd th they. can get hold of and all the bankable credit subscrigbed, ANsteNO IV:O‘:I:;}“ e idea had been inaugurated by Parson Guild, ybody else you might name, somebody p for it, g_i;he'r.f i he questions you ask. ‘They are my