The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 28, 1917, Page 3

\ In the interest of a square deal for the farmers Nonpartisan Teader [=- Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League iVOL. 4, NO. 26. a FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 1917. WHOLE NUMBER 93, A Cartoon by Chaney Jr. of Fargo "The Case of The Fargo Forum HERE has been considerable amusement lately on account of the | ‘““meek and innocent’’ attitude of the Fargo Forum. A few weeks ago the Forum was printing sarcastic news stories and editorials about John Baer, farmers’ candidate for congress, and the League delegates who indorsed him. It was printing fiery attacks on the League and President Townley on account of Mr. Townley’s speeches on the war. The change came suddenly. The Forum has been a good dog for two weeks. But it really isn’t fooling anybody by this new attitude. 3 The plain facts are that the Forum has been called and called hard on account of its anti-League and anti-farmer outburst. This paper was purchased a few months ago at a price said to be $100,000 cold cash. It was purchased to oppose the Nonpartisan League and the farmers’ political and economic movement in North Dakota. It was purchased by interests—the anti-farmer gang—that do not spend this amount of money without expecting to get their money’s worth. And these interests do not consider the silly and biased attacks the Forum indulged in as getting their money’s worth. They expected, in in- vesting $100,000, to get something a little more refined and subtle— something that would go down better with the public than the same old line of attack that has been worked to death by the Bismarck Tribune and the Grand Forks Herald and has proved fruitless. So the Forum was called. - It was called by those who bought it and did not like the ‘‘rough stuff’’ dished up by the hired editors. It was also called by its subscribers. Numerous farmers who do not sup- port newspapers that insult their intelligence and fight their organiza- tion, stopped taking the Forum. If the same line of attack had been continued it would have been called from a third source. The business interests of Fargo would not have stood for it. These business inter- ests support the Forum by advertising in it and the‘y do not want to be put in the position of supporting a paper that opposes everything the farmers’ organization does and every candidate it advances. The Fargo business men do not want to be put in the same position as the Grand Forks business men, who have lost business because of the atti- tude of the-Grand Forks papers in regard to the farmers’ organization. L * * * - 8 : - FORUM TRIES HONEYED WORDS 0, WITH Fargo filled with. farmers a week ago, present to hear~ S Governor Frazier and President Townley in the windup of the big North Dakota series of meetings, the Forum indulged in honeyed words. It patted the ¢‘good old farmer’’ on the back—said a few nice things about the big League meeting and pretended to be sur- prised and pained because some of the League speakers referred to the Forum’s effort, a few days before, to work up interference with League speakers to prevent the meeting being held. Not a word about throw- ing Mr. Townley in jail, as the Forum had vehemently advocated a few days before. Not a sarcastic reference to the candidacy of the farmer’s man, Mr. Baer, so bitterly attacked by the Forum a week before. The Forum just bubbled over with good will while the farmers were in town, When the Forum was purchased by the interests that can spare many times $100,000 to fight the farmers—if need he—it was expected that no open and bitter attacks on the farmers would be made. That was the plan, as a matter of fact. The Forum was to pretend to be an unbiased newspaper. It was to appear to print the news, even re- porting nice things about the Nonpartisan League now and then. It was to do this in order to appear fair. Then, at opportune times it was to disapprove of things the League was doing—throw out hints, do a little quiet undermining, etec. The men who purchased the Forum believed that this policy would eventually help to break up the League, where a policy of open and bitter opposition, like that of the Grand TForks and Bismarck daily papers, had failed. ¢ In other words, farmers were to he encouraged to subscribe for and support the Forum and the poison was to be injected so painlessly that the farmers would not realize their political organization was being undermined. There would be no falling off of subscribers, as there has been in the case of the Tribune and Herald. Business men wouldn’t be afraid to advertise. The fight on the League was to be so cleverly made that the Forum could not be charged with being op- posed to the League. It could claim it was ‘‘just printing the news.”’ It could not be classed with the open and avowed enemies of the farm- ers, the Tribune and the Herald. * & ¥ BUT THE HOTHEADS RUN AMUCK UT somebody spilled the beans. Some hotheads in the Forum B office ran amuck. They forgot, in their anxiety to serve their masters, all about the policy of appearing to be fair and impar- tial. They forgot their instructions to play a sly hand. The first mis- step was the eolumn front page attack on the League delegates who in- dorsed Mr. Baer for congress, and on Mr. Baer and Mr. Townley be- cause of methods that were alleged to have been used at the conven- tion. This was a fake story about the Lieague convention on a par with the worst ever done by the Grand Forks Herald and Bismarek Tribune. Then came the bitter and prejudiced attack on the League and Mzr. Townley on account of Mr. Townley’s advocacy of the conscription of wealth. The Forum clamored to have Mr. Townley thrown in jail. It tried to stir up rioting at the Fargo League meeting to prevent the speeches.. The Forum got into the fight on the League up to its neck = R - PAGE THREE Sy Z B B e e e e e LG