The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 22, 1916, Page 10

= Y GAD this beats anything that I've ever experieneed in : all my life,” exclaimed , Crafty, as he and a_dozen gumshoers, buttonholers and political tricksters and. sluggers lounged in the big - - boss’ . . headquarters, ~ Slipry chuckled and winked at Dodger while the latter shrugged his shoulders and re- marked that he.was not surprised. The .clan ;had . gathered at the head- quarters because there was nothing else to do. The high spirit of wild celebra- tion of a previous meeting.had vanished and gloom and djscouragement hung in heavy, . clouds around ‘the .room. The gang had fired the final broadside at the farmers’ organization—and ' never touched. it. . A fake organization, called the Good Government league, had been . started, for the purpose of killing the Nonpartisan League and hundreds of thousands of ‘circulars had been sent to 173 the voters of the state but the response - had been'nil. "Evidently the farmers and all others, except a few who were in on the fake, had treated the circulars with silent contempt. : This big broadside was expected to smash the formers’ organization into smhithereens and send the leaders and 3 organizers scurrying out of the state | and drive the Nonpartisan Leader into bankruptey. On the contrary the whole vile load had come back upon the unholy - heads of the perpetrators like ten- thousand boomerangs. It was this reaction, this filure to make’ a dent in the armor of the Nonpartisan battleship, this big clap of thunder and no lightening, that put Crafty and his fellow mudhens in the dumps and caused gloom to hang about the headquarters so thick that one could cut it with a e. “Well, I guess it’s all over except the funeral dirge,”. commented Dodger, cast- - ‘ing a sly glance at Crafty. BULL-HEADED CRAFTY _MISSED WHOLE. GAME “Now' - knock, you d—-— - quitter,” - growled Crafty, glowering at Dodger. . The latter fairly snorted in-the big boss’ - face. ‘“Well,” he commented, “this is- just what I told you would happen, several months ago, but you wouldn’t believe it.” “ Crafty’s feathers fell and he fumbled “‘nervously with his heavy watch chain. and stared stupidly at his insubordinate ~lieutenant. . “We <onld-have gotten out of this * mess gracefully, if you had had the sense - to take ‘a little sane “advice,” continued ~ Dodger, ironically. " “I have told you all the time that we were fighting ‘a losing - “ battle but you ‘would not listen. But I guess you see it now. For my part I don’t give a rap, I've got my money and I should worry.” Crafty ignored all Dodger said. Al- ways before he had a comeback but now " he was helpless and 'defenseless. His old time confidence was gone and he did not have the nerve to make big bluffs ‘a8 he usually did. He realized that he had been outgeneraled- and outfought at every turn of the battle. ‘'He realized also that along with defeat went his reputation as a successful boss. But hoping against hope he tried to find comfort in prognosticating the future. “But I think we will be able to come ~ sure “that’ they ‘wi - League ticket, - xtra! Crafty dmits But Still He Thinks Tt Possible fo “Come Back” Afterthe Storm is Over back after this storm blows. over,”. he commented doubtfully, directing. his re- marks to Slipry. “That all . depends,” - replied Slipry. . It depends.on how.we- try to come back, If we try to come back like a ram but-. . “We ting his way through a stone ‘wall our comeback will be blamed slow. That's where we made the mistake this time. No judgment has been used in this cam- paign. - We have gone at.it like a lot of amateurs and fledglings.” A few neo-. phyte. office seekers and pie-hungry poli- ticians have practically directed this whole battle—if you could call the bung- ling management directing. And you, Craft, have given them rein to do as they pleased—and they pleased to ball up the whole mess.” POOR OLD FLIPFLOP; HE BLAMES THE BOSS Just then Flipflop-entered the room looking as lifeless as a greasy dishrag: Crafty glanced at him and then turned Onward to LISBON N. D:-As riear as I can find _ out here they are all’solid for the League- gue except one _that would not join. T have been out and had a talk with some ~ of the doubtful ones and they are all solid for the League ticket, so you..can mark this precinct down as almost solid. - TEMPLE N. D.—~This precinct will’- run about 95 per.cent anyway for the League = candidates. . .This . precinct .is what you might term solid and there are no white feathers among ~them. The non members, are anxious to support the ticket as’ the members: are. “That is;, among the hired men.—C. F. D. SARLES, N. D.—I have made a- thorough canvass of the voters in our township and am doubtful of only one member of the League. - All others are enthusiastic. Two members are not. le- gal voters but they are workers just the same. All are of the opinion that Pub- lic ‘Opinion is ‘doing: the Leagué more . good than harm, and all are determined to stick together.—W. H. B. : SHEYENNE, N. D.—I ampretty sure that our precinct. will: go solid for the League except two and they do:not talk: for the League and haven’t said any-. thing against it so far-as I can learn. From what I canfind out’the whole sur- .rounding: country is in our favor and I can’t see for my life why they wouldn’t.: { <be.. There isn’t: any paper published by the Old:Line ‘Gang that cuts any vote - up here—R: A R. : Sy WILLOW.- CITY, don’t belong - his . head.. Several: others around the room snickered aloud.- Flipflop’s face' flushed and his round, dull eyes snapped. .as much 33.it, was possible for them to snap... . BT 5 S ‘asked Dodger,; sarcastically. Flip, stéred ; at ‘him-in contempt. “None o’ you're d—— business,” _he snarled. :Dodger guffawed hilariously, which proved a contagion for the rest of the party. Flipflop flopped down in a seat and spluttered - something about blankety blank; “fools. . “This{is a heluva mess you have made of things;” he said, addressing Crafty. - The big boss looked at him in pittying contempt. .- : “Flipfi'q'p,’; he mfitfered, deliberately, “‘of all the blankety, blank, blank fools “that ever lived you are the limit. You never_had no more chance in' this cam- paign -than 'a blind man at”a shootin’ .match and here you come bellyaching because you see now, at last, that you won’t know you was in the race. Not Victory o -THE “VICTORY IS ours if we know _enough to stick together.’ Let’s be men enough to put our. candidates through.— J.E. QUAM, = Ve lyna I"AM VERY much in.line with the League movement and am only pleased - when I can do something to helpit along. —HENRY ROMBERG. & : _‘OLSON INDORSED Taking advantage. of ‘the. presence of . thousands of League members at New - Rockford for the big picnic there -June . 16, League members held a massmeeting ~andindorsed Ole H. Olson:of Munster “as’ a candidate for the legislature in place of B. L. Gilbert of Warwick, whose deah ' recently left a vacancy on the League ticket in’ Eddy ‘and Foster counties, legislative district No, 32. The meeting appointed a committee of Messrs. Culver, Getchell and Larkin to - see to getting Mr. Olson’s name on the ballot or to arrange for stickers, so he: can be voted for in that way. It after- wards developed that the sticker method would have to be used, as the ballot is" already made up, and all League mem- bets and other voters who want them . will _be provided with stickers with which to vote for Mr. Olson. -~ Like Mr. Gilbert, s ; -on the Republican ballot in the primary. Frank Dunham, also running for the Jican ballot, was a candidate for the League indorsement ar dressed . the - “meeting, but not being a member of the Guilly's - Yep “ preacher would add to our strength but " legislature in this district on the Repub- - only that but you have done more'to help the farmers’ organization to beat us than- any man in ‘the state unless it is Dr. “You two fellows have acted 'like a couple’of kids. But I guess there is no use to worry about you ‘two any mores You are both done for now. - T admit that at first I thought your reputation as a farmer. and” ‘Guilt; Yeputation ‘as a you “have ’done® niothing' but ‘slop over ‘! from thé first.”"" #° _ 3 i Flipfiop resented this bitterly and ris- { i st “his' fist “under’ the big' boss’s 3 = ‘to smash it all over first time that day 8" hearty ‘'laugh with " his face," Fe Crafty burst inf to'a' he "% which the crowd' joined in. ateneg or the t “I'm “done with' ‘this gang,” shrieked’ Flip, “I’'m" done" with it for good. T'm . going back to the farm where I belong i and let you fellows fight your own' bat- Tt e tles. I'm done doing your . dirty work. = . i All I'get for it is double crosses and they : don’t do me any good——" : : 3 “That’s where you belong,” chorused f Slipry and Dodger, “back on the farm, ° and the quicker you get back there the g : better—the better for you and the better “ s for us,” concluded Slipry. 2 - | Flipflop got up and stalked out of thi { room and slammed the door behind him. CRAFTY PLANS TO PICK ~ .= - = OPPOSITION CANDIDATES = “What are you going to do after:the ! primaries?” asked Dodger, addressing ° w ol Slipry. Slipry ' glanced- at Crafty and remained silent-for half ‘a minute. - O, I guess I'll go to California for my health,” 'he replied with a wink. “There’ll be nothing doing ‘around here : for a couple of years.” b -~ o “There won’t eh?” exclaimed Crafty. “ “Ill tell you there’ll be plenty doing. ji AL There is a general élection coming off B this fall and I’'m here to say that we’lll- { be right on the job till then,” and he slammed his fist down on the desk in his old time way. . “We're going to pick out - ; some . candidates on the opposition - ticket and we’re going to put-them across. { if it is possible. But we're going to | fight differently than we have been doing. . . We're going to cut ont this muck-stirring . - b and mudslinging. ‘It only prejudices the . Tarmers against our cause and gets us nowhere. - : ; . “I haven't lost faith in this Good _Government league = idea.- The - only trouble with it is that we did not start . : it soon enough and we ‘didn’t keep its - : origin a secret long enough. = No ‘sooner : was- it launched than the Nonpartisan & - Leader exposed the -whole thing. It beats thunder how them farmers can build up an organization of 30,000 mem- bers before we ever hear of it and then S when we start an organization some- - 5 it body ‘spills the beans: and the whole shebang is exposed before we get ” 8 5 : L ! : Slipry and Dodger looked on dubiously - o ‘but remembering that the pay was good and that hard and honest work disagreed . with their constitutions kept quiet. “This thing. can be busted up,”. con-- tinued Crafty, “if it’s gone at in ‘the - right way and believe me we ‘are going’ = at ‘it in the right way next time and we're going to keep at.it till the end. : This is g little different job than I have . < ever tackled - before and I have ‘learned = = - a few things even though'I am an old: ‘man. We're going to work on the quiet - now for awhile and we will ‘plant a * bomb: under ‘that :farmers’ i that ' will ‘blow it kite and do it so “I“hope that’s so;’ ¢o; doubtfully, “but you’ll ha Of course, understand: me can-be done but we’ll haw: some of the: amateurs and go- _different; way than “Welll - ) Crafty. Then all lapsed i " clouds’ of "gloom ga * settled lower, .- 03 silence £red; Usicles