The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, January 21, 1918, Page 8

o oG e Tonpartisan Teader Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Week Entered as second-class matter September 3, 1915, at the postoffice at St. Paul, Minnesota, under the Act of March 3, 1879. OLIVER 8. MORRIS, EDITOR Advertising rates on application. Subsecription, one year, in advance, $2.50; six months, $1.60. Communications should be addressed to the Nonpartisan Leader, Box 575, St. Paul, Minn. MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS THE 8. C. BECKWITH SPHCIAL AGENCY, Advertising Representatives, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Kansas City. Quack, fraudulent and lrresponslble- 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 question the reliability of any firm which patronizes our advertising columns, THE RAILROADS IN POLITICS THE great agencies of publicity controiled by the enemies of pub- lic ownership have been started to work to diseredit government administration of the railroads during the war. widely circulated in the press is to the effect that the railroads have now been ‘‘put into polities,”” and that railroad jobs and railroad schedules and railroad what-nots will be handled simply in the inter- ests of politicians. All this, of course, is started by interests that hope government control can be given a black eye, and thus set back actual government ownership of transportation for another decade or so. One story has it that a limited train on some Eastern line, which never stopped at water tanks, recently stopped at one to pick up a Democratic member of congress, who hitherto had driven several miles to a nearby town, where regular stops were made, when he wanted to catch a train. The moral intended to be conveyed was, of course, that since the government had taken over the railroads, train schedules and railroad rules would be broken at behest of administration henchmen, regardless of efficiency. No name, no place and no date acecompanied the story. It sounds fishy. If it did happen, what of it? Does it prove . government ownership is wrong, even if it happens to be temporarily administered by fools or knaves? Not at all. . But stories like this should put the people and the government on guard. We do not want any politics in the administration of the nation’s transportation under government control—it is unnecessary, We want efficiency. If incidents like that reported are happening, they won’t happen for long. The people will turn cut an administra- tion that permits politics or favoritism to enter intp government admin- istration of the railroads. The railroads were in politics all the time under private control—pulling and hauling for legislative advantage and favoritism in the courts. But under EFFICIENT public owner- ship the railroads will be taken out of politics for good. g WHERE THE RUB IS : : OLITICIANS in Nebraska and Kansas are making a great outery P over the fact that farmers are paying $8 a year to belong to the Nonpartisan league, and are paying for two years in advanece. Their theory is, probably, that THEY could educate the farmer how to vote much cheaper than that. In fact, the Nonpartisan league admits ‘that the farmer vote has been steered very cleverly in the past, without it costing the farmer a cent in campaign contributions. One way that the Nonpartisan league could avoid a lot of eriticism would be to take members in for nething. Granting that the organiza- tion could operate without any revenue, this would be fine. The League would have no money to extend the organization. There would be no money for publicity. There would be no campaign fund to elect the candidates whom the farmers indorse in their conventions. The only advantage of this situation would be that the politicians would not have anything to worry about, and the farmers could never elect their men to office, or carry out their program. There would be no . eriticism about the League taking $16 away from the farmers, and everything would be perfectly lovely—for the politicians, the Big Interests and the gang newspapers. : ‘When the fact that the Lieague requires $8 a year from each mem- ber in order to do business is used as an argument against the League, -it proves that this is one of the strong points of the farmers’ organiza- tion, The fact that the League is FINANCED BY ITS OWN MEM- EDITORIAL SECTION One story- BERS, instead of getting its funds from the millionaires and the Big Interests as the political parties do, is a thorn in the side of the politi- cians. Who ever heard of a political organization so thoroughly be- lieved in and backed by the people that they flock to buy memberships in it at $8 per year? There is a reason for the state of nervousness about that $16 which exists among the politicians and their newspapers. DUGHT gt O€§ -POLITICAL BANKS AND BANKING ANKERS in the state of Idaho, who are opposed to the farmers’ program and wish to put every stumbling bloek possible in the way of the farmers’ organization, think they have discovered something new. In some instances they have refused to:handle for collection checks of farmers issued to the Nonpartisan leagne_in pay- ment of dues. This would be quite clever, only it happens that it is a very old trick, and succeeds only in making it evident that some bankers carry their political prejudices into their banking business. ‘When the League first organized in North Dakota, a favorite stunt of bankers who were hostile to the League and the program of the or- ganized farmers, was to refuse to handle or cash checks for League dues issued by farmers. Bankers in North Dakota do not do that any more. Not long ago a banker in South Dakota, who received several checks of farmers drawn on his bank, in favor of the League for League dues, refused to cash them and took the trouble to call up the farmers who had written them, and told them they were fools to join the League. When the farmers heard this they held a meeting in this town and called on Mr. Banker. He saw the point and promised faithfully to attend to his own banking business in the future and not attempt further to break up the League. In Idaho there is a bank ealled the Bruneau State bank. The Non- partisan league sent to this bank a number of fa..ners’ checks for dues for collection. The checks were sent through the Scandinavian-Ameri- can Bank of Fargo. The Bruneau State bank wrote the Scandinavian- American bank as follows: We have repeatedly refused to clear items for this outfit and there- fore return the collection on same grounds. : The Scandinavian-American bank of Fargo was rather surprised and realizing that there are banking laws in Idaho and that bankers are not supposed to refuse to cash checks for political reasons, wrote to the state bank examiner-of Idaho, a man-who goes by the name of G. R. Hitt and signs himself ‘‘commissioner, department of banking state of Idaho.’” Mr. Hitt proceeded to make a ‘‘hit’’ as follows: : Mr. J. J. Hastings, vice president, Scandinavian-American Bank, - Fargo, North Dakota. Dear Sir: Referring further to your letter of December 15 making a com- plaint as to the way in which the Bruneau State bank of Bruneau, Idaho, handled some collections which you sent them for the National Nonpartisan league, this is to advise you I have looked into this matter thoroughly and further to adyise you that this department upholds the action ot the Bruneau State bank in every particular in this matter, and that your case will have no further hearing from this department. Very respectfully yours, : G. R. HITT, Commissioner.” 3 . It seems that the banking business in Idaho needs a little renovat- ing, and it doubtless will get the needed renovating when the first Nonpartisan league legislature and Nonpartisan league governor of Idaho get to doing business there in the near future. _ THINK CAREFULLY, MR. BRAND 2 HE hearings on the federal grain grades are over, bnt the United States department of agriculture has not announced what action . I8 to be taken. Our advice to the department is to take plenty of time to think it over before acting. Tt is'a vital matter. Under the advice of that great friend of the grain trade, C. J. Brand, the depart- ment a-year ago framed some grain grades. The grades framed were clearly unfair to the farmers and in the interest of the grain buyers and mills. They were highly technical grades. They made the grad- ing of grain a very difficult matter. They were not practical. The need was fo'r as simple and as easily understood grades as it was possi- . PAGE EIGHT B T T T S AT S T e A M7l B AL T i o SV M 518 UL, 'wezuzwrfi?flfi%fl%?%fi@%‘fim v %fi f'g'fi;@« T . Y