The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 21, 1917, Page 14

S e ——— TR R AN L T P A RS T . They Quit Supporting Enemy ' - Rip Overhears a Conversation in Which He Learhs How Farmers Feel '~ About Newspapers That Fight Against Farmers’ Cause fx BY RIP, THE REPORTER Deer Mistur Editur: It iz a little early for circus seazon but still I attended a side-show the uther day that will put the best show that cums to this stait this summer squarely on the bum. I wuz travelin’ thru the southern part uv the stait an’ had stopped over in a little town for the nite. Bein' a nuzepaper man miself I allus make it a pint to drop in an’ visit the members of the nuzepaper fraternity an' usually have a nice chat with ’em. Upon this particular occashun I wuz havin’ an onusually interrestin’ visit with the owner-manager-editur uv a considerable sized country sheet. We had talked about the wether, the crops an’ the war when finally our conversa- shun drifted into politics. The editur wuz most emfatically oppozed to the Nonpartishun Leeg. He had started in to tell me a full an’ complete histury uv the organizashun when a dusty, fuzzy-faced farmer walked into the office an’ looked fiercely around fur the editur. “Air you the editur uv this,” he sed, holdin’ up a copy uv the ‘considerable gized country sheet.’ “I am,"” sed the editur. “Well, my naim’s E. Nuff,” he said, throwin’ the sheet down on the table, “an’ you can stop my paper at wunce.” An' he turned on hiz heel an’ walked outen the office. The editur maid a note an a peace uv paper, sorter wrinkled his brow an’ turned an' resoomed his conversashun. ‘“The truble with the Leeg,” he con- tinued, “iz that it iz run by a lot uv’— Open cum the door an’ in walked anuther farmer—a big fat feller, with a red face an’ pantin’ like he had bin in a foot race. JOTTING DOWN THE CIRCULATION SHRINKAGE “Say, you dingfuzzled, weezel-eyed stiff, don't send me anuther copy uv your dadgumed; pusilanious sheet— not anuther wun,” he sed, hiz ize flashin' fire. He turned an' started to go out and the editur ast him what hiz naim wuz. He turned an' looked a string uv daggers at him az long az a clothes line. “Quit,” he exclaimed, “Quit, I. B. Quit,’ an’ he slammed the door. The editur maid anuther note on the peace uv paper, wrinkled hiz noble brow ag’in an’ turned to me once more. “Az I started to say,” he went on, *this blankety, blank Leeg iz run by"— The door flew open an' in cum a grate tall, lank, lean, hungry lookin’ feller an' stridin' over to the desk, sed, sez he: “Stop mi paper, here me? Stop my paper an' do it bloomin' quick.” The editur took a pencil frum behin’ his ear an' sed, “what’s yer naim?” The feller looked at him az ef he wud smash him in the face. “D. S. Gust,” he roared, “D. S. Gust, an’ I'm true to naim an’ don't furgit that,” an’ out he went. The editur maid a note with his pencil while I begin to wonder what in thunderashun wuz goin' to happen next. Jist then the gurl cum in with the male an’ the editur excused hisself to look it over. I picked up a paper an’ begun to look it over—or ruther to look over it, az it wur. With wun eye lookin’ over the paper I cud see the male az he looked thru it. Most uv it wuz postal cards an’ it took only a Jiffy to read each wun. “Stop mi paper, stop mi paper, stop mi paper,” wuz the mesage that each wun contained. Az he run threw them I seed hiz han’ shakin’ like an aspen leaf an’ grate drops uv presperashun standin’ out on his noble brow. No sunner had he finished lookin' threw the cards than open cum the door ag’in an’ in.cum a feller that must have bin six an’ a half foot tall ef he wuz an inch. He wuz very calm an' collected. He walked up to the editor, layed a copy of the paper on the desk in frunt uv him, folded hiz arms on his chest an’ looked at the editur for about two minnits,. The editur glanced frum wun side to the uther, moped hiz noble brow, took hiz pencil frum behind hiz ear, prepared to write an’ sed, “What’s your naim?” “My naim is Huffy, D. M. Huffy,” he sed deliberately. The editur maid a note on the paper. The big feller still stood thar, lookin’ down on him like a threatenin’ thund- erstorm, - “Do you have enny idea whur your “You weezel-eyed stiff, don’t send me another copy of your dadgumed sheet,” said, his iz flashin’ fire. bred an’ butter cums from?” he finally sed, with emfases. THE EDITOR SPUNKS UP A BIT “I think I most certainly do,” ansured the editur, lookin’ foxy and showin’ considerable fitin’ spirit. ‘“Whur?” ast the farmer, simply. “Well, I don't know as that's enny uv your bizness,” replied the editur, spunkin’ up an’ lookin' fierce. “Prob’ly not, prob'ly not,” sed the farmer, “but I'm liable to maik it sum uv mi bizness. Thar's wun thing that I'm shore uv,” he went on, “you’ve got your last dollar an’ a half frum me. What's more'n that I know about forty more in our township that's uv the saim noshun.” > “Well, that don't hinder me frum St. Paul Paper Backs Townley 5 runnin’ mi paper to suit miself,” sed the editur, still showin' fite. “Curta’nly not, curta’nly not,” sed the farmer. “You can run it to suit your- self an’ you can read it yourself. You have a rite to run a paper jist az you pleeze, Mistur Editur, an’ I have a rite to subscribe an’ pay fur enny paper I want to an’ them that I don’t want to subscribe an’ pay fur I don’t have to. That's your paper, to be sure, an’ this iz mi munny,” he sed, pattin’ hisself in the flank. “What objectshuns have you got"— “Now you know what objectshuns I've got,” sed the farmer cuttin’ in. “You know that I belong to the Non- partishun Leeg. You know also that Yyou've bin fitin’ it ever sinst you've bin here. You've bin copyin’ a lot uv lyin’ drivel from the Grate Fakes Horn, a Daily News Approves Plan to Conscript Wealth As Well As Men—*“Sounds Like Pa- triotism,” it Says (Editorial in St. Paul Daily News.) The attention of the people of the Northwest has been called to a matter which is of vital interest and concern to them and to the nation. This is the accusation made by Theodore Wold, governor, and J. H. Rich, chair- man federal reserve bank at Minne- apolis against A. C. Townley, presi- dent, National Nonpartisan league, and other members of that organiz- ation of farmers. They charge Mr. Townley with ut- terances, which they claim, border up- on treason, and they accuse him and his organization, embracing approx- imately 100,000 Northwest farmers, of opposing the Liberty Loan bond cam- paign. ’ Mr. Townley has been making some speeches to members of the organiz- ation in North Dakota. In all his ad- dresses he has made it clear that he— and the League—favor conscription— conscription of money as well as men. He has reiterated time and again his belief in the doctrine that the body of a human being is worth more than the metal in a dollar, that a man's life is his capital, that when government conscripts a man it takes infinitely more than when it conscripts merely the income on his property. Mr. Townley further has urged the farmers to bend every energy in the effort to produce foodstuff for the nation. That the farmers have done this is evidenced by the latest govern- ‘ment crop report. He has suggested to farmers that they can help tneir country by investing their liftle sur-- plus in more and better farm ma- chinery, fertilizers, seed and farm labor, thus placing them in position to grow bigger crops, letting bankers and other wealthy men lend the ne- ' cesary money to the government. Mr. Townley has come out flat- footed for the taking of excess profits to pay war expenses. “Pay as wa fight!” he asserts is a better method PAGE FOURTHEN of financing the war than “borrowing as we go” and permitting war debts to pile up for the men in the trenches to pay after they come back home. To this end he would have the govern- ment take over mills, mines and fac- tories necessary supplies, operate them as long ag the war lasts, and then turn them back to the owners without profit, just “as it will give back to the mothers and fathers their sons taken away to fight for their flag and country.” Nothing in' Mr. Townley’s speeches indicates eny disloyalty to the gov- ernment, disrespect to the flag, or sympathy for the enémy. He merely pleads for the rights of those who do the bulk of the fighting and most of the tax paying, as against any who in- tend to keep on making ‘a profit out of war. He says: “Let us make both our dollars and our boys fight for our country!” “I can’t urge you farmers to loan your savings to the government,” he said, ‘knowing that you will have to go to the bank soon and borrow money at 10 per cent interest and more! X would rather urge these men who loan et 10 per cent to put their money in fiberty bonds, Your money invested on the farms will increase the coun- try’s food supply. Their money in the’ vaults does no good.” “But there may come ‘a time when I will ask you to give your last dol- lar, to go without things you and your families need, and give—not loan—it all to your government and mine. That time will ‘be when the dollars of the rich have been drafted; when the Mor- gans and Schwabs and Armours are not reaping fat war dividends.” For saying as much Mr. Townley has been accused by Minneapolis bankers of near-treason. It may be treason against the great gambling house where human food is sold and resold all day long, but it sounds like patriotism to the rest of us. in producing war paper that haint told the truth about the Leeg wunce sinst it started. I am aware uv the fack that you git most uv your munny from the bizness men who advertizes in your paper. But it wudn’'t be worth much az a adver- tizin’ medium unless we farmers sube« scribed fur -it, wud it?” The editur begin to show sines uv cavin’ in in the middle. gy HUFFY PROPOSES FARMERS RUN THEIR OWN PAPER “You seem to think that you ought to devote all your paper to supportin’ the inturrust uv the bizness men—or what thay air blind enuf to think iz their inturrusts. Yit, ninety purcent uv your reders iz farmers an’ eighty pur- cent uv the farmers in this county air members of the Nonpartishun Leeg. Not wunce do you say a thing to en- courage the farmers in their honest effort to protect theirselves. Not wunce do you give them credit fur havin’ sense enuf to know when thay're robbed an’ by whom. Nuthin® but slams an’ criticisms iz all that the farmers git frum your paper, nuthin’.” “Well, I'm willin’ that you farmers should ansur enny thing I say—I'll give you space in the paper’— “That ain’t what we want,”. replied the farmer. “What we want. iz papers that'll stand up for our rites an’ our cause. 'We want ’em to do it by 'them- selves—do-it all th® time. That's what we: support: papers fur—to fite fur us. I recognize that the way :to maik papers wurk fur you iz to own ’em, an’ by Heck that's what we're goink to do—own our own paper. We: farmers have az much rite to own a paper az enny body, an’ I'm servin’ notice on you rite now that the furst thing you know thar'll be anuther paper in this county—a paper owned an’ controlled by the farmers an’ the editur will be a farmer’s hired man an’ enny time he don’t support the farmers’ cause he'll git fired.” The editur had flattened out in hiz cheer until he looked like a snow-man after a hard day's thaw. He wuz quietly tappin’ on the desk with his pencil. “In the meantime, mistur editur,* concluded the farmer, ‘“you jist go ahead an’ run your own paper to suit yourself. Also, Mistur Editur, you can count on circulation only among your advertisers an’ a few disgruntled poli- tishuns who opposes the Nonpartisan Leeg because it kicked ’'em outen of- fice.” I saw that the circus wuz comin’ to an’ end an’ in order to save the editur the embarrassment uv havin’ to explain to me I got up an’' quietly walked out, The editur looked at me sorter sheep=- ish az I passed by. When I got down the street about a block I looked back an’ seed the farmer stridin’ across the street. I never went back_to hear the editur's explainashun uv the affair but I'll bet a shoestring to a saddle hoss that it would be dodgastedly funny. Yoors trooly, RIP. BAER WILL WIN. The selection of John Baer of Fare go as the Nonpartisan league candidate for congress ig one of the most popular and praiseworthy-moves made by that’ organization. Mr. Baer is a clear- thinking, clean-living young man with plenty of ideas and insight into pub- lic questions.. He has shown a great deal of enthusiasm and originality in his efforts to advance the cause of the farmer, and we are glad that he has beeén chosen to be the first Nonpartisan league congressman at Washington, His election by a safe majority is beyond doubt.—CANDO (N.D.) RECORD., G, S e ey NEVER SAW ITS LQUAL. Union, Maine, Editor Nonpartisan T.eader: I recently received a letter from a prominent, intelligent Maine farmer in which he says: t “I am a sincere believer in the Non- partisan league movement ‘and I shall be very glad if united effort .can be made to induce organizers to try and start the movement in this state, All we need is the leadership.” P There is a considerable element herg Just waiting for somone to make the start. I -am sending copies of the Leader to some of the leading farmers, One writes me that he never saw its equal and that he will try and get you subscribers. C. A. MILLER.