The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 18, 1918, Page 8

< the b}eet growers. “Why not fix the .price on beets? The United States needs sugar as badly as it needs !wheat, and it can’t get the production ‘unless the price is right.” Hoover finally saw the point. “How would a proposition like this ibe?” he asked the growers. “Let’s .ihave a price fixing committee of five, ‘one grower, one manufacturer, three representative of the public? Is that ;fair? Will that suit the growers?” 'HOOVER FINDS OUT ' FAIRNESS OF MAGNATES “It certainly will,” the growers ‘replied. Hoover said he would ask ‘the manufacturers’ about it imme- |diately. He seemed to think that tthey wanted to be fair; that they iwould accept the proposition imme- i diately. . The growers saw Hoover the next .day. Hoover looked at the matter B differently. He had seen representa- ‘tives of all the manufacturers, and just one manufacturer, an Anaheim . '(California) concern, would consent fOF miles, ito the price fixing plan. Hoover’s lidea of the “fairness” of the manufacturers had ireceived a rough reversal. His eyes had. been .opened. < ¢ | And notwithstanding the refusal of the manu- facturers to agree to a fair plan for fixing sugar prices, and the attitude of the other members of the sugar administration Hoover promised the growers .' 4 e, 'Y . ' T'hat “Seditious” Pamphle |Leader Gives Complete Text of War Statement That State and National Govern- ‘'ments Have Permitted to Circulate for Nine Months, but Which Is Now Used As ‘a Basis for the Prosecution of President A. C. Townley in a Small Minnesota Town S PROMISED last week, the Leader herewith presents- IN FULL every statement regard- ing the war which was made in the pamphlet issued last June, nine months ago, and for the issuance of which Presi- dent A. C. Townley of the 1 Nonpartisan league has been ; 'arrested on a charge of hindering enlistments in the United States army. { As.reported last week, the arrest was made by Jthe prosecuting authorities of Martin county, (Minn. Neither the state government of Minnesota nor the United States government is concerned in ithe prosecution. The pamphlet which is the basis qof the prosecution is entitled: “National Nonpar- ytisan League—Origin, Purpose and Method of |Operation—War Program and Statement of Prin- iciples.” t The pamphlet consists of 32 pages. The first amention of the war occurs on page 21, the preced- “ing 20 pages being devoted entirely to the economic “program of the League and the history of its Jorigin. On page 21, the following statement oc- curs: } “For the moment the question of war is a burn- gng one, which we hope will be settled soon and settled right for permanent peace. So the League ook a decided stand upon the war question and wou will find in this pamphlet the League resolu- ;tions on the war, and the statement of the first iLeague congressman elecled from the first iNorth Dakota district. Read carefully, and you iwill see that the League takes a sound stand on -;these questions and has already had a profound sin fluence upon the government in its consideration “,of these problems. .The people have the right to srale themselves by majority rule: Nothing is' bet- ‘ter settled than that in the United States. For isaying that we have been and are called traitors by Big Business. But we do say it and stand by dit. Every star on our flag says it. Every stripe 5of Old Glory says it. Every soldier that fought {‘:‘;funder General Washington said it. Every -soldier “that fought in the Civil war said it. Every school {Yhistory tells the story. President Lincoln and half i/ia_million other noble Americans died to prove it, {%and the man who flinches from the defense of that dright is a traitor to.his land, his flag, and his % “Our League is based upon this principle, that { \we, the people of the United States are, and of i 4right -ought to-be, free and independent people. The Colorado state capitol at Denver. that something would be done, that steps would be taken to fix a fair price for sugar. . E ‘While the beet growers were having their trou- bles with a food administration packed with repre- sentatives of the sugar trust, other farmers of Colo- rado ‘were having their experiences with a state government that was not under their own control. That we, the people of the United States, have the right and also the power to rule ourselves and to rule our country. We say that this country is OUR country, that its flag is your flag and my flag— that no rich gambler in foodstuffs is going to be In reading this pamphlet that has caused the arrest of Mr. Townley by an obscure county attorney in Minne- sota, bear these things in mind: The pamphlet was issued last June. Its sole reference to the war consisted in quoting resolutions adopted by the farmers.of North Dakota at a series of big mass meetings, and a statement made by Congressman John M. Baer. Both these resolutions and this Baer statement were published “in the Leader before the pamphlet was is- sued, and in hundreds of newspapers throughout the country. Not only has the pamphlet enjoyed the freedom of the mails; net only has ththnited States department of justice had full knowledge of it for many months—but Congressman Baer, who made the statement referred to, is still at large. The Leader and other papers which printed this matter have continued to enjoy the freedom of the mails. Re- member, also, that this pamphlet- was withdrawn from circulation voluntar- ily by the League some time ago, BE- CAUSE PRACTICALLY ALL ITS SUGGESTIONS AND PRINCIPLES HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED IN PRESIDENT WILSON’S OFFICIAL STATEMENTS AND-ARE NOW THE OFFICIAL. INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC ~POLICY OF- THE UNITED STATES, AND THAT THE LEAGUE IN PLACE OF THESE WAR STATEMENTS HAS NOW ADOPTED PRESIDENT WILSON’S WAR SPEECHES AND MESSAGES _ AS THE OFFICIAL WAR PRO- GRAM OF THE LEAGUE. The dome is gilded and can he seen When war was declared Governor Gunter, ‘elected on the Democratic ticket largely by the votes of farm- session of the legislature to meet war problems. The legislature provided for a state council of defense. In organizing this council of de- fense Governor Gunter appointed as its chairman the arch enemy of the farmers and working men of Colo- rado—J. K. Mullen, head of the grain and milling trust. Not only has the Mullen trust been taking the profits of the farmer by unfair prices and grading in years past, but through the Mullen control of Denver bakeries is has been robbing the workingman on his daily loaf of bread. Govern- ment grading and price fixing has deprived the trust of some of its ill- gotten gains since the war, but it still has found "ways to beat the been on the trail of farmers ele- Colorado during the last three years. The trust is after these elevators om grading. At Longmont, where 3 strong farmers” elevator is operating} the trust elevator in competition with it is grading - mearly all the wheat it receives this year as “dark hard” and paying a premium for it. At Lafayette, _only 12 miles away, where there is no farmers’ ele- vator, nearly all the wheat is graded as “mixed” or “yellow hard,” and eithef fails to carry a premium (Continued on page 28) allowed to bluff us because he has money wrung from the people through his gambling—that we have a right to organize and to do it to control govii.x;x’lment by majority vote, and that we WILL o RESOLUTIONS PASSED LAST JUNE IN N. The next mention of the war in the pamphlet is on page 24 and following pages. On these pages are set forth in toto resolutions on the war adopted at a big series of League massmeetings through- out North Dakota in the latter part of May and the first part of June. These resolutions are in - full as follows: “Our countr being involved ina wc 1d war, it is fitting that the National Nonpartisan league, while expressing its loyalty and willingness to support the government in its every necessity, should declare the principles and purposes which we as citizens of the United States believe shou guide our nation in the conduct of the war, . - “Whatever ideas we as individuals may have - had, as to the wisdom of our nation engaging in this war, we realize that a crisis now confronts us in which it becomes necessary that we all stand unreservedly pledged to safeguard, defend and preserve our country. “In making this declaration of our position, we declare unequivocally that we stand for our coun- try, right or wrong, as against foreign govern- - ments with whom we are actually engaged in war. Still we hold that when we believe our country wrong, we should endeavor to set her right. SECRET DIPLOMACY 2 HIT BY LEAGUE . % “The only justification for war is to establish and maintain human rights and interests the world over. For this reason we are opposed to waging war for annexation, either on our part or that of our- allies, or demanding indemnity as terms of peace. Bitter experience has proved that any exactions, whether of land or revenue, serve only to deepen resentments and hatreds which inevi- tably incite to future wars. “We therefore urge that our government, before prqceeding further in support of our European allies, insist that they, in common with it, make imme- diate public declaration of terms of peace, with- out ' annexations of territory, indemnities, contri- butions, or interference with the. right of any na- tion to live-and manage its own- ers and laboring men, called a special farmers. The trust particular!: - has .. vators, which have been organiked in Here It Is