The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 11, 1918, Page 8

"page 13 of this issue of the Leader papers. They knew little or nothing of what was happening in FEurope and on the Atlantic ocean; they did not know what justification the United States had for entering the war. Now these men appeared with what they said was & remedy. It was the only thing claiming to be a remedy that had been offered. Just as a sick man will grasp for any medicine that is of- fered him, many of the farmers (not most of them) took up with the teachings of the organiz- ers. A series of fires began. Water systems were wrecked. Riots were threatened. Incendiary lit- erature was prepared and scattered around. Per- haps secret agents of the Kaiser were working among the farmers in an effort to stir up revolt, though no direct proof of this was offered. On August 2 the first drafted men were called for examination in Oklahoma. And on that day several hundred of the misguided farmers, relying on the false teachings of their organizers, got their rifles, shotguns and revolvers and took to the hills. But they were due for a rude awakening. They expected 6,000,000 I. W. W.s in the North to take up arms and join them, but there weren't Small Town of Minnesota culminated February 28 in the arrest of A. C. Townley, president of the : National Nonpartisan league. The warrant was issued by the local prosecuting officers of Mar- tin county, Minn., in the southern part of the state. It charges that Mr. Townley is responsible for the issuance of a pamphlet last June, eight months ago, and that this pamphlet is seditious. Hundreds of thousands of copies of this pamphlet, which is entitled, “The- Nonpartisan League—Its Origin, Purpose and Method of Organization,” were circulated by the League through the United States mails and with the knowledge of the United States department of justice. Had there been anything gseditious in it the United States government long before this would have suppressed the League and had President Townley in custody. Yet, - bitterness against the farmers in Min- nesota is so great that, eight months after this pamphlet was placed in cir- culation, officials of a small county in Minnesota seek to send Mr. Townley to jail because of it, on the theory, probably, that they know more about what sedition is than the TUnited States government does. In addition, this pamphlet which, at this late day, is called seditious by a small-town prosecutor of Minnesota, has been circulated with the knowl- edge of the authorities of every state where the League is organized or or- ganizing, including Minnesota. All of these states have defense councils or public safety commissions whose duty it is to stop sedition and prosecute those guilty of it. Yet no state govern- ment has considered this pamphlet se- ditious. But small-town officials in a remote part of Minnesota cause the arrest of Mr. Townley for circulating it. The pamphlet, which most League members "have read, has chapters on the subject, “War Program.” The statements in this connection in the pamphlet consist of resolutions adopted at League meetings and statements of Congressman John M. Baer. The prin- cipal paragraphs setting forth the League position on the war contained in the pamphlet are summarized on THE big drive against the organized farmers and compared with the subsequent speeches and messages of Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States. A complete summary of the pamphlet will appear in a later issue of the Leader.. The Leader in its next issue 6,000,000 1. W, W.'s and they didn’t take up arms. Neither did the 1,000,000 Texas farmers. TWO BLOTS UPON THE STATE BUT WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? The organizers had told the farmers that there was only enough of a United States army to guard the president of the United States and the gov- ernor of Oklahoma. As a matter of fact there were something like 500,000 soldiers under arms at the time (and something like 2,000,000 now) but they were not needed. Sheriff’s posses were quickly organized and sent into the hills after the revolting farmers. There were a few brief skirmishes, a few of the rebels were shot and about 200 were captured and placed under arrest. They were brought to trial and given sentences ranging from a few months’ imprisonment in the case of men who apparently were ignorant but misguided, to 10 years for the men responsible for the revolt. 4 : " That is what happened in Oklahoma. When I was in Oklahoma I heard city people say: - “The farmers did it because they were ignorant and misled. It has cast an awful bilot en- our state. The state is as patriotic' as any. in the Union, and most of the farmers are patriotic, too.” Yes, the misconceived draft revolt cast a blot upon -the state of Oklahoma. But is it much worse than the blot cast upon the state by its record of the highest proportion of farm tenancy in the United States? Isn’t there some connection between the two blots? The city people are wili- ing to admit that it was lack of edueation that caused the revolt. ‘Who is responsible for the lack of education? ; Bad as they were, the draft riots in Oklahoma have, perhaps, served one purpose. They have shown the farmers that a revolt by arms is not wanted in the United States. They have shown thousands of farmers that what is needed is a peaceable revolution through use of the election machinery of the state. And because the Nonpartisan league offers a method for bringing this peaceful revolution about, hundreds of Oklahoma farmers are forsaking the discredited “Jones family” and joining the League. Officers Arrest Townley Remote County in Minnesota Seeks to Jail League Head for Acts that United States and State Authoritizss Do Not Consider “Hindering the War” was a request that the United States and its allies declare their war aims, and this has been done by President Wilson and the governments of the other countries fighting Germany, and the League is in thorough sympathy with those statements. As shown on page 13 of this issue of the Leader, the principal suggestions and statements of the pamph- let -have since become the official policy of the United States, through the statements and mes- sages of the president. 5 LEAGUE TO FIGHT CASE TO HIGHEST COURTS With Mr. Tewnley, the Martin county authorities caused the arrest of Joseph Gilbert, in charge of the League organization department. Both weré 'THE BOOMERANG arrested at the national offices of the League at St. Paul. Messrs. Townley and Gilbert had been working peacefully and unmolested at League head- quarter§ for months, almost within sight of the offices of the federal department of justice and the Minnesota Public Safety commission. The sheriff who came to arrest them wanted to take the ‘two men back to Martin county at onee for trial. The attorney general of Minnesota, however, quickly ruled that they could put up bonds in St. Paul guar- anteeing their appearance in Martin county to stand trial when the time came. They therefore were not jailed. Needless to say, Mr. Townley and the League will carry the case to the highest court in the land necessary to obtain justice. The arrests follow threats of arrest made by the Minnesota news- papers during the last few . weeks, These papers, which arg fighting the organized farmers and workers of the state in the political campaign which has just opened, stated that a warrant had been issued for Mr. Townley’s arrest at Lakefleld, in Jacksan county, Minnesota, three weeks ago. Jackson county adjoins Martin county. The papers reported also that the sheriff of Jackson county was, at one time, in St. Paul ready to arrest Mr. Townley. But Mr. Townley was in the city at the time and no effort was made to arrest him under the Jackson county warrant. It was believed, and so reported by some eastern papers, that the local Jackson . county authorities had got “cold feet,” knowing that they had nothing on which they could hold Mr. Townley and that his arrest and sub- sequent acquittal would do damage to the opposition to the League, rather than making capital for,League ene-: mies. Whether the Jackson county of- ficials intend to go through with their reported plans for prosecuting Mr. Townley or not is not known at this time. Perhaps the outcome of ‘the Mar- tin county case will be awaited by the League opposition before pressing any more trumped-up charges. TOWNLEY STATEMENT REFUSED BY PAPERS On his arrest, Mr. Townley issued the following statement to the news- papers, most of which refused to print it, letting the fact of his arrest stand alone and of course creating an im- " pression that the prosecution was gz ® @m'/’\_ ; ' good-faith one instead of being a po- —Drawn expressly for the Leader by W. C. Morris litical move of opponents of the organ- ized farmers in Minnesota: £ “My arrest,” said Mr. Townley, “on a warrant sworn out by a county attor- ney is based on the publication of a pamphlet issued last June, which sets forth principles exactly in line with .the domestic policies and _inter- pamphlet, which will be unnecessary in many cases as most League mem- bers have a copy or have read it. The boomerang was the weapon used by the savages of Australia. After it was thrown, if it did not hit its mark, it returned to the thrower's hand. The lies : Y about the organized farmers are boomerangs, but the pollticlans, kept press and The pamphlet has not been cir- beneficiaries of special privilege did not realize it at first. Now they do, for - Hl culated by the League fo several -what the cartoonist-pictures here has happened. The boomerang thrown by the ’];’ months, as one of its chief features old gang has missed the farmer and smashed the old gang! ig g 2 \ 3 i 1 ¢ i ! .will acquaint every reader and member ; of the League with the contents of this B ’ : . PAGE EIGHT