The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 15, 1917, Page 5

~ What's Up in South Dakota? Steal the League’s Thunder and Then Cheat the People— That’s the Little Game of Politicians Vbt L L %Y Nafireun i - IG BIZ in South Dakota. does not want the ‘Nonpartisan ‘League to have ‘a . hand in making the laws for the state. ‘Big Biz is well ‘satisfied with the chainbound control of South Da- kota politics that it has maintained for many years, and it néver dominated a session at Pierre more arrogently than during thé two months that has Just ended. - No band of politicians ever tried more wholeheartedly to put it over on their ‘constituents, Few such politicians ever ‘double crossed the people and got away +with so much. When the legislature .convened the same old gang was in :control, and found itself even without -an organized opposition, i If. there had been an organized op- position it could have kept an eye on rtheir maneuvers and warned the people that their legislature —was deceiving .them by pretending to enact popular ‘laws, and at the same time hindering all future progress by framing them 80 that they would have to be unmade before genuine, honest legislation could ‘be enacted. They filled the road with a pile of rubbish misbranded “people’s mea- sures” This debris will have to be re- moved by the next session of the South Dakota legislature, before the League :program can be begun. It consists chiefly of House Bill 424, a designedly unworkable- grain inspection bill, with a still more useless “market” feature, and a half-hearted terminal elevator measure Senate Bill 275 and House Bill 425, appropriating $2,500 to “investi- gate the advisability” of establishing state-owned terminal elevators, flour ‘mills, packing houses dand cold storage 'plants; and “Senate Joint Resolution No: 15, containing a joker to mahe it unworkable “NO EXCUSE FOR LEAGUE" {SAY FOXY POLITICIANS ° j The motive back of these and other imeasures was disclosed by Representa- itive: William C. Bessler of Sioux Falls, iwhorremarked in a hotel: one day {towards the end of the session: “When ‘this legislature is over, there will not ‘be~the slightest excuse for the Non- ;partisan League in South Dakota.” . Representative William A. Nevin .cordially agreed to this, and other leg- islators frequently expressed the same sentiment. = They were back-firing against the League by grabbing the titles of the laws the .League farmers \wanted enacted, and using: them to ‘cloak fake measures of their own. In ifact, this contempt for the people be- ~ca.me so outspoken before the session “had been long in progress, that it was .generally put into this formula: “We've got the Nonpartisan League backed off the map.” This became the talk of the capitol, the gossip of the lobbies, and was gen- erally accomaplished with knowing winks. They began to boast -openly about their own cleverness, and it was this boasting of how they had succeed- ed in putting it over on the people, to- puucx'm.ucx PLucK' PLUCK THE FARMER. ». . | GAL DARNED IF SHE AINT LAID A LEMON. I NEED A FARMERS L NONPARTISAN AXE. FOR HE.R' ZAT L ] SV P e “And All This Noise About It” “Fight the League? Oh, no indeed!” says the foxy South Dakota political trickster. “We'll just enact a lot of ‘progressive’ measures our- selves and leave the farmers no excuse for or- ganizing.” And then he stuck his tongue in hlS left cheek and winked with the other eye. Do you get the pomt" gether with the fact that no real‘legis- lation in accordance with the League program was being enacted, that brought W. H. Talmage and R. W. Morser to the capitol in the closing days with a demand for one real mea- sure in behalf of the people, which was finally passed after a prolonged battle, Senate Joint Resolution No. 16. LEAGUE PROPOSAL IS QUICKLY KILLED The first measure introduced by sincere .friends of the League was Senate Joint Resolution No. 10 by Senator Dowdell, which proposed a constitutional amendment to permit the state or its political subdivisions to be bonded for the establishment - of publicly-owned and managed indus- tries, such as flour mills, elevators, packing plants, cold storage plants and the like. This was an amendment to section 2 of article 13 of the South Da- Kota constitution, which prescribes that the debt limit can not be raised beyond $100,000. Senator Dowdell's resolution _proposed that this be raised to $500,000, - and contained this -significant proviso in addition: “Provided, however the state or any political division thereof may issue or guarantee the payment of bonds in ex- cess of the debt limit specified in this article, provided such bonds are secur- ed by first mortgages upon real estate or upon property of public utilities, en- terprises or industries.” This was similar to a provision in House Bill 44, famous in the North Da- kota legislature for its assassination by the cohorts of Big Business. The South .Dakota attempt met a similar fate, but without arousing the people of that state to indignation as it did in North Dakota, for the South Dakotans did not have the League organized in either branch of the legislature. Senate Joint Resolution No. 10 was “bumped off” neatly and quickly with just one motion. Senator Marvick moved that it be laid on the table, and it was—by a roll c¢all that had but seven opponents. One of the seven was Senator Howes, who six weeks later fought to save Senate Joint Resolu- “THE PEOPLE WILL WIN” - Editor Nonpartisan Leader: Sawyer, N. D., Feb. 19, 1917. I was born in Illinois and for that reason I am a natural born sucker, and I am proud to say I am a Nonpartisan League sucker. I voted for Lynn J. Frazier and all the rest of the suckers down at Bismarck. I live in North Dakota and am also a citizen of the United States. I love the flag and also my country, but what I started out to say was—either Jerry has not heard of me or else I am not classed as a ‘“good sound conservative,” or else I should have received one of Jerry’s circular letters. never opened it. Still maybe I did, and took it for an advertisement and No, as an American cxtlzen and also a-rube I -would llke to express my "opinion on that part of Jerry’s letter where he asks the “good sound conserva- tive .intelligent citizen” to compare the Nonpartisan League methods with the commonly called ‘political gang methods.” ' . When the political gang was in power it was heads I win, tails you lose, <" being the gang and ‘you” being the people.. Now when the Nonpartisan League which represents the people, gets full control of the reins of the govern- ment of North Dakota (which won’t be long) then it will be heads I win or tails I win, in this case “T’” being the people. The people are bound to win and are ‘going to win if they have to wade through fire and salt water to do it. Now, Mr. Editor, tell Jerry to tell the Shephard and his flock that they car’t any more freeze out the Nonpartisan League than a snow ball can freeze out Hades. For 'this I am, Yours truly EVERETT BUNKER, A. S. P. 8. In case Jerry doesn’t understand the A. S. attached.to name tell him that A. S. stands for A Sucker, —~ture ~° ° tion No. 16, which proposes an amend- ment to section 1 of article 13 of the South Dakota constitution, and is the only thing the people got bearing the indorsement of the Nonpartisan League. From the time No. 10 was killed un- til the last week of the session, it was smooth sailing for the clever Old Guard. They framed the “farmers'"” measures to suit their own taste, and courted publicity for passing laws so _fulfilling the farmers’ program, that they “had the League backed off the map.” That is all they were trying to do. Once they had the League backed off the map safely, and surely they could go ahead with their own designs, just as the packing trust goes ahead with its own high prices, when it has underbid the local packing house and put it out of business. And here is a sample of the kind of a law they used to put the League out of business in South Dalkota. House Bill 424 was introduced by the joint select committee on market commniissioner, grain grading and in- spection etc. etc.,, and represented the crowning achievement of the Old Guard in the Fifteenth legislative assembly of South Dakota. This act was the octgrowth of public hearings held earlier in the session. With a great show of enthusiasm for the farmers, a jeint legislative committee held hear- ings on the grievances of the farmers, called in the big land owners, the farmers who own bank stock and live in the cities, leasing their land by townships to real tillers of the soil, and other such folks. They called in rep- resentatives of “all the farmers’ organ- izations”—all hut the Nonpartisan League, and when it was over they went to work to frame House Bill 424. PLENTY OF SUPERVISION OVER CABBAGE CRATES This famous bill entitled “An Act to Establish a Department of Grain In- spection and Markets; to Prescribe Its Powers and Duties and Appropriating Money Therefore,” appropriates $25,- 000 and spends most of its ink on pre- scribing rules and regulations for “open or closed receptacles” for farm products, labels that may be’ put on such receptacles, and the powers of the market commissioner to gather statistics. It scarcely touches the grain Landling industry, which is the real issue with the South Dakota farmers. Its provisions would be applicable 'to * apple boxes, cabbage - crates, butter firkins, and such things but not to grain elevators. It creates a market commissioner at a salary to be named by the governor (not to exceed $3,000). It provides that standards can be promulgated by the market commis- sioner subject to the governor's ap- proval—and then makes a howling farce out of the whole act by providing that this can only be done after the standards have been passed upon and approved by the «aretary of agricul- % TK~.os. The scope { k