The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, July 19, 1917, Page 6

- BUSY ‘‘EXPLAINING’’ IT HE anti-farmer press in North Dakota, which had opposed Baer I for election to congress, began the day after the ballots were cast to minimize the victory of the farmers. The Fargo Forum and the Grand Forks Herald hastened to play up the alleged fact that a very small vote was cast. It was, in fact, a remarkably big vote for a special election, as the figures printed elsewhere in this issue show. The Grand Forks Herald said Baer had been elected by a minority of those who went to the polls, and that he ‘“got by’’ by the skin of his teeth. After taking this position the first day after the election, the Herald has since been trying to explain how it happened to make this mistake. Baer has a majority of all the votes cast. He has more votes than all his opponents put together, which is a remarkable showing and one seldom resulting when there are seven candidates on the ballot as in this.election. His plurality over Burtness is over 4000. Baer’s was a smashing victory in every sense of the word. The Fargo Forum, in commenting on the result, said that Baer’s big vote in the cities showed that the attempt to ‘‘array class against class’’ was a ‘‘tempest in a teapot.’’ This is certainly a sage observa- tion! The Forum and papers of its stamp have been doing-their best to work up prejudice against the farmers in the cities. Their attempt fizzled out, as shown by the big vote for Baer in the cities. The Leader agrees with the Forum that the Forum’s efforts to ‘‘array class against class’’ have been a ‘‘tempest in a teapot.”’ * * * They say that when the circus stopped at Grand Forks Jerry Bacon locked himself -up in his room and stayed there till the circus left town. He was afraid he might see a bear, and that it might prove fatal on ac- count of his wrought-up nervous state over the election, * % % THE BIG THING ABOUT IT ARMERS all over the United States haye hailed the election of F the first Nonpartisan league congressman as one of the greatest victories politically for the common people in the last decade. They are enthusiastic because it proves that farmers can unite on a man regardless of party and put him over, and because they know that Baer is only the FIRST real farmer’s congressman—that there are going to be many, many more like him, elected in the same way, in congress soon. Independent and progressive voters in all- walks of life every- where are rejoicing also at the result. But all this is not the most important phase of Baer’s election. The League polled a bigger vote at this election than it did in the same territory last year. That is the big thing. It proves that the League is growing. It proves that the League is stronger now than it was in a distriet where it has had its hardest opposition. It proves that those who have tried the League for over two years, who voted over- whelming for its candidates last year, are even stronger for it now. That is what hurts the politicians and the anti-farmer gang. Baer was elected by a landslide in a district that contains the two biggest cities of the state. He defeated the strongest man the opposi- tion could put up. The League got a bigger vote at this election de- spite the fact that the opposition organized last spring to break up the League and had the utmost confidence that it could at least cut down the League vote. The anti-farmers’ association formed at Grand Forks by the politicans soon after the legislature adjourned, with ¢‘Carry the Truth to the People’’ as its slogan, evidently was partly the cause of getting the truth to the people, though this was far from the object of these discredited politicians. The bigger League vote shows that the truth was carried to the people, all right. * #* % By the way, we hope that the election of Baer by a majority of all the votes cast, with seven candidates in the field, will not discourage Shepherd Divet et al. in continuing the organization formed at Grand Forks this spring to fight the farmers. Why let a little thing like Baer’s landslide break up the good work this kind of opposition to the farmers can do for the farmers’ cause? * * *x FAKE PROMOTERS AGAIN OME time ago the Leader reported that numerous inquiries had S been sent in by farmers concerning several ‘‘co-operative’’ store propositions being organized in various parts of the Northwest. The Leader said in answer that there have been many fake ‘‘co-opera- tive’’ schemes promoted in the past and that farmers should carefully investigate before taking stock in any co-operative proposition. Since then the Leader has received more inquiries of the same na- ture. It seems that several such propositions are now being promoted. Before buying any stock in any co-operative, or alleged co-operative store plan, the farmer should find out who is really back of it. He should know whether it is promoted by farmers in his own neighbor- hood or somebody from Minneapolis or St. Paul, who makes a business of organizing such propositions and taking handsome commissions for 80 doing. He should see that the promoter has recommendations from men the farmer knows personally and trusts. - - Co-operation is a good thing for farmers. There should be more eo-operative stores in the farming districts. But to organize such stores - \ \ NN \ W\ \‘\ { AR '\'f\\\\\\\V 0 \ A cartoon by John M. Baer the farmer does not need the services of a ‘‘slick’’ promoter sent out, by brokers in the big cities to reap big commissions for organizing the co-operative venture. Often these promoters make a deal with a local merchant who wants to sell out because he is not making money. The promoter agrees to help the merchant unload his second-hand stock and business failure on the farmers. He collects a fat commission from the merchant. Then he gets the farmers to organize a company to buy the second-hand stock and take over the bankrupt business, and collects another commission from the farmers for organizing the co-operative ‘company. *The farmers, when they want a co-operative store, do not need to take second-hand stocks off the hands of merchants who want to sell out a losing business at a profit. How can the farmers buy a second- band stock, paying more than wholesale prices for it, and sell it at a profit?. The successful co-operative store must buy its stock at bed- rock wholesale prices, and it must get new and attractive goods, if the venture is to make good. * * @ There’s a “Baer” possibility that the food gamblers are shaking in their boots since the North Dakota congressional election. 5 * % ¥ THE AGE OF EFFICIENCY i HIS is an age of efficiency, so they tell us. It is so efficient that I if an efficiency expert from another planet came to make an investigation of the coal situation, he would report as follows: ““The people of the Northwest and of Pennsylvania haven’t progressed very far in economics. They have vast lignite beds—bil- lions and billions'of tons of excellent fuel—in the Northwest. Yet the Northwest imports its coal from Pennsylvania, paying high freight rates. Apparently it intends to do this until the Pennsylvania fields are exhaused, being influenced largely in this policy. by the railroads, who make a big profit doing the hauling. Then, when the Pennsyl- vania fields are exhausted, they will dig out their lignite, and the peo- ple of Pennsylvania will have to pay freight from the Northwest on it, and the railroads will continue to make just as big profits doing the hauling. Tt seems never to have seriously occurred to these people that it might be well to use the lignite in the Northwest now, so that the Northwest and Pennsylvania each would get its fuel supply for all time without paying any freight.”’ At a slight cost lignite, which, in its natural state, is not as good as hard coal, can be pulverized or made into briquets, when it becomes nearly the equal in fuel value of hard coal. The time for the people to act is now, before all the lignite beds of the Northwest pass into the hands of private exploiters, who will hold them for vast profits, mak- ing the resource of little or no value to the people. ' ; * » » Which reminds_ us that Jerry Bacon expected to dine on “Baer” meat - election day, but it seems he didn’t, and that Baer had a nice meal of “Bacon.” i i * & » ’ : LADD MUST STAY IVIDE county (N. D.) farmers have adopted resolutions de- D claring that the removal of Dr. Ladd from the presidency of the North Dakota Agricultural college would be a calamity, and asking Governor Frazier to bring action to oust the state board of regents, who have hatched the plot to remove Ladd. The Leader is get- ting letters from all over the state also demanding that official action be taken to save Ladd. : : G Ladd’s dismissal would indeed be a calamity to the state. The regents have made much of the fact that they did not intend to take Ladd out of the college, but admit the plot to take the presi:iency away from him. That will not satisfy the farmers. The farmers want Ladd. to remain head of the institution, because they know that with him out of power it will be easy for the regents to go ahead with the plan to take the college engineering courses away and otherwise reduce the PAGE SIX b B e