The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 21, 1917, Page 7

Business Men Call Jerry Bacon ISCONTENT that has been brewing in Grand Forks for some time among business men on account of the Grand Forks Herald fight on the farmers has reached an acute stage which the Herald has been forced to recognize. The Herald's continued and frantic attacks on the Nonpartisan league, in the opinion of Grand Forks business men, is driving business from the city. The farmers, they say, feel that Grand Forks is against them. They judge the city by the attitude of its newspapers, which have been hostile to the farmers’ political and economic program since the start of the movement three years ago. There are large numbers of Grand Forks business men who do not share the Herald’s views. These and many others, while not wholly in sympathy with the farmers' cause, believe Jerry Bacon and his papers have gone too far in their efforts to work up prejudice against the farmers’ organization. And it seems they have let Jerry Bacon know how they feel about it. . LONG STATEMENT BY JERRY . PROVES PROTEST IS SERIOUS The result of this protest by Grand Forks business men has been a long statement by Jerry Bacon of his position and an appeal to the business men to support the Herald in its fight on the farmers. The Herald of June 14 carries Jerry’s appeal. , e 3 “I feel constrained to refer to a statement that has been made that one or two business men have said they.were afraid the business interests of the city may be injured by the fight I am making on A. C. Townley and his policies,” says Jerry’s statement. X Mr. Bacon chooses to belittle the protest of the Grand Forks business men by calling it “a statement that has been made by one or two business men.” How- ever, he uses a column of space to answer what he would have others think is a trivial protest, thus showing how seriously he really considers the business men's protest. GRAND FORKS BUSINESS INTERESTS ARE “SECONDARY,” JERRY STATES Further along in his statement Jerry becomes defiant. He says: “If anyone believes I have any intention of letting up or quitting the fight against such characters, even though it takes every dollar's worth of business from Grard Forks, he is mistaken. The business interests of Grand Forks are quite secondary * * *” Thus this man makes it plain that his personal animosity to the farmers’ cause is not going to prevent him from damaging Grand Forks business men. Jerry is filled with hate and prejudice against the farmers’ movement and he is going to give free swing to his personal spite no matter if it does hurt the whole of Grand Forks. He thinks Grand Forks ought to sacrifice its business and be shunned by the farmers in order that he personally can satisfy his animosity. SELFISH ATTEMPT TO USE > PATRIOTISM FOR PERSONAL ENDS Jerry refers to the business Grand Forks has lost through the Herald's at< titude as “petty business interests,” and he brands those in Grand Forks who are protesting on account of his policy as “un-American” and “unpatriotic.” In fact, the whole appeal of this man to keep the business interests of Grand Forks lined up back of him in his fight on the farmers, is a disgraceful and sel- fish attempt to make Jerry's side seem patriotic. He is trying to use the Ameri- can people’s patriotic spirit for his own selfish end.s in his fight on the farmers. A man who will use the sacred ' name of patriotism to promote his own selfish ends, to satisfy his own personal animosity and desire for revenge, can only be compared to the man who will use religion for personal profit. Ten Thousand Nominate Baer Farmers’ Candidate Filés 3000 Names on His Petition and 7000 Others Whose Names Came Too Late Second the Motion OHN M. BAER-of Fargo, can- other traveler, finding the broad nons didate of the farmers for con- partisan highway, leading straight to gress from the First district results, and traveling down it at the BN of North-Dakota at the special rate of 60 miles an hour. election July 10, has been duly . nominated by petitions filed with the FARMER BEGINNING secretary of state at Bismarck. TO KICK OVER TRACES In the few days open to get “I am fighting for principles; prin- names on Baer’s petitions before ciples are more important than the the date of filing, over 3000 farm- name of the road that you take to get ers and others signed. Since these there,” was Baer’s comment. names were filed, petitions with Baer drew for the audience a cartoon from 6000 to 7000 additional names of Big Business, driving a team con- of Leaguers and Baer supporters sisting of the farmer and the consum- were received, too late to be filed, . making about 10,000 voters in all- who have joined to get Baer on the ballot. This showing makes the petitions of the six other candidates who have filed look sick. Only 300 names were "required on a candidate’s petition to get him nominated and no candidate except Baer got more than a few over the necessary number. But Baer has been formally nominated by 3000 vot- ers, with 6000 to 7000 voters seconding the motion whose names came in too late to file, John Baer addressed 3,000 voters of his district at the Nonpartisan league rally at Fargo last Saturday. In brief, straightforward style the farmers’ can- didate told the farmers and city resi- dents just what his ideas were. “I am_on the Nonpartisan ballot be- cause that is the bnly ballot that can carry out the will of the people,” said Baer. “If a man is elected to congress as a Republican he is lined up with the Republican organization. If the Dem- ocrats, introduce a good bill the Re- publicans vote against it, because they are afraid that the Democrats might get the credit for it and get re-elected. It is just the same when the Repub- licans put up a good measure; the Democrats feel that they have to vote against it to prevent the Republicans from getting the credit. 3 NONPARTISAN ABLE TO VOTE ON MERITS | “By going to congress as a Nonpar- tisan I will be able to vote on the mer- & its of every question as it comes up, not looking at it from the standpoint of the good of any political organiza- tion, but only from the standpoint of the good of the country. «T was in congress once before, in the galleries, not on the floor. ‘When I was there there were just twelve men in- the house listed as farmers, and only four of these were actual farmers, but there were 360 lawyers, Maybe that explains why the farmers haven’t been getting as much legislation to benefit them as other classes. “phere wasn't a farmer for every day in the week, but there was a law- yer for every day in the year.” Baer drew a word picture to shoyv' tke audience the benefits of nonpa_.r_h- sanship as -opposed to party politics He pictured one traveler bewilder_ed at @ crossroads by the number of signs, each indicating a party road, and each road dividing, a little later, into paths {pdicating the different divisions with- in each party. er, with reins of “market control” and “price control.” This was one kind of teamwork, Baer said, teamwork, for the benefit of the big interests. But he drew the atten- tion of the crowd to the fact that the farmer was beginning to kick over the traces. Baer drew another picture. This showed a different kind of teamwork; the farmer and the laborer standing up and shaking hands, saying “We'll stick.” going to be shown in the First dis« trict on July 10. LEAGUE BOOSTERS DO GREAT WORK The crowd demanded other pictures and Baer drew them Big Biz and Crafty and Hiram Rube. He concluded with a patriotic sketch in colors, the Amer« ican eagle, and then, with a few clev« er strokes of his crayon, he turned the cagle into Uncle Sam., The crowd laughed and cheered. League boosters did nobly with This is the kind of teamwork that is (Continued from page 18) 1t’s a2 Bear! /'/W / WA Here is another cartoon by Bendler of Fargo, one of the cartoonists helping to elect Baer, who has enlisted all his co~workers with the pen and chalk into his campaign. The party behind the tree evidently is not altogehter pleased with Constrasted with this he showed an- the new terror to.food gamblers appearing on the horizon in the shape of a “Baer.” PAGE SEVEN G, SR