The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 18, 1918, Page 11

i .nine months old, which has had the ~ organized farmers. ' _government and their country, “right - »is to: establish and maintain' human anarchy in Minnesota. Failing to stamp out the League by.'the suppression of its meetings in a few counties where the anti-farmer gang felt es- pecially strong, the . opposition decided to try . trumped-up criminal cases against the farmers and their representatives. This was done, not so much to obtain convictions, which the opposition must have known would be impossible in the higher courts on appeal, but to cause unfavorable pub- licity for the farmers and labor unions in connec- tion with the arrests and indictments. Perhaps, too, it was hoped to get convictions in justice courts in small towns, in -many of which officials and courts have been intimidated by gangs of rowdies urged on by short-sighted business men. In these places, the gang evidently thought it would be easy enough to convict a farmer or per- son connected with the League on any old kind of a charge—which might not even be necessary, as they could be lynched, threats of which have been frequently made, though never reprimanded by county or state authorities or the press. The plan to discredit the League by -getting un- favorable publicity against it in Minnesota and throughout the United Statcs by arrests in small towns of League representatives, has culminated ‘in the arrest of A. C. Townley, president of the Nonpartisan league. Mr. Townley" is charged with a misdemeanor, not a felony, under a special act of the last Minnesota legislature—namely “hin- dering enlistments” in the United States army. The charge is made by the prosecuting authorities in Martin county. -Neither the state or the United States governments has any hand in the prosecu- . tion. If there had been any “hindering of enlist- ments,” of course, the whole Nonpartisan league " would have been suppressed months ago by federal authorities, and it would not have been necessary to wait nine months to have local county authori- ties act. The plan to give unfavorable publicity to the League on account of the case against Townley in the court of a justice of the peace, at the start was successful. Pracrtically all the Minnesota papers refused to carry Mr. Townley’s statement about the matter, which was printed in last week’s Leader. Many papers through- out the country also refused to print his statement or otherwise- explain the remarkable fact that the charge is merely a misdemeanor, if proved; that the case was brought merely be- fore ‘a justice of the peace and that neither the state officials or the gov- ernment is concerned it in; that, fur- thermore, it involves a pamphlet now freedom of the mails and has been freely circulated with knowledge of the United States government in 15 states. . Most of the papers confined themselves to the mere statement that Mr. Townley had been arrested for “hindering enlistments” on ac- count of “seditious statements” con- tained in a pamphlet. To this extent the gang succeeded in getting pub- licity unfavorable to the cause of the - But this, of course, can not give them a perma- nent advantage. . 2 WHAT THE RESOLUTIONS OF LAST JUNE SAY The resolutions of the League in the alleged seditious pamphlet pledge the support of League farmers.to the- or wrong.” - “We stand unreservedly - pledged to safeguard, defend and pre- serve our country,” say the resolu- tions in opening. = - Next the resolutions declare force- fully against waging war for annexa- tion or indemnities. President Wil- - son has since made the same state- ment. “The only justification of war rights_and interésts the world over,” said the farmers in these resolutions, arrested, is their strong support for the Bolsheviki:. The Kerensky government wanted to the righteousness of the intentions of the governm than they did, taken the same stand that League f have been secured and the Kerensky government w ,made a felony. One of the important features of the Lea%ge resolutions adopted last June, for which President Townley- has been 'erensklyé government in Russia, which was later overthrown by the eep Russia in the war, but was unable to convince the people of ents fighting Germany. Had the allied governments, earlier armers did in these resolutions, the confidence of Russia could ould not have fallen. See editorial in this issue on this point. These are almost exactly President Wilson’s words, a few months later—if anything, the presi- dent stated the same thing more forcefully. Next the resolutions request that our .country and its allies state their war aims at once, so that the peoples of this and other countries may know that we are not in the war for unworthy motives. The president of the United States and the gov- . ernments of the countries of our allies have com- plied with this request since these resolutions were passed. Have we come to any sedition in the reso- lutions so far? g Next the resolutions declare in strong language against secret treaties or diplomatic agreements of nations, not made public to the world. Every- one is familiar with President Wilson’s demand for the same thing, made in just as strong and clear language as these resolutions make it. The president’s statement against secret diplomacy was made months after these resolutions were pub- . lished. The next section of the resolution denounces food gamblers, asking that gambling in food be It also requests that the govern- ment control the food supply. during the war, which since has been done. CALL FOR TAXATION OF EXCESS PROFITS The next section of the resolutions denounces the war profiteers, mentioning some of the big war profits being made by the steel and powder trusts and demanding that war. profiteering stop. Have we come to anything seditious yet? Yes! The food gamblers and war profiteers have been denounced. That is clearly “seditious”—to them, and the newspapers supporting them. i Next the resolutions state that excess war prof- its, swollen incomes and unearned wealth should not go practically untaxed, while the common peo- ple alone contribute the money to fight the war through government bonds. The profits and un- I 'NOW CONGRESS MUST EXPLAIN | e war. PAGE ELEVEN ‘ 2 &kfi/d : . ~—Drawn expressly for the Leader by W. C. Morris The committee on agriculture in the national house killed the Baer bill, which was introduced to.aid drouth-stricken farmers by giving them loans with which to buy seed to put in big crops to win th bill, but Secretary of Agriculture down in committee. about it, Mr. Congress? Hoover indorsed the ouston was against it, and it was voted Now the farmers want to know why this was done. What earned wealth of the rich should be taken also, making them sacrifice the same as the common people, say the resolutions. Next is a declaration of the right of free speech, which condemns the denial of peaceful.as- sembly and free speech through lawlessness. This was published before the unwarranted interference with farmers’ meetings in Minnesota, but it fits that case. Is it seditious? Next the resolutions assert, with justice, that among the causes of the European war, meaning of course before the United States entered it, were the incitings of an unjust economic system, the de- sires of rulers for wider markets for their com- merce. This referred, of course, to Germany, and in lesser degree to the imperialists in Great Britain, who-have since been forced into a minority position in England. The last clause of the resolutions declares for “sound international standards” after the war, and a reform of economic. systems throughout the world and for the rule of democracy. President Wilson has not put-the matter better, even in his fihe statements of American war aims and the conditions that must be brought about after the war. This is all the resolutions. The exact words used are quoted in full in the preceding article in this issue of the Leader. Are these resolutions seditious? A small-town prosecutor says so. What do you think? WILSON APPROVES BAER STATEMENT Finally this very, very “seditious” pamphlet gives a statement of Congressman Baer, almost entirely the same in substance as the resolutions above analyzed. Baer says that paid lobbyists should ne more be allowed to work against con- scription of wealth to pay the cost of the war than mothers should be allowed to oppose and stop their sons from going into the army—yet it is not a crime to be a paid lobbyist and try to keep the dollars of the rich from go- ing to the war, though it is a ¢rime for a mother to oppose her son going. Does that sound like sedition? Baer also urges that our war aims be stated, which of course has since been done by the president to the en- tire satisfaction of Baer and the League farmers—and all the people of the United States, for that matter. ists have had to swallow the presi- dent’s just and democratic statement of war aims, which they tried in vain to prevent. Baer denounces British imperialism and says that America must not for- ward the aims of British imperialists, in which President Wilson agrees. In fact, President Wilson’s statements have been the chief influence in discrediting British imperialists and giving the more democratic leaders of Great Britain the upper imperialists .were preved eorrect later by the publication of the indefensible treaties made before the United States entered the war, which treaties would have divided nations and peo- ples up among the powers without a thing President Wilson has declared ‘against strongly, sinee Baer made this statement, and a thing which the European nations fighting Germany cause -of the fine stand the United States made. And the United States was. able to take this stand because fearless men like Baer and Nonparti- san league members crystalized pub- speak out plainly, (€ontinued on page 23) e, Even the war profiteers and imperial- the consent of the peeples affected— hand. Baer’s statements in regard to have already repudiated, largely be- . lic opinion in favor of it and made it possible for President Wilson Yot One of the big things that the = League resolutions on the war did