The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, July 5, 1917, Page 11

North Dakota Every Nonpartisan league picnic or meeting is astonishing to those who have been fooling themselves into the belief that “it is a transitory movement.” The crowds, the enthusiasm, the cheering—the anti-farmer gang can not understand it. HERE is just one thing that I can prevent John M. Baer, Nonpartisan candidate, from '@7@-‘“ being elected to congress from the First North Dakota district at the special election of July 10. The only thing that can prevent Baer’s election by the largest vote ever given a congressional candidate will be failure of the farmers of the First district to vote. ‘With his campaign only a little more than half over, John Bear already has carried his message to more people than any other congressional candidate at amy previous election. While the lawyers who are candidates against Baer were down at the illegal “rump” convention at Grand Forks, trying to scheme out new ways of stopping the farmers’ movement Baer was carrying his fight to the voters. Everywhere Baer has gone he has been met by enormous crowds, the largest political meetings of the pres- ent campaign in every case. At many places the meetings have been the . largest gatherings. of any kind ever held in the county. John Baer started his campaign last week in Nelson county with a meeting at Dahlen Monday afternoon. There were too.many people there for the largest hall in the town. GUARD OF HONOR FOR THE CANDIDATE From Dahlen, Baer, accompanied by Senator Hemmingsen and D. C. Coates, drove eastward for an invasion of Grand Forks county. They had thought that perhaps the constant knocking of the Grand Forks Herald might have influenced some of the farmers against them, v Just the opposite proved to be the case. On the way to Larimore, where the night meeting was to be held, a delegation of farmers was waiting for Baer, and with twenty automobiles they formed a guard of honor which escorted him to Larimore. There was & band at Larimore to greet the farmers’ congressional candi- date, and further to show their appre- ciation the farmers bought practical- 1y all the American flags in town and ptarted a parade through the business sgection. The Grand Forks Herald, thinking that perhaps its fight upon the farm- ° ers’ movement might have resulted in a poor meeting for Baer at Larimore, called up its Larimore correspondent, «Dad” Richter, after the meeting was over, and asked him about it. - Richter in the past hasn’'t been regarded . as. friendly to the League. “Jt has been the biggest political meeting ever held in Larimore,” said Richter. “Baer is going through this country like wildfire.” HERALD EDITOR GOT AN EAR FULL Richter went on and started to tell the Herald, which had said it wanted to know about things, about the farm- ers’ meeting Baer and escorting him into. town, about the band, about the parade and what Baer said to the farmers. But he didn‘t get very far. The editor of the Grand Forks Her- ald, who had said he wanted to konw all about the Larimore meeting, didn’t wait to hear much.more after they ‘heard what a big crowd it was and how the farmers had welcomed their own candidate. He hung up the tele- phone, And of all the news that Richter had given the Herald about the meeting, the Herald printed just three or four lines, saying Baer had held a meeting and that a good crowd was out. And after that the Herald quit calling up and asking about the Baer meetings. Baer drove 75 miles to get to the next meeting at Edmore, in Ramsey county. When he got there the hall where the meeting was to be held was already filled, principally with women and children, and men were waiting outside in swarms, unable to get in. There was no hall anywhere large enough to hold the crowd, so every- body was called outdoors tc a vacant lot. For two hqurs 1000 people stood in the hot sun, listening to Baer and bution of food supplies. cheering and laughing as the congressional candi- date told his stories and drew his pic- tures. Coates, applauding, BAER 1S UMPIRE FOR BALL GAME After the meeting was over the farm- ers hadn’t had enough of Baer. They had a ball game arranged; between Ed- more and Derrick and they insisted that Baer should umpire it for them. So he did. It was a great game and ended with a 5 to 4 victory for the farm boys of Derrick against the town team. Baer made a great hit as an umpire. Sometimes when a decision would go against the home team the crowd would yell, “We’ll give our votes to Bangs,” but it was all as a joke; it was one game where the crowd was really with the umpire from start to finish. Ramsey county, in spite of the oppo- sition to the League on the part of a few business men-at Devils Lake, is certain for Baer, ig the statement of the best informed men on political conditions. 5 HOW OLD GANG DID IT IN RAMSEY “Baer will break even with the other candidates in the city and he will carry everything in the country,” is the way they put it, & One reason for Baer’s strength in JOHN BAER SAYS: ‘‘Bread and butter issues are before the people today. Bread and butter problems have to be solved. ‘‘Americanism isn’t an issue. You can’t win this campaign by flag waving. We are all Americans and all for the government. ‘‘Members of the Nonpartisan league have a better right to claim to be for the government than anybody else. We have been advocating for two years what the government is just getting ready to take up now—econtrol of the transportation and distri- “If T am elected I pledge you my best efforts to put the food hogs out of business, not only during the war, but for all time. ‘‘The English government, the French government, the gov- ernments of all European countries, have been made nonpartisan during the war. The United States government, to meet war con- ditions, has been forced to name nonpartisan commissions. What is good enough for Uncle Sam in times of war ought to be good enough for us in times of peace.”’ : —From Cando speech of J. M. Baer. The photographs above were taken at the big League picnic last week at Edgeley, N. D. They show a part of the people and the automobiles in which they came from as far as 50 miles to hear the speakers. “We'll Stick” Farmers Tell Baer Farmers’ Candidate For Congress Has March of Triumph Through First District of North Dakota Ramsey county is the high handed methods used by the Old Gang politi- cians who are opposing him, L. J. Wehe .of Devils Lake, the Republican county chairman, agreed with Attorney General William Langer that the “rump” convention planned by the old gang Republicans was illegal. He put the case to his executive committee and they agreed with him that the con- vention would be illegal. Fred T. Cuthbert and others of the anti-farmers’ union, in an attempt to injure Wehe, called a meeting of the county central committee. They couldn’t get a quorum present so they brought in a lot of old gang politicians of Devils Lake who were not members of the committee but who claimed to have proxies from outside townships, and with the help of these men they carried a resolution declaring that ‘Wehe should be deprived of the chair- manship. But after the anti-farmer Republi- cans had nominated Attorney Olger Burtness for congress at the Grand Forks “rump” convention, Burtness tried to get Wehe to go out and speak for him. He tried to get him to for- get what his old gang tools had done to him a short time before. “Nothing doing,” said Wehe. ‘I'm out for Baer.” ‘With Wehe, the Republican county chairman, and J. H. Bloom, one of the leading Democrats of Ramsey county, both heading the fight for the Non- partisan candidate, it is easy to see that none of the other candidates have much chance in Ramsey county. ONLY SEVENTY-FIVE OUT TO HEAR BANGS After finishing Ramsey county 1. r drove into Towner county. At Cando he ran across the tracks of the first opposing candidate in the field. Attor- ney George Bangs of Grand Forks, the old gang Democratic candidate, had held a meeting there earlier in the week. The meeting was at a down- town theater, but Cando newspaper men said only 75 people turned out for it. - Baer had his meeting that night at the courthouse, on the outskirts of town. Every seat was filled and every ¢ PAGE ELEVEN available bit of standing room was taken by an audience of 400 and scores who came late were turned away at the doors, being unable to get inside. From Cando Baer drove-to Agate, where he had been asked to speak at a picnic of the Farmers’ Progressive club, and to Snyder’s lake, a few miles from Bisbee, where a League bpicnic was on. Although Snyder’'s Lake is several miles off the railroad farmers and their families “to the total num- ber of more than 2,500 drove from every direction coming by auto, by wagon and by saddle horses from every section of the county, including points as far north as the Canadian boundary, 28 miles away. THREE THOUSAND DURING ONE DAY The meeting not only was the larg- " est of any ever held in Towner county but proved the largest crowd address- ed by a Nonpartisan candidate this week. Only at Devils Lake, Fargo and Cooperstown, all railroad points, has Baer spoken to larger crowds during the campaign. In all Baer spoke to three thousand persons that day, speaking at the Pro-' gressive Farmers’ club picnic at Agate, northwest of Cando, before driving to the Snyders Lake affair. At both pic- nics the crowds welcomed Baer with the greatest of enthusiasm. Again and again Baer was told he could count upon carrying Towner county with a vote greater than the combined votes of all other candidates. At Snyder’s Lake Baer was greeted by a 20-piece Farmers’ brass band. Charles P. Peterson, IL.eague repre- sentative in the recent legislative ses- sion and one of the most substantial farmers in Towner county, and D. C. Coates of Fargo, Baer’s campaign manager, accompanied the Fargo can- didate on the tour. BAER LEAGUE FORMED IN CITY OF FARGO This finished Baer’s campaign in Towner county. He turned south last Friday, holding big meetings at Wynd- mere and Wahpeton and following these Saturday with meetings at Fair- mont and Lidgerwood. ‘While Baer has been busy on the road, talking to the farmers, his friends in the cities have not been idle. At Fargo the “Baer for Congress In- dependent League’ has been organized. This league is composed principally of young men who think more of prin- ciples than of parties. They have es- tablished downtown headquarters at the Metropole hotel and are at work to see every voter in Fargo and are enrolling them by hundreds in their league. Their motto is: “Let’s not merely elect Baer; let's carry Fargo for him.” A rude jar was given the Grand Forks Herald and anti-farmer gang of that city when the Grand Forks Trades and Labor assembly gave Baer their indorsement as the union labor candi- date for congress. The Fargo labor men indorsed Baer when the campaign was first started. The action of the Grand Forks organization, in which the employes of the Grand Forks Her- ald are represented, means that the working men all over the district will join hands with the farmers to help put Baer in congress. s il el