The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 25, 1918, Page 21

Tl P A DA T AT Open Threat of Mob Violence HREATS of mob violence against - the person of A. C. Townley, president of the Na- tional Nonpartisan league, have become so serious that Mr. Townley was officially warned recently, by the attorney general of North -Dakota, to be on his guard for his personal safety. Many ignorant and lawless peoplé),* grossly deceived by the lies concern- ing President Townley appearing in newspapers hostile to the farmers’ cause, have threatened to do him bodily injury. But a more serious con- dition exists. It is that politicians and representatives of interests that the Nonpartisan league is fighting are de- ' liberately promoting just such violence against Mr. Townley and against other persons connected with ‘the League. Also there is evidence that this gang has gone so far as to hire strong-arm men to mob representatives of the League.. “Mr. Townley has received the fol- lowing letter from William Langer, at- torney general of North Dakota: Bismarck, N. D. Mr. A. C. Townley, National Nonpartisan league, - 8t. Paul, Minn, Dear Mr. Townley: Inclosed find copy of a letter | received today from one of the in- vestigators employed by this office. I believe it would be well if you would exercise extreme precaution for some time to come for your personal safety. The man men- tioned as making threats against you is a peace officer. Yours very truly, WILLIAM LANGER, Attorney General of North Dakota. Mr. Langer's inclosure in the above letter was a copy of an official report made to the attorney general by one of the attorney general’s field men. -With the identity of the person re- ferred to as making threats and the identity of the field man concealed for obvious reasons, the report to Mr. Langer is as follows: Hon. William Langer, Attorney® General, Dear Mr. Langer: Just got here and on the way up from | heard some travel- ing men talking and they were very bitter against the League, es- pecially on account of the League members in some communities _organizing co-operative stores in “North Dakota. One of the travel- ing men said: “We must try and get the defense committee to do with those Nonpartisan as they do in Minnesota.” One man said that Mr. of (a peace officer of the state) was at Bismarck trying to get a chance to get Townley in a crowd, where he could knock him down. He said his fine was to be paid and it would be the biggest thing in the . United States, but he did not get the ‘chance at Bismarck, and it was too bad, as it would have made him famous-and he could have got anything he wanted afterwards. I did not know any of the travel- ing men making these statements but from the talk | heard there is a plan on foot to pull ®ff a stunt of this kind. 1 do not know Town- ley personally, so you had better write him to have a lookout handy when Mr. Townley is in public, as the man is picked to attack Town- ley. It was quite a disappointment that he was unable to do the job at Bismarck, my informants said. With best wishes, Investigator attached to the At- torney General’s office. The Nonpartisan Leader is in_pos- session of the names concerned in this report to the attorney .general and will publish them if gccasion arises. The Panic ‘That Broke Texas Farmers (Continued from page 6)’ a success. If Roosevelt, who was then in the White House, had possessed the courage to use the “big stick” of which he talks so frequently, the panic might have been prevented, in the -belief of most of the Texas farmers. At any event Texas is one state where the Rough Rider need not look for votes when he becomes a candidate for president again. After the Farmers’ union had been downed in 1907, the powers of Texas evidently determined that it should never become a power again. They set on foot a shrewd attempt to get con- trol of the organization. Railroads be- gan giving delegates to the Union passes to their meetings. An organi- zation of commercial clubs attempted to ease its way into control by offer- ing* financial support and by trying to get the farmers to go into politics ‘with them. The organization brought out, for governor of Texas, a big land owner named Ferguson. ' As a sop to the farmers he ran under the name of “Farmer Jim” Ferguson. They attempted to make quite a hero out of Ferguson. They elected him with.a big vote. They named a cigar after him. It made the writer laugh, in Dallas the other day, to see this cigar still advertised.as “the Invinci- ble Jim Ferguson cigar.” . : It was funny because Jim Fergu- son wasn’t invincible, - Ferguson de- nosited state money in his own bank without paying interest. In- surance money from normal’ school also was found cred- ited to his own account. From some source, which he re!nsed _to reveal a” ‘burned’ ' Ferguson got $156,000 to protect his credit at this bank. But this. didn’t really protect him. The legislature brought formal charges against him, he was put on trial under impeachment proceedings, and with almost a unani- mous vote against him, “the invincible Jim Ferguson” was ousted from his of- fice. The writer would not have readers of this article believe that the big inter- ests of Texas have been successful in their attempts to gain control over the Farmers’ union. New blood has come into the organization, membership is ! being worked up again and it may yet get back into the position of power that it held in 1907. But it is not likely that the farmers of Texas will attempt the holding movement again without having a political ‘organization bo go along with it. The same obstacles that prevented the farmers of Texas from getting con- trol of their state government in 1896 do not exist today. The people have forced from their legislature fair direct primary laws and a corrupt practices act which will go far toward prevent- ing the voting of “dead niggers, mules and wet Mexicans.” ~Many of the farmers of Texas are gtill disfranchis- ed by an-unfair poll tax law, but there are enough, if they get together, to- control the government of their state, to elect a real farmer governor, a legis- lature that will work with him and to secure real progress: Then, perhaps, a movement. of .the farmers to fix the price of cotton on the cost of produc- tion ‘will have good chances. of success. i ADVERTISEMENTS " SHOES BUILT TO STAND THE (W WEAR AND TEAR OF THE FARM s We are saving the farmer thousands of dollars on their shoes. If you are not wearing SCHMIDT’S shoes, we be- lieve you are not getting as much for your.money as you should. 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