The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, July 26, 1917, Page 6

7 B oL AL SECT lonpartisan Teader Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Thursday. Entered as second-class matter September 3, 1915, at the postoffice at Fargo, North Dakota, under the Act of March 3, 1879, OLIVER S. MORRIS, EDITOR : J\dvcrtisin_g rates on application. Subscription, one year, in advance, $2.50; six months, $1.50., Communications should be addressed to the Nonpartisan Leader, Box 941, Fargo, North Dakota. MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS THE S. C. BECKWITH SPECIAL AGENCY, Advertising Representatives, New York, Chicago, St, Louis, Detroit, Kansas City. Quack, fradulent and irresponsible firms are not knowingly advertised, and we will take it as a favor if any readers will advise us promptly should they have occasion to doubt or Qquestion the reliability of any firm which patronizes our advertising columns. y A CARELESS LIAR REMARKABLE document, purporting to be written by ‘W, A E. B.”, is being printed and reprinted in eastern papers to dis- credit the National Nonpartisan league. It is doubtful if more errors of fact could be contained in less space, to say nothing of its erroneous opinions and misinterpretation of the great farmers’ move- ment. ‘“W. E. B.””, whoever he is, has never been in North Dakota— probably never in the Northwest, judging from the mistakes he makes in matters of fact that are familiar to every school boy in this territory. Perhaps a coward who conceals his indentity by meaningless initials is not worthy of any answer. Only newspapers blinded by pre- judice for every political or economic movement that springs from the people would use such stuff. We do not eare to point out his false con- clusions, for they are proved worthless when it is shown the facts on which he bases them are wrong. A few of the chief errors of fact in the article follow, the truth being in parentheses after each misstate- ment of ““W. E. B”’: The League candidates last year in North Dakota were not all nominated at the same time at the same convention, (They were all nominated at one convention). The League’'s chief measure in the last North Dakota legislature was a bill to build a terminal elevator at Minneapolis. (No such bill was introduced. The -‘League’s chief measure was a bill for a new state constitution). William Lemke of Fargo is a Socialist. (He has been a Republican all his life and is one now). North Dakota is a staunch Republican state. (It went for ‘Wilson last election). The League is organizing in Wyoming, (It has never organized there). The League called an ‘election” pro- viding for the choice of three men from each county to be delegates to a meeting to choose a man to run for congress. (Baer was in- dorsed at--a convention of the League delegates chosen by League members last year, no new League caucuses being held, and the delegates then were chosen by legislative districts, not by coun- ties). Baer was elected on a plat- form declaring for “no conscrip- tion and immediate peace.” (Baer in the campaign strongly praised the selective draft law and has never said a single word about peace). Baer opposes President ‘Wilson and his administration, (Most of his campaign speeches were devoted to strong indorse- ments of Wilson’s policy to tax excess war profits and the ad- ministration’s food bill). The League supported Senator La Follette for president last year. (The League has never supported any candidate for president). The “Good Government” league took part in the recent congres- sional campaign in North Dakota. (This ‘“league” disbanded last win- ter, five months before the con- gressional ca;npaig-n started). Ot course 1 scems 1mposs'1ble carry the burden of feeding the world. that an article as grossly one-sided = mere than hot air. and prejudiced and containing so > many errors of plain fact (the above are only a few of them) would be given space in any newspaper. Yet the Boston Transcript was one of the papers that printed it. : ; L2 T Critics of the German government in Germany—Max Harden, 'far instance—have been allowed greater leeway than critics of the United States government in the United States, under certain rulings of our post office department denying the mails to alleged s_editious publications. This would be a bad thing for the Russian revolutionary goverr}ment to find out. It might discount what Root of the American commission to Russia is telling the revolutionists there of our adherence to liberty and democracy. PAGHE SIX - '; L WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE Uncle Sam, as he weighs men in the balance in the present crisis, finds that words and flag waving don’t weigh much. Farmers' sons are to be the backbone of the new conscript army of the United States, and American farmers are to BUREAUCRATIC INSOLENCE T HE war has afflicted the United States with several evils, like Job was afflicted of old with boils. Among them are the food gamblers, the war profiteers, high prices and’ Solicitor W, H. Lamar of the post office department. - Solicitor Lamar is a bureaucrat who sits at Washington, D. C., without any responsibility himself and responsible to nobody, and denies newspapers and magaznés the right of the United States mails., Job had an unpleasant time with his boils, but it is doubtful if he ever had one that tried his patience like Lamar is trying the patience of people who do not think the war hag repealed the constitution of the United States. : SoriiTs Lamar has suppressed some 15 publications during .the last few weeks for alleged seditious or treasonable utterances. The Leader is not defending these publications. Doubtless many of them should have been suppressed. But the Leader sees in the methods used by Lamar a very serious menace to a free press, free speech and free institu- tions. No publication, no matter how law abiding, is safe from op- pression, if Lamar is allowed to proceed as he has been. Lamar reads and judges the ‘‘mailability’’ of publications sub- mitted by postmasters to him for his opinion. He ““advises’’ the post- masters whether or not a publication is ‘‘mailable.’”” Postmasters in- variably follow his advice. When a publisher is notified by the local postmaster that he can not mail his paper, which has already been printed and left at the postoffice for mailing, the publisher naturally asks what is the matter with it and offers to eradicate the objection- able matter. The locgl postmaster informs the publisher that he is not allowed to tell the publisher what is objectionable or how the publica- tion can be made ‘“mailable.”’ He says he has refused it the mails on the advice of Solicitor Lamar., The publisher then wires Lamar asking what is wrong and offering to eliminate all that is objectionable. In a week, or maybe two weeks he gets a letter in which' Lamar states that he can not ‘““undertake to censor’’ publications, and refusing to state the reasons he has for ad- 2 vising the local postmaster to sup- press the issue. He adds that the issue has been suppressed solely on the authority of the local post-~ master. The publisher is helpless. He wires his senator or represent- ative in congress, or perhaps goes to Washington. But the Bureau- crat Lamar locks himself up in his office and the only recourse of the publisher is a long and costly suit, during the pendency and trial of which his publication is suppress- ed at incalculable loss and dam- age, if not utter ruin to the pub- lisher, who may be proved inno- cent. This is the ‘‘freedom of the Press’’ as the bureaucrats at Washington see it. The methods of the Russian secret police before the recent revolution, and of the German military dictators at pres- ent were and are not worse. Wa have constitutions and laws and courts, and there are constitution- al and legal methods of stopping the publication of seditious matter without resort to vile, secret meth- ods. * * * Indianapolis which by city or- dinance has revived “lese majesty” as a crime, is the home of the Indianapolis ‘Star, which said re- cently that Congressman Baer was elected on a platform calling for “repeal of the conscription law and immediate peace.” A ‘city where ignorance prevails both in’its city council and newspaper offices is in a bad way. * * » THE CONSTITUTION AND LAMAR HE methods used by Solicifor Lamar of the post office depart- I ment to suppress alleged treasonable or seditious publications make 4 serap of paper of the United States constitution and trample on our boasted r&hts of g free press and free speech. We are trying to make the tevolutionafy government of Russia believe we are sincers in our #dvocaey 5}% ty, ind democracy, Wo are doing that to keep Russiang s gup o ,fig they may us *make the world safe for demoerany, A0 ifir things, have just The balance shows that deeds weigh : &“ T, fnsty