The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 3, 1918, Page 13

7 . to Washington May 1. ley. - they have done.” " HIS RICH FRIENDS : tisan league indorses the " How Townley’RoutedHigh Politicians Banker Weeks Fled the Senate Committee Room, Pursued by the Nonpartisan President’s Hard-Hitting Answers—Reed and Hitchcock Shown Up The farmers and workingmen were not fooled by the distorted accounts of A. C. Townley’s visit The president of the Non- partisan league secured permission to appear be- fore the senate military affairs committee to refute the mad charges of Judge McGee, who had testified that a Leaguer was a traitor every time. There was a deliberate attempt to prevent Mr. Townley presenting his case, but how he outgeneraled cer- tain unfriendly senators is well told in the follow- ing story. It is, reprinted from a workingman’s newspaper published in the East. ASHINGTON — Senator Hitch- cock, sitting for the moment as chairman of the senate military affairs committee, turned sud- denly upon the witness, Presi- dent A. C. Townley of the Na- tional Nonpartisan league, and put what he evidently imagined : would be a crushing question. “Do I understand you to believe that we ought to establish an industrial democracy in the United States ?” he asked. “That is what I be- lieve,” responded Town- “And you advocate that at this time?” pursued the Nebraska senator. “I most decidedly do,” Townley replied. “What do you mean by industrial democracy ?” asked Senator Hitcheock. “I mean a condition of industry wherein prod- ucts passing from pro- ducer to consumer shall yield no profit, either for ‘necessary’ or unneces- sary services rendered by middlemen,” answered Townley. “You mean we should do in the United States what they have done in Russia, don’t you?” said Senator Reed. “Your party resolutions praise the Russians for estab- lishing industrial de- mocracy,” he continued. “You must mean, then, that we should do what WORRIED ABOUT Townley smiled and brushed back the strag- gling hair from his thin farmer’s face. “What the Russians are trying to do and what they have so far accomplished are two different things,” he ex- plained. “The senator will find in the resolu- tions that the Nonpar- ‘objects’ of the Russian revolutionists. What has come to pass in Russia, through the weakness caused by the long war and the intrigue of : German propagandists, we- very much deplore.” Senator Hitchcock dug up a resolution pagsed by the League in which the people of the Um’c_ed States were urged to support the present war with all their energy for the purpose of defending and extending the political democracy we: already have and to help it “realize its historic mission, the creation of industrial democracy.” He also found ‘another in which the League referred to the cap- italists as the ruling powers in the United States. Senator: Reed: wanted to know why Townley, in his speeches, referred to the great capitalists mak- ing money out of the war, I AM CALLING BACK AN OLD FRIEND WHO M SEEMS VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN YOU,NOW ! “You declare that if their profits were taken away from them these rich men would not be so much in favor of war. The general effect of that . attitude is to make the people think this is a rich man’s war. Isn’t that the effect you are trying to create? Do you believe that is a patriotic thing to do?” QUOTES WILSON ON THE RICH “You believe, senator,” Townley said, “that it is patriotic to point out the young man who . dodges the draft, so he can be made to do his duty? We think so, and I take it you do. Well, the Non- partisan league thinks the rich men who make big profits out of the war are also slackers, and we mean to point them out, because their kind of slacking obstructs the prosecution of the war as much as the draft law slacker does.” “And do you believe, as you say here in this resolution, that this country is ruled by rich men?” queried Senator Reed. ' "BEWARE A STAB IN THE BACK | JWAS WHEN HE Now that the farmers have gro¥n so strong and realize their power, and are determined to use it to clean up evil home conditions, the _old-gang politicians -will begin to speak fair words. The other day -Governor Burnquist of Minnesota insis by the Nonpartisan league. throw them out of the state capitol instead. . .. In reply Townley asked permission to read a slip of paper in his hand, and he ‘then read a declaration that the gre\at manufacturers and in- dustrial captains are the masters of the United States. “That,” said Townley, “is taken from -a book written by Woodrow Wilson.” ..’ Senator Weeks strove to remove the impreésion : thus made by remarking: . “Well, the president wrote that before the war, and probably knows better now.” “If he:has changed his mind he has not advised us of it,” retorted Townley. PAGE THIRTEEN THAT'S STRANGE. HE'S SO INTERESTED WHEN HE'S POLITICALLY DEAD—HE NEVER WAS LIVING e on shaking hands with 40 candidates indorsed If he thought they had no backing, he would have had his watchman Senator Weeks had another head-on collision a little later. Reed had learned that the Nonpar- tisan league had a membership of some 200,000 farmers, about 25 per cent of whom were prompt in paying their dues of $8 a year. In response to questions, Townley stated that the national office of the League had purchased $5,000 worth of Lib- erty bonds. HOW ABOUT THE OLD PARTIES? “You have had much to say about the unpatriotic sentiment of the big corporations, Mr. Townley,” began Weeks. “Now tell me, do you know of any private corporation with an income like yours, of $1,600,000 a year, that has bought as few as $5,000 worth of Liberty bonds?” ““Our income is not a profit, to begin with,” retorted Townley. “Furthermore, I have not heard of the Republican or Democratic parties buying a dollar’s worth of Liberty bonds.” Every one in the com- mittee room broke into laughter. Senator Weeks saw what he had got in- to, and was fleeing from the room. At the door he turned. ‘ “Ah, but the Repub- lican party has no such income as you have,” he called out, with a grin. And the room behind him broke into a roar of laughter. Senator Reed persisted in asking Townley why he was an advocate of “what you call industrial democracy.” FARMERS CHEATED BY THE MILLERS “I will give you an example,” responded Townley. “Up in the Northwest the farmers have been having their wheat classified by the big millers in' such a manner that only a frae- tion of their crop would bring the quoted price, while nearly three- fourths of it brought about 65 cents a bushel. This great bulk of their crop was called ‘Feed D’ wheat. Now, we found out, through experiments at the state college, that ‘Feed D’ wheat produced just as good flour, and the bhushel as No. 1 Northern, the highest grade. And we found the millers were actually advertising that fact to their trade. “So much for the need of industrial democracy. To get it we proposed to establish publicly owned -elevators and mills where the farmer could dispose of his wheat at its real value, and where the public could procure the flour at a fair " price. That, I may say, would illustrate one phase of industrial democracy.” Senator Hitchcock asked if any such publicly owned mills had been established. Townley replied that steps taken by the federal food administrator _ had made them unnecessary for the present. “Then you find there are other than the Russian methods to procure industrial democracy?” re- marked Senator Hitchcock. : “What the food administration has done touches only onc phase of the problem.” 3 “But you admit that there are other ways of getting the thing done?” ~ “We don’t care how you do- iii."v explained 95 per cent as much to T B T IS > A e