The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 15, 1917, Page 4

e L e e S S, e Having Some Fun With Jerry - By the Editor of the Leader ELL, it’s been a long time since we had any fun with Jerry. You know Jerry—he runs the Grand Forks Herald, which is the only thing most people have got against the beautiful and bustling eity of Grand Forks. Jerry has been awful worried. The poor man has seen the circu- lation of his newspaper slip away. He saw the Good Government league he took so much stock in dead and buried. And he knows unless he makes good pretty soon even the business men of Grand Forks, who he is trying his best to get in bad all over the state, won’t stand for him any more. In fact, this is a pretty blue old world for Jerry, in spite of all his money and the thousands of acres of land he ‘“‘farms.’’ One thing that worried Jerry most to death was the fact that the Nonpartisan Leader has been printing thousands of letters, voluntarily sent from all parts of the state, backing the farmers’ cause. Unless Jerry did some- thing he felt that it might appear that the people were against him and his paper. Some of his back- ers in Grand Forks might begin to wake up to the fact that the Herald was getting the ecity in bad. So Jerry decided to have some letters to print in his paper, criticizing the farmers’ program and roasting the farmers’ organi- zation and its officers. Jerry thought this would be pretty good stuff. He thought if he could get a good old mossback here and there over the state to rant against the Nonpartisan League and its legislative program at Bismarck, he could play these letters up as show- ing the people were really with him and against the farmers. Of course, these letters would be printed in the Herald as voluntary offerings in the cause of ‘“good government,’’ and they would hit the farmers a stagger- ing blow. It would be awful Townley and all those fellows would have to seek the cyclone cellar, the League would ‘‘bust’’ and the Herald would say ‘‘I told you so.”’ ~So Jerry has been sending out a lot of letters to people, who, to use his own words, ‘‘are good, Towner, N. D. Dear Sir: The Herald desires to publish men over the state, whose interest is in the whole people and general up- building and welfare of our commonwealth, on the subject of legislation and conditions as they exist at present under the control of the Big Five. We realize an expression from a man of your type would have special weight in your community and make interesting reading for all the people. Conditions at the capitol seem to be in a chaotic state and the governor and legislature, on whose shoulders rests the responsibility of enacting laws for the best interest of all and the general welfare of the state, are entitled to know the judgment of the most capable and fair minded citizens. Please give us your views, as to the good the League may be able to accomplish or the damage they may do. Five with the old caucus and convention systems and any other system with which you are familiar. What into a state and handling, or attempting to handle, the legislature as they are. In your reply compare the Nonpartisan League system methods with * the commonly called “Political Gang Methods.” Thanking you for a prompt reply, we are Yours very truly, JDB—MB P. S. If you do not wish to reply please hand this letter to some other good scund conservative intelligent citizen who will be fair and express himself from the standpoint of the best interest of the state and all its citizens. sound conservatives.’’ This means that they were used by Jerry be- fore the primaries and election to write similar letters against the League. One of these letters sent out by Jerry is reproduced on this page. We hope it will bring Jerry a lot of replies. He needs cheer- ing up. So that these letters would get results, Jerry inserted a ‘‘P. S.”’ on the bottom. This informed the recipient that if he did not want to get in bad himself by pulling nuts out of the fire for Jerry, would he please hand the letter to some other ‘‘good, sound conservative,”’ so that in any event SOMEONE would write a NOATH OAKOTA'S Grand ?ovkfi Herald CREATEST NEWSPAPER MORNING. EVENING AND SUNDAY 4. P. BACON, BUSINESS MANASER GRAND FORKS. NORTH DAKOTA January 27, 1917. the expression of sound conservative Compare the control of the Big do you think of five outsiders coming letter to the Herald. Jerry just had to have letters knocking the Nonpartisan League. In order to egg his correspond- ents on to their best in these ‘‘voluntary’’ letters to the Herald, Jerry hints at the menace of the ‘“Big Five,”’ by-which he means the five members of the executive board of the Nonpartisan League. ‘“What do you think of five outsiders coming into the state and handling, or attempting to handle, the legislature as they are?’’ asks Jerry in this letter. Now Jerry, you talk a lot in this letter about ‘‘The Big Five.’’ One would think you knew all about ‘““The Big Five.”’ And yet you are so filled with prejudice and hate, so ignorant of the facts, that you talk about ‘‘outsiders coming into. the state’’ and say that the executive committee of the League is composed of out- siders. Every member of the executive committee of the Nonpartisan League is a North Dakota farmer, Jerry. -And you lied when you said in this letter they were out- siders. Most of the members of the executive committee that you try to insult by calling ‘‘The Big Five’’ have lived in North Dakota all their lives—the rest of them bhave farmed in that state for a long period of years. You do not know who the members of the executive committee are and do not care, or you do know and pur- posely tell falsehoods about them. In either case, your hatred and prejudice give you away, Jerry. For your information, we here- with give a list of the members of the Nonpartisan League executive committee members, whom you call ‘‘The Big Five.”” These have been the executive committes members from the start of the League: E. A. Bowman of Kulm, farmer, who has farmed near Kulm for years. T. C. Nelson of New England, farmer, and old-timer in the state. A. C. Townley, farmer, who homesteaded near Beach in 1906 and has been a citizen of the state ever since. F. B. Wood of Deering, farmer, one of the pioneers of the state. 0. S. Evans of Bowman, farm- er, who filed on a homestead there and has been in the state for years. That is ‘‘The Big Five,’’ Jerry. Your ranting about ‘‘people from outside of the state’’ sounds kind of sick now, doesn’t it? You have been caught again, Jerry. The letters you have sent out to get reactionaries to write letters for your paper condemning the farm- ers’ organization are false and misleading. What kind of a cause do you represent which ‘makes you stoop to this kind of effort to support it? How much longer will the business men of Grand Forks and the people of that city stand for you and the black eye you are giving that fair town? Your letter plan was a failura, derry. Think up something new. No New Constitution for Montana Invisible Government Defeats Plan to Submit to the People Matter of Calling Convention—Two-thirds Vote is Bar By Special Correspondent ELENA, Mont., Feb. 10.—Invisi- ble government won its first big victory by the defeat in the senate of the bill submitting to a vote of the people at the next general election the question of calling a con: "‘utional convention. The victory was made possible by the bi-partisan method which has long been infamous 1in Montana politics. ‘While a majority voted for the bill— 20 to 18—the will of a minority was effective, under the provision requiring a two-thirds vote. Thus the hands of the dead stretched forth and laid re- straint upon a living majority, sensible of the people’s will The result, however, was only made possible by the gross betrayal of half a dozen of the agricultural counties of the state. Six senators, three Repub- licans and three Democrats, did the bidding of the Invisible Government. These were: Senator Whiteside of Flathead; Arnold of Gallatin; and Hurd of Valley—all Democrats; Sena- tor Stevens of Choteau, Clay of Phil- lips, and Jones of Meagher—all Re- publicans. The victory has its other and more hopeful aspect. The resuscitation of the old bi-partisan combination is be- ing given a new name—the Corpora- tion Nonpartisan League. Many mem- bers of the legislature are now openly saying that the only way to meet this League is by a People’s. Nonpartisan League, and North Dakota’s great or- ganization is the subject of fresh in- quiry and interest. Among the projects now being con- sidered is for the independent voters in the cities to form a direct legislation league, by means of which legislation to free the cities from the throttling control of the public utility corpora- tions may be submitted to a vote by initiative petitions. It is also suggest- ed that these leagues nominate candi- dates for the legislature two years hence, who will be pledged to submit a call for a constitutional convention. ‘While this discussion is being carried on quietly, those inter. tcl are very much in earnest. They are not with- out political experience, for as a rule they were active in the Progressive movement of four years ago. That movement temporarily put the Old Guard Republicans out of business in Montana. It is now proposed to do the business more thoroughly and for keeps by putting up a program that will ensure the sympathy and active support of the Farmers’ Nonpartisan movement in the state. In effect this will mean that the great democratic sentiment in the - cities will reach out and strike hands with the great democratic sentiment in the country to redeem both from selfish misrule. The prospect is a most ckeering one. % ‘While the big fight was on in the genate a contest of almost equal im- port was on in the house. In thé lat- ter instance the victory was to the representatives of the farmers. The battle was over an optional dis- trict herd law. The big stockmen of the state, acting in concert wiwa the representatives from the mining coun- ties, had always heretofore been able tc choke herd law bills in the commit- tees.” This time the farmers secured a fayorable majority report from the committee, and a three days’ fight en- sued. In the end the farmers won, FOUR S S and the bill went on general orders with a favorable recommendation. Thus new history was made in Montana legislative assemblies. And the significant fact in it all is that this new history was made possi- ble by a nonpartisan combination of farmer members and their friends. Thig outstanding feature is still the subject of animated talk in the lobbies at the capitol and in the hotels. The farmer members are learning that there ig nothing in ‘party politics for them. It is dawning upon them that the only combinations worth while are combi- - nations based upon self-interest; that all legislation is a result of just such combinations; and that party afrilia- tions are only used to get into the legislative assemblies. ; Once in, self-intcrest, not party ties controls. And so it is that the bi- partisan combinations are carrying fagots to feed the fires that are being lighted in the agricultural counties by the Nonpartisan League in Montana. The more industrious the bi-partisan’ combiners are, the higher will be piled the fuel that brightens the bonfires the Nonpartisans will light in the next campaign. . . et : e