The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 17, 1917, Page 8

The Lost Sheep Argues Rip Gets Into the Organizing Game and Sees League.ReCruiting at - Close Range and Its One Per Cent Miss BY RIP, THE REPORTER Deer Mistur Editur— It iz with great alackerty that I taik mi typewriter in hand to type you a fu lines to tell you about wun uv the most interrestin’, experiences I've had in a good menny daze. ‘While spendin’ a fu daze, an’ also a fu dollars, at Big.Bizmarck I got ac- quainted with wun uv the Nonparti- shun Leeg organizers who iz doin’ re- organizashun wurk in this neck o’ the woods, az it wur, so to speak. Az I had manifested considerable interrest in hiz wurk he invited me to go with him wun day an’ see frum furst han’ how the bizness iz dun. I gladly acceeded to hiz invitashun an’ after brakefurst we got into hiz fliver an’ lit out across the rollin’ prayrys to the township whur he wuz to do the work. It wuz about 9 a. m. when we reach- ed the furst feller that had not re-on- rolled an’ bin check offen the list an’ we found him in hiz feeld sowin’ wheat. ‘We drove ker-licktey-split out over the plowed ground till we got so clost that hiz horses begin to snort an’ act skit- tish, then we stopped the fliver an’ got out. No suner did that organizer hit the ground than that farmer rec- ognized him, az he wuz the saim or- ganizer that organized that territory two years ago, an’ no suner did he recognize him than he dropped the lines an’ slid offen that seeder an’ cum stridin’ t'wards us with hiz han’ a- stickin’ out an’ a exclamin,’ “Hel-lo thar, hel-lo thar,” an’ he rushed up an’ grabbed the organizer’s han' an’ shuck it like a thursty man tryin’ to prime a leaky pump. Well, after thay fAlicitated an’ fraternalized awhile an’ tole each uther how glad they wuz to see each uther, the organizer sed, sez he, “Well, I §poze you know we air re-onrollin’ the members of the Leeg fur anuther two years”—— DROPS HIS WORK TO BE “REORGANIZED” “Yes, yes,” sed the farmer,” I've bin thinkin’ about sendin’ mine in to the office an’ savin’ the expense uv cumin’ after it, but—well, you know how that iz, I've jist neglected it. But enny how I'm glad I didn’t now fur ef 1 had you wudn’t have cum around an’ I wudn’t have got to see you. How’s your helth, ennyway ?” “Yes, shore | believe in organizashun,” said Hardnut, kicking the dirt with his toe. ‘While he wuz sayin’ this the organi- zer had past over the list an’ he sined it on hiz nee, then rote out a check while the organizer made out a receet. Then he ast a lot uv questions about how the organizashun wurk wuz goin, an’’ exhibited grate enthusiazm over the prospects. ‘“Well, every man in theze parts that jined before iz goin’ to jine agin,” he sed. *“But thar's a feller over thar,” pintin’ over hiz shoulder to the southwest, “that never jined last year an’ I'd like fur us to try an’ git him, but I don’t beleeve we will, at that.” THEY GIVE HARDNUT ONE MORE CHANCE “Maybe we're better off without him,” suggested the organizer. “I spect that's so,” replied the farm- er, “but I'd like to see him tried wunce more.” Then he maid us promise to cum back about 4 that afternune when he’d be dun seedin’ an’ he'd go over with us to try the feller. So with that un- derstandin’ we lit out. All the rest uv the day the recepshuns wuz Jist like this wun, .ef not better. All wuz glad to see the organizer an’ purfeckly willin,’ even anxious to re-onroll fur anuther two years membership. Bi half past three we had re-onrolled 9 members an’ put on 2 nu wuns that had never yit jined, but who had de- cided to wait an’ see how it cum out. Thay seamed to think it had cum out alrite. Bi 4 o’clock we wuz back at Mr. Booster’s place an’ he wuz reddy to go with us over to see farmer Hard- nut. We found him jist finishin’ seedin’ hiz thurd 80-acre peace an’ Booster introduced us to him an’ explained the purpose uv our visit. “Well, I don’t think you'd better waist enny time on me,” se sed lookin’ down at the ground an’ kickin’ in the durt with the toe uv hiz shoe.’ ‘“Why, don’t you beleve in the farmers’ organ- izin’?” ast the organizer. “Yes, shore, I beleve in that alrite.” “Well, ain’t this a good organiza- shun—ain’t it doin’ the bizness, az fur az it's got?” “I spdze so, yes.” “Well, what more do you want,” sed the organizer, pressin’ him on the rite flank, az it wur, to uze a military tactic fraze. “What I want to know iz whur all this munny iz goin’ to,” he sed, sorter spunkin’ up an’ lookin’ scrappy. “What munny?” butted in Booster. : “Why, all uv us farmers’ munny,” he replied, thinkin’ he’d landed a nock- out blow. Mr. “JINE AND FIND OUT WHERE THE MONEY GOES” “Us farmers’ munny,.us farmers munny! What do you mean by ‘ug farmers’ munny?’ exploded - Booster, manifestin’ much indignashun. “You ain’t put a single sent into it. It ain’t nun uv your bizness what went with the munny. It's our munny an’ we know what haz becum uv it becuz its our bizness. Maybe you don’t know what haz becum uv it, but I'll bet you six-bits thar's a lot uv lame ducks at Big Bizmark that knows what haz be- cum uv it. Thay know we've bilt a masheen that haz extrackted their heds outen the publick feed bin fur all time to cum. Thay know what haz be- cum uv the munny an’ we members know what haz becum uv the munny an’ when you put sum munny into it then you’ll have a rite to ast what be- cums uv the munny.” Durin’ the delivery uv this master= peace uv logick Hardnut kep diggin’ in the durt with the toe uv his shoe an’ lookin’ sorter sheepish. “But it looks to me like thay ought to do an awful lot with that much munny”’—— “Do an awful lot,” repeeted Booster. “Do an awful lot. Geeminy blazes, ain’t thay dun an awful lot? ' Look at the organizashun thay’ve bilt. Look what the organizashun haz dun. Look how it haz cleaned up the politix uv North Dakota: Look how its spreadin’ into uther staits. Look how its makin’ the Ole Gang hunt its hole an’ retirin’ politishuns to private life. Ain’t that sumthin’? Ain’t that more'n enny farmers’ organizashun haz ever dun in the histry uv the cuntry? Ain’t it dun it quicker than enny organizashun haz ever dun ennything before? What more do you want?” “Yes, but it didn‘t put its program thru at the last legislachure,” sed Hardnut, lookin’ fur a loophole. “Course it didn’t, an’ why didn’t it?” cum back Booster like a masheen gun. “Wuzn’t thar a bunch uv stan’pat siniters, a bunch uv hold-over siniters that blocked ever Leeg measure that cum up? The Leeg cudn’t help that cud it? It cudn’t help that the furst time, cud it? That’s the reazon we're linin’ up fur the next two years fite. We're goin’ to clean that senit from sellar to gables nex’ time an’ then we'll git what we want.” “Oh, well, ef its goin’ to do so much, an’ I don’t dout but what it will do & (Continved on page 15) Who Will Get the A. C. AcresP If the Regents Try to Put Into Effect the “Survey Report” HAT will the “de facto board of regents,” now confirmed in office by a precarious three-to-two decision of the supreme court, do with the educational survey report? If the board undertakes to carry into effect the recommendations of the survey commission, involving, among. other things, the elimination of vir- tually all professional engineering courses at the Agricultural college, what will become of the 130,000 acre land grant given the college by the United States government, and count- €d upon to provide a permanent $2,000,- 000 endownment for that institution? If the engineering courses are moved to the university, will the land grant g0 to the university too, or -will the state of North Dakota lose this en- dowment altogether, on account of failure to offer required work at the college? : These are not idle questions in view of the contrasted provisions of the educational survey report and of the Morrill Land Grant Act. The Morrill act, under which land grants were made to the North Dakota and other agricultural colleges, defining the character and scope of instruction in- tended, states: THE “LEADING OBJECT” OF LAND GRANT SCHOOLS “The leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as “are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the states may re- spectively prescribe, in order to pro- mote the liberal and practical educa- tion of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life.”. - Note that the word “shall” is used, and just three lines of instruction are made compulsory, namely, military tactics, agriculture and the mechanic arts. The term “mechanic arts” as interpreted by courts and educators wherever English is used, means engi- neering and allied subjects. Note also that the same act that gave North Dakota and other states endowments for agricultural colleges, specified the courses that should be given. In the face of this requirement in the Morrill act and in subsequent acts giving other grants to the agricultural college, the educational survey com- mission has recommended that prac- tically all professional engineering courses be given at the university. How sweeping this would be is shown by the statement, in the report, that outside of winter short course students and summer school students the only students who would be allowed to con- tinue engineering courses at the college would be six taking courses in drafting and building and 75 taking courses in power machinery. EIGHT WHO WOULD GET THE A. C. LANDS? The question of whether such an action would endanger the right of a land grant college to its endowment is not a new one. It was raised a Yyear ago in the state of ‘Washington, when an educational survey commission, like that of North Dakota under the su- pervision of U. S. Commissioner of Education Philander P, Claxton, filed its report. This report was much more mild than that for North Dakota. It did not recommend that virtually all engineering be abolished at the land grant college. It merely proposed that graduate courses be eliminated. On the basis of this recommendation, and because the University of Wash- ington had taken up the teaching of engineering, Dean Condon of the University of ‘Washington law school prepared an exhaustive brief, casting doubts upon the rights of ‘Washington state college to continue the use of its land grant revenues, and undertaking to claim a share of this federal aid for the university. WASHINGTON REPUDIATES THE “SURVEY REPORT” But in Washington the question of distribution of courses between the university and college was not left to any board of regents.. The last legisla- ture took a hand in the game. Its first action was to repudiate 8pecifically the work of Claxton's educational survey commission. A bill was Passed giving / the Government Land Grant May Vanish ; the college authority to continue the teaching of graduate courses in all branches of engineering. Not content with this, the legislature went on and passed a separate bill, specifically con= firming to the college the right to use all revenues from land grants of the United States government and direct appropriations for the benefit of agrie cultural and engineering schools. The Washington legislators were de- termined to protect the interests of the state college, which they looked upon as the only institution which was doing anything for the direct benefit of the farmers of that state, and commission report or no commission report, they didn’t propose to allow anything to happen that would endanger the cone- tinued existence of that institution, LET’S KEEP TOWNLEY Editor Nonpartisan ‘Leader: I have been Wwatching things pretty close this winter and I read where President Townley made a speech in Grand Forks and I thought it was a very good one. I think we ought ‘to keep President Townley in as president as long as we hold together and fur- thermore we farmers of North Dakota can afford to donate a couple of dollars more apiece to build Mr. Townley a nice residence in Bismarck in order to make Jerry Bacon feel more sore. I have not been reorganized vet but I am ready to organize for twe years Jmore or ten as soon as the organizer comes around. : i THOS, BALDWIN,