The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 15, 1916, Page 12

e =—— WHAT IS THIS NEW FANDANGLED} DISEASE CALLED SPRING FEVERY [{CITY FOLKS GET BIT. BY A ==———— = — hriners HE handful. of insurance men, T agents of eastern corporations and Old Gang political plotters who, with the assistance of, their newspaper lackeys, are trying to organize something they have facetiously named “The Good Government League of North -Dakota,” | » have been exceedingly busy within" the past two weeks. - R ; " One of their schemes, a trick very characteristic: of the Old -Gang plan. of campaign, has been to-get such busi-’ ness houses as they could cajole or scare into ' line’ "to send out letters to their agents, 'customers ‘and corres- pondents telling ‘them that the Nonpar- tisan League consists of a' “bunch of socialists” and that it'is a ‘menace to ° the state.. They enclose in these letters, 4 “membership blank” and ask the ‘figt-‘ ! : —_—— — — TN0 Tho Teceive Sne fovers 1o subsctibe. oY Here is the document beéing circulated among the business men of the state in an effort to get them to TAKESIDES AGAINST THE one dollar each to fight the League.; They'll not get very many dollars: this?‘ ; way, and they know it full well. : They don’t care about that, however. They have PLENTY OF MONEY for their campaign. It has been subscribed in Iots of° ONE THOUSAND to FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS at a few SEC- RET MEETINGS of the “captains of industry.” What they are . trying to do is merely to TRUMP UP SOME APPEARANCE OF POPULAR SUP- PORT for their ' fraudulent “league,” which was CONCEIVED IN -SECRET, ROMOTED IN SECRET and: backed y - INTERESTS WHICH DO NOT DARE TO LET THEIR IDENTITY BECOME KNOWN. TELL MERCHANTS THE TRUTH ABOUT THEIR “LEAGUE” : The farmers of the state should know however, what these interests are trying to do. They should find out WHETHER ANY OF THE MERCHANTS IN THE TOWNS IN WHICH THEY TRADE have received these letters and WHE- THER THEY ARE BEING DECEIVED BY THESE PLOTTERS. The farmers can then tell the merchants the TRUTH ABOUT THIS FAKE GOOD GOVERN- MENT LEAGUE. “Many of the merchants of North Dakota KNOW BETTER than to be fooled by this POLITICAL BLACK HAND PLOT. They are sending back the letters. They are telling the plot- ters that they SUPPORT THE NON- PARTISAN LEAGUE - and that they believe it to be A GENUINE MOVE FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT. SHRI_NERS MADE VICTIMS .OF NEWSPAPER FAKES % . Besides sending out these letters all over the state the North Dakota Black- hand Association has caused to be prin- ted in newspapers which are in league with them or which could be imposed “upon a false story seeking to make it appear that a” PUBLIC MEETING in which the League was: denounced had . “been held. This story has caused great embarass- . ment for leading citizens: of North Da- - - kota (who are attending to their own ‘~business and:not running any errands for SPECIAL - INTERESTS. This . story msserted that THE SHRINERS, then -holding a ‘ceremonial - in Fargo, HAD the Masonic orders, were 'HELD A MEETING IN WHICH THE pape . NONPARTISAN. LEAGUE WAS CON- . feel Farmers all over the state, hundreds of - ‘whom belong to. OH,HUM! tHar's wHen us POLITICAL BEE ! ;= SO gl Effort to Use Masonic Order in Attack North Dakota Good Government League APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP -on League Repudiated by High Officers (] hreb)v apply for membership wn the League and inclose One Dollar for daes. Applicant . FARMERS and to permit their names to be used by the ANON- - YMOUS BLACK 'HAND ASSOCIATION: which, under the name - of “Good Government League”; has started a fight on the farmers’ organization. This. SECRET CABAL. OF AGENTS OF BIG BUSINESS is endeavoring:to stir up CLASS PREJUDICE in North _ -Dakota-and to set the business men as a class against the FAR- MERS as a class. If you tell YOUR MERCHANT: the truth about ‘this effort he will see that it would be a mistake for him to line - up with these ENEMIES OF THE PROSPERITY OF NORTH DAKOTA.: SHOCKED at the report that one, of. their high lodges was engaging in a- ¢ :POLITICAL FIGHT, a thing: contrary to. fundamental rules of their order. - Mem- bers of the Shrine were indignant at this effort: TO PUT. THE SHRINE IN A FALSE:LIGHT BEFORE THE PEOPLE ."OF NORTH DAKOTA. ° 24t ‘-Prominent’members hastened to assure .the Leader that so far as the Shrine was concerned the story - was WHOLLY- UNTRUE. THEY DENIED EMPHAT- ICALLY THE REPORT THAT THE SHRINERS - WERE TAKING . ANY PART IN THE. ATTACK ON THE LEAGUE. The Leader’ promised tixese»ofl‘icer_s of’ the Shrine. that it would to its best to counteract the effect of ‘this false story, which promised to "cause resentment —-against the Shrine. among the farmers of North Dakota. ; s In justice to the many prominent and ‘influential men who 'are mem- -bers of the Shriners, including. a considerable number of farmers and S . members of the Nonpartisan Lea- - .gue, the leader. wishes here and new to make it-plain that: SO FAR AS THE LEADER KNOWS. THERE - IS.NO@® TRUTH IN THE STORY - PRINTED IN. THE ‘COURIER- .-NEWS- that the Shriners held.a . 'meeting -at which. THE. NONPAR- - TISAN . ‘LEAGUE ' WAS AT- . TACKED. - A - The' Leader: after diligent search was: unable ‘to find any’ Shriner who would admit having attended any such meeting. It found a number of members of the - Shrine who -asserted that they attended all the meetings incident to the Shrine ceremonial in Fargo. last Friday, but had HEARD NOTHING about any such meeting as the one described. 'ALL SCOUTED THE IDEA that the Shrine as an organization could have had any- . -thing te .do with it ALL WERE ANXIOUS THAT THE “" FALSE :IMPRESSION CREATED BY . THE - STORY SHOULD BE :COR.: RECTED: WITHOUT DELAY. : : " Among those who. were interviewed HOW CAN THEY BEAT THIS SPIRIT » I have spoken to all the farmers and some hired men in my township and they all say they will vote the Nonpartisan League bankers; are working against it. ticket. All the farmers in this vicinity seem very enthusiastic ‘ove onpa | League, but some of. the business men and However I feel certain that our laurels. Let the good work go on.— - against the -League. & ‘WHAT'SA MATTER HRAM? Resent False Story was Potentate James McGuigan of - El Zagal Temple, Ancient -Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Potentate McGuigan- authorized =~ the following statement: . - s ; R - “El Zagal Temple had no part in any, such meeting, neither was such meeting held by the Shrine or under * its auspices.” : i 2 Mr. McGuigan assured the er rep= resentative that the Shrine n took part in political meetings and had noth< - -ing “whatever to. do with political or religious: controversies. ' He - said he regretted it if the impression had gone forth that the Shrine had taken any action-or. taken any part in a move 2 OTHER SHRINERS DENOUNCE EFFORT TO INJURE LODGE ' Among - the other Shriners who dis- avowed the alleged meeting of the Shrin= ers and their part as an organization in any way in it'was W. T. Johnston, one of the “officers, who is agent for the Great Northern Express company. “It is unfortunate if any impression has gotten out that the meeting was a Shriné meeting or under Shrine aus- pices,” said Mr. Johnston. “The Shrine absolutely takes no part in politics and as a body had nothing to do with the meeting. . I was not there and so.do not. know what took place, but there may have been Shriners present. It was Shrine day and lots of them were .in the city. There is ' nothing to - prohibit Shriners having individual . ‘political views and they do have them, but the Shrine never mixes in politics. If any impression to the contrary has gone out I am sorry and it should be corrected.” - “The Shrine never taked any. part:in politics or political meetings,”: declared E. R. Wright of the Central Drug com- pany, a prominent Fargo Shriner. “I was not at the meeting referred to and never heard of it till I read it in the paper. I can positively say it was not a Shrine meeting or ealled by the Shrine. The Shrine :absolutely keeps ‘out of politics.” 5 : i Neither Mr. McGuigan, Mr. Johnston or-Mr. Wright, according to their state- ments, were at any such meeting, nor had they heard of it, they said, except through the newspaper. -« x definitely that THERE WAS NOT ANY MEETING 'OF ATTACK ON_ 1HE LEAGUE HELD, It has found no one who would confess having attended such' a meeting, but as near as can be ascer- tained from roundabout stories the truth - ‘appears to be that there was a gather- _ing of ‘a dozen to fifteen persons, of Shrin whom one or: two may. ha ers.. These were ‘gathered: together an harangued -by Treadwell Twitchell, .. notorious’ reactionary ‘enemy o The Leader is not able to '.ascert‘a.ini - 5