The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 29, 1917, Page 4

The farmer, after all his long hours of planning and toil, sees his product. made the sport of a lot of food gamblers, its price doubled and trebled befove it reaches the consumer. The farmer is robbed, and so is the consumer. P TRY JOHN D’S METHOD HE only remedy for this is in doing a little John D. Rockefeller work with the market for agricultural produects. In other words, the market has got to be ORGANIZED. There has got t0 be some SYSTEM and ORDER injected into it. The farmers have been waiting a long time for somebody else to do this for them. They should have discovered by this time that NOBODY ELSE WILL DO IT. NOBODY ELSE WANTS TO DO IT—certainly not the food product speculators. They are a lot of leeches whose living is obtained ; by SUCKING THE BLOOD out of the farm products business. But if nobody else wants to do it, there are a good many who are ready to help. The consumers of FARM PRODUCTS, the working people who must buy the food raised by the farmer, after it has Mercer, March 17, 1917. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: the only railroads to which Section 140 could apply, and besides, this section only provides that the railroads shall maintain offices for the giving out of public information, and that is provid- ed for in Section 132 of House Bill 44 (136 of the present constitution). Here : H R is the proviso that nullifies the entire gaiting. intareating mroulel, hars: section: “Provided the provisions of A. P. PETERSON. this section shall not be so construed Pt as to apply to foreign corporations.” In other words it could not apply to the THE OLD GANG'S MISTAKE Great Northern, the Soo, the Northern It is a very good indication of the Pagcific, the Milwaukee or any other failure of the Old Gang campaign at foreign corporation. It was wholly the start that they are now using their useless. paid emissaries to pick at side issues EFEpDERAL LAW TAKES ITS PLACE instead of trying to debate the merits 3 S of the main provisions of House Bill 44, Section 141 of fl?e constxtutnoq was which contained the proposals of the left out of House Bill 44 befzause it has Nonpartisan League members of the been superseded by United States legislature for amendment of the con- statutes and the Interstat‘e Commerce stitution. They have practically aban- Ccommission. It tries to give the state doned the direct attack on “Forty- authority to prevent railroads owning Will you please tell me why Sec- tions 140, 141 and 1L were omitted | from House Bill 44? Politics are four” because it has at last penetrated competing or.parallel lines to consoli- . _. their thiclk skulls that THE PEOPLE 4date, but as- every, ane knows, states OF NORTH DAKOTA ARE IN FAVOR.. .0 lorser-tai.’ any control over the OF THE LEAGUE PROGRAM A™D conso_hda.non of interstate corp.oratioqs ARE THEREFORE IN F&vUR OF ©OF rz.mroads. In the 28 years since this THE MAIN CHANGLS PROPOSED section was written, the "doctrine of IN THE LEASUE'S BILL TO RE- control of interstate railroads by the VISE THE CONSTITUTION. federal government ha..? been develt.)p- The way they are hammering at ed, and a mass of na.tlc_mal legislation easily answered trifles shows the has bee_n enacted govermg every fea- desperation in which they are now ture of it. ’I:he section cc?uld only apply clutching at straws. The question for to thg two little local raflrpa.ds already which Mr. Peterson asks an answer ig Dentioned, and they are neither parallel a good instance. It is an instance ROr competing. where the Old Gang publicity bureau is < able to make an argument only by stat- left on of 7 House Bx]l. 44, because ing falsehoods. :vfirythmg :it_relsate:_ to 11559 mfutt:g more W ully covered in Section o e con- geHr:i;n:hEY WERE “LEFT OUT” stitution, which was retained in House e answer: Bill 44 as Section 150. Section 165 di- : fStecti(tm ;42{ of the .constitution was rects the legislature “to pass suitable e out o [ouse 'Blll 44 because it laws for the safe keeping, transfer and contamefi a'. little joker thfxt made it disbursement of the state school funds” Dimee 8 roralite e bt e E e one e ) A enacted. ere are literally scores o railroads operating wholly within the sections in the civil code enacted in f;:;teimd'l]‘:;:;e ;L::nionly two of these, response to thi.s provisi.on, important b n ng ou’t qf .,Ta.mes- among them being Section 285 estab- tqwn, and the .Farmers Line” run- lishing the board of university dnd ning out of Devils Lake. These are school lands and defining its powers; passed through the hands of the speculators—they are willing to help. Labor unions all over the country are assuring officers of the Nonpartisan League of their co-operation. Leagues of consux?aers in the big cities are looking with hopeful interest at what the farmers of North Dakota have béen planning. . % @ WHY NOT PLOW FOR YOURSELF? S T’S a big job of plowing the farmers have laid out for themselves. I The field is broad and the under soil is tough. It will take a strong team and a steady hand to guide them. But, shucks! what do-you care for that? You’ve been plow horses for Big Business long enough, haven’t you? Your hides are pretty well toughened to the harness. Why shouldn’t you drag the plow of political co-operation for a while, in the interest of your own country and its hard-working, struggling people, in the interest of your own state, in the interest of your own family—in your own interest? Section 165 of the constitution was’ That is the course of patriotism. That is the course of right. Let us get together and be at the job. What to Tell the Old Gangsters (A Letter on House Bill 44 Answered by the Editor) and Section 290 making the state trea- surer, custodian of the school funds. These sections were drawn expressly in conformity with article 9 of the con- stitution of which Section 159, retained in House Bill 44 is a part. There is no more excuse_for retain- ing Section 165 directing that the legis- lature “shall pass suitable laws” rela- tive to school funds, than there is for retaining and reprinting again Section 19 of Article 20 which directs the legis- lative assembly “at its first session to provide for the payment of all debts and indebtedness authorized by the constitutional convention of North Dakota.” The occasion for it has ceased to exist. Besides the sections mentioned above there are laws in the criminal code de- fining embezzlement, and providing a penalty of one to 20 years for any per- son charged with custody of public funds whe '~:isappropriates such funds and repayment to the state of twice the amounts thus embezzled. Two sec- tions giving this protection especially to the school funds are Section 9933 and Sectior’ 9930 of the penal codé which are not affected in any way by House Bill 44, - WHERE THEY KNEW BETTER The statement published in “A So- cialist Constitution,” that Section 165 “is the only one in the constitution pro- tecting school land funds” is false and known to be false by the authors of the pamphlet. Here is the section of the .present constitution that gives protection to the school land funds, ‘known as Section 159, and retained word for word in House Bill 44 as Section 150: “Section 150. All money or other property donated, granted or received from the United States or any other source for a university, school of mines, +reform school, agricultural college, deaf and dumb asylum, normal school! or other. educational or charitable insti- tution OR PURPOSE, AND THE PROCEEDS OF ALL SUCH LANDS AND OTHER PROPERTY RECEIVED FROM ANY SOURCE shall be and re< main perpetual funds, the interest and income of which together with the rents of all such lands as may remain unsold shall be INVIOLABLY AP- PROPRIATED AND APPLIED TO THE SPECIFIC OBJECTS OF THE ORIGINAL GRANTS OR GIFTS. The principal of such fund may be increas= ed, BUT SHALL NEVER BE DIMIN- ISHED and the interest_and income only shall be used. EVERY SUCH FUND SHALL BE DEEMED A TRUST FUND HELD BY THE STATE AND THE STATE SHALL MAKE GOOD ALL LOSSES THERE- OF.” ASK THEM SOME QUESTIONS If you are discussing this or any other question with a man who has listened to the Old Gang argument re- member this: The senate had every opportunity to amend or restore these or any other sections of House Bill 44. It didn’t touch a line of it. Why? Be- cause they didn't want the people to have a chance to pass on it. “But,” whines the Old Gangster, ‘‘the people didn’t tell us to amend the con- stitution. We ought not taq do it unless the people tell us to.” Sounds nice, doesn’t it? But look here, Mr. Old Gangster. The people did order you to provide a law by which they could amend the constitution. Such a law was passed in the house and you voted it down. The people gave you an order and you didn’t obey it. You didn't want the people to have a chance to vote on their constitution. You don’t trust the people. Your bosses said so on the floor of the senate. ““Fhe people are in a dangerous mood. We must not give them this power.” Those were the words -used. Put this right straight up to them. They can’t answer and it is the com- plete answer to every one of their ob- jections about House Bill 44. It tears away every flimsy pretense. It shows plainly the real reason why they killed “Forty-four.” They did not want the people to rule. Governor Frazier to Speak in New York By-Frank Bohn ] PON the request of the People’s Institute of New York, Gover- nor Frazier will address an audience at Cooper Union the see- ond week in April. Cooper Union is a historie rostrum. From it the great advocates of liberty in previous generations have spoken to the people of the great city. There Lincoln appeared just before he was nominated for the presidency. From that rostrum " Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd Garrison cried out in bitterness ‘and wrath against chattel slavery and the slave power. No American public man of any importance escapes an invita- tion, at some time or other, to speak to the Cooper Union audience. ‘While Taft was president he appeared there and made his now famous answer to the question from one in the audience: ‘‘How’s a working man to live when he can’t find work?’’ ‘‘God knows!’’ replied Taft. The people of New York want to know what North Dakota has in the way of a solution of the food problem. The poor of New York are literally starving. On Feb. 15, potatoes cost $5.50 a bushel, onions 18c a lb., cabbage 8¢ a lb., bacon 45¢ a 1b., butter 55¢ a 1b. Imagine a man getting twelve or fifteen dollars a week and trying to support a family with such prices prevailing! s It couldn’t be done. In the Bronx a workingman and his wife, having four children, talked over the high prices, all their spare time. At last they gave it up. The man struck his wife on the head witha hammer, knocking her senseless and then ran to the roof of the five- story building in which they lived and jumped to the street. Twenty thousand starving poor paraded on the afternoon of March 3 and marched to Madison Square to protest against the high cost of living. At the head of the column was a regiment of ragged ST children, one thousand strong. Similar parades were directed to the city hall and up Fifth avenue. The crowds grew noisy and *‘insolent.”” The mayor said, he would think it over. Governor Whitman came down from Albany and said the trouble was ‘‘much exaggerated.’’ The president brought the matter to the attention of congress which voted $400,000—not to bqy bacon and beans for the starving, but to ‘‘investi- gate.”” The committee appointed will divide the $400,000 of pork among themselves and in September or December next we’ll get the 101st official report ‘‘on high prices.’’ . What shall we do? No more fool investigations are needed. The conditions and the remedy are both as plain as daylight. Let North Dakota establish public _elevators, flour mills, slaughter hoyses, packing plants and cold storage houses. To do this enact Bill 44, Let New York City purchase all the food its people need direct from the producers—flour and'meat from the farmers of North Dakota, fruits and vegetables direet from the farmers of New Jersey, Florida and California, and let its own fishermen bring in the fish from the sea. _ Cut out the middlemen. New York City supports 70,000 of these parasites—grafters who never touch a potato or a sack of flour. You here in North Dakota pick out those who rob you and you will get rid of those who rob us. Put through Bill 44 in 1919 and we’ll put through Bill 44 in New York. The big job of our generation is to unite the worker in the city with the worker in the country. To be divided is to be defeated. United we can accomplish anything. The Farmers’ Non- partisan League of North Dakota has started the whole country on the way to victory and freedom over Big Business. No retreating now! Forward along the whole line! 3 FOUR