The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 16, 1916, Page 11

e e ~N ONE of the old stories is a legend of ‘an old man who, feeling that the mfimntxes of age were fast descend- ; ing upon him, caled together his ‘. numerous sons.. Wishing - to impress Jupon .them his desire that they always _honor should be maintained, he took two bundles of small sticks of . uniform - strength and laid them on each side; ; one b dle he tied ‘with a strong cord, then 'selecting” one stick after another from. the other bundle, he broke each in two with his hands before their eyes until g1l the sticks had been broken. He * then'he took the other bundle-and tried to break' all at once, but could not. He i invited his sons to try their united = - strength -upon this. bundle, but it with= . ptood the utmost test.- 1t has taken the world untold centuries %o mébke a practical application of the : = bit of of ' philosophy intended. to be 1llus- ~+ " trated in’this old legend, . FARMERS WERE ONE OF LAST CLASSES TO UNITE The combination movement in the last thirty years has progressed apace. In “{ransportation, in manufacturing and in every field of productmn combmatlon and E. F. Ladd Says: T el e e ver n No C. Smith, There are few men Pres. book, 10 cents,’ > Cloverlea Seed Co., Blanchard, N. D. Holstem Bulls for Sale -have several REGISTERED B ifering at $100 to ?sa.mm'm::" o X u'e. ‘ well marked uuu C&e -l see our herd or write’ work : together to the end that the old family estate and the ancient family - - December 4th, 1867. . ment of agriculture, 1 movement among the. farmers is'that armer omts .u’t the HlS Pohtlcal Organizations Have Been the Pioneers in Great Amerlcan Reforms By Svemb]orn Johnson This artzcle by. Mr Johnson is an abstract of an address delivered before the fa.rmets of Bentru townshlp and re-written for the Leader by Mr. Johnson at_ o i - organi_za‘._tlon is' the rule The only exception is ‘found “in ' the farming industry. .In this field combination and co-operation seem’ to ‘have -been. unsuc- - cessful, when measured by ‘the degree of permanency ‘of the orgaxuzatlon or the “combination. . attempted. - Most of *the great movements for combination in the agricultural sporadic prosperity and after a few years have passed.away. While every field of industry and busi- ness has been organized, while even the professions have formed associations for the purpose of promoting their interests and improving their conditions a§ a class; the agricultural interests of the country hayve been ‘entirely unorganized on a large scale, The merchants, the bankers, - the lawyers, the doctors, and even the undertakers have formed associations and because they have thus . combined the members_of these groups have been able to present to the legislative body their demands with ‘more vigor and have secured a more respectful hearing than - would have been the case if the work had been left to the individuals - them- gelves, - & 'FIRST IMPULSE TO._ UNION CAME FROM GOVERNMENT - The “first attempt -to -organize the farmers of the -country dates from Strangely enough as it may seem to those who look upon efforts on 'the part of the farmers to organize themselves as a movement in the direction of anarchy and a menace to the rights of " property, the movement originated at Washington, in the depart- :when ' Andrew Johnson was . president of the United -States. 0. H. Kelly and W.. M. Saunders were sent from the department of agri- culture. through the southern states to * report upon ‘agricultural conditions in the south. They concluded ‘that some relief for the deplorable conditions among the farmers might be had through organ- ~ ization, and accordingly they began the . | organization of “The Patrons of Hus- bandry” with ~ branches to be ' called “granges.” ized in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Tllinois and anesota, in the spfing of °1868. By 1876 it is said that the total membership had grown to approximately . The granges Were secret - _“societies and at the time were: looked 1.500,000. upon - with. fear ‘and- snspicxon by the . interests - ontsxde. Only. farmers were members and.in a faw years grangeahad ; beenorgamzedmeverystatemthev Umon. *“The mnext phase: of the orgamzatwn covered by the aners’ Alliance, organ- ized about 1873. field - have enjoyed . but “This movement spread with " great rapidity and granges were organ- This movement: devel- & & the edxtor’s request. large and wealthy class of our people, that in union there is strength, and that it was necessary to co-operate in order to brmg about reforms and improve- ‘ment in their condition. Other business had ‘organized "‘and united. their forces behind such demands as their own interest seemed to require that they make upon the legislature. Takmg counsel ‘from history and profit- ing by the experience of other business which ° had successfully orgamzed the z S We have mstalled a speclal machme that rebores cylmders, only, and we fit them with larger: plstons and rings, which i increases the " power of ‘your engine. ‘. party was the result. The strength of - pronounced and apparent. . political ' life can question, 'I't Gi“Ves Your fEngin'e “Pep” farmers got together and the People’s the movement appears when we recall that in 1892 this party had 22 electoral votes. Although the grange movement was not originally intended to be political in its nature, yet before the climax of the organization. movement among the farmers had been reached in 1892 the influence of the ‘Farmers’ organization in political and public affairs had become It is a truth which no observer of our that the average politician and the average office~ seeker is not a leader, but to a great extent a follower of public sentiment. It is not until a movement or a platform 1 (Continued on page 14) oA b aroup sk s i o e S AR S S =R, 3 s - e Automoblles re-deSIgned repa1red and overhauled _If there is *E ! anythmg wrong w1th your machine we can make it nght ,! i We weld all metals and make and machine anythmg By ~' ’ When you write us pleau mention the Leader. Dakota Welding & Mis. Co. 203 Fifth St. N. - - Tel. 926 To Our Friends THE followmg concerns belng millers and manufacturmg just as good flour as any combine mill, and in view of the fact that they buy their wheat from the Equity Co-Operative Exchange we are - going to ask you to patronize these. . firms when placlng your flour _orders: Gam Bemmels Milling Co. - - & Elevator Co. = R.E. Jones 7 X Morgan Roller Mills: .~ Starbuck Milling Co. - - Tennant & Hoyt f * Wisconsin Milling Co. - Crookston Milling Co. ‘Capital City Mill & Grain Co. =+ Fairmount Co-Operative Mlll' Wabasha Roller Mills < " Lake Clty, Minn. 5 »';Globe Flour Mllllng G0 FARGO, N. D. St. Paul, Minn Lisbon, N. D. St. Paul, Minn. Fairmount; N. D, - Wabasha, Minn. - Wabasha, Minn. - Morgan, - ‘Starbuck, Minn Menominee, Wis.® = . Crookston, Minn, e Perham, an