The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, July 22, 1918, Page 3

In the interest _of a square deal for the farmers Nonpartidsn To Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League A magazine that dares to print the truth VOL. 7, NO. 3 ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, JULY 22, 1918 WHOLE NUMBER 148 END ALL DISLOYALTY CHARGES Nonpartisan.League Resolutions Do Not Hinder the War, the Supreme Court of Minnesota Announces—Leaves Farmers’ Enemies Completely Flabbergasted 1 all the facts. HE case containing the war views and opinions of the organized farmers, originat- : ed in Martin coun- ty, Minn. One of the pamphlets was published in the early summer of 1917, about three months after the United States entered the war. The other pamphlet was published in Sep- tember, 1917. During last winter and spring, the political enemies of the Nonpartisan league in Minnesota at- tempted to get the federal authorities to take action against the organized farmers on account of these pamph- lets. THE FEDERAL AUTHORI- TIES REFUSED TO TAKE ACTION, ON THE GROUND THAT THERE WAS NO DISLOYALTY- IN THE PAMPHLETS and that no jury or court. would sustain a prosecution of that nature. In March, 1918, the enemies of the League, unable to obtain a federal prosecution based on these statements of the League’s position on the war, commenced 'their effort to interest some small-town prosecutor in the case. THE TOOL 7 THEY FOUND - They desired to have the ‘League and its leaders placed un- ~der indictment during the Min- ‘nesota -political campaign, beliey- ;. ing that the effect of this would : 'lend weight to the charge of dis- loyalty circulated for political purposes, and -would take votes ‘away from any candidates for - state office in Minnesota indorsed by the farmers and by union la- ~ber, which was_co-operating with the farmers in the campaign. - The - political - opponents ‘of the " League had no difficulty in finding a prosecutor in a remote county of the “state willing to risk his reputation by bringing the caset'agfainst%the League. : charging disloyalty against the Nonpartisan league, on account of the circulation by the League of pamphlets HE supreme court of Minnesota in a decision just rendered has passed upon the war views and war policies of the Nonpartisan league. The decision is a sweeping one which completely vindicates the League in the matter of disloyalty charges brought by political opponents of the organized farmers. The verdict of the judges appears in full on another page of this issue of the Leader. It should be read by every reader that each may draw his own individual conclusion as to its meaning and effect. Also in:this issue the war views and " policies that were passed upon by the court are given in full, and the editorial pages contain a discussion of the decision. Below is a brief explanation and history of the case. At the time this case was brought the Leader gave it the utmost publicity, publishing in full the indictments and the entire “war literature” issued by the League on which the indictments were based. No other publication in the United States even attempted to give Just as we laid all the cards face up on the table when the indictments were brought, we now gublish in full the documents and facts in the final chapter. The importance of the case is such that the Leader elieves it is justified in devoting a large part of this issue to it. The opinion of the supreme court is not only important to the organized farmers. It will interest every citizen in the United States who is opposed to mak- ing the war an excuse for persecuting and crushing liberal and democratic movements of the people, and it is a victory for free speech in war time that will have widespread consequences as a precedent—THE EDITOR. Even if the case finally failed, it would at least serve the purpose of .getting this prosecutor in the national limelight, which would amply repay him, and as.the case would not be decided before Resolutions Adopted by the Nonpartisan League Conference HELD AT ST. PAUL, SEPT. 18-19-20, 1917, REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS OF THE NATIONAL NON- PARTISAN LEAGUE, FARMER AND WORKER CONFERENCE. We, your Commltgee on Resolutions, report as follows, and move the adop- tion of the Report by the Conference: ; We are involved in the most gigantic war of all history—a.war for Democ- racy and Liberty against Autocracy and Slavery, . There are two kinds of autocracy—political and industrial autocracy. There are two kinds of democracy—political ndustrial. Political democ- racy has but one purpose, the establishm lization and the protection of Industrial Democracy, which rcise of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of ‘"\portunity to labor and to 1—eaual rights to all, ~ Alllex in thig'stn\, A" " 2 Doo- This is a p]lotogkaphic repr‘oduction'of- the front pages offfhe two pamphlets circulated by the organized farmers on which the charge of disloyalty was . brought. The supreme court of Minnesota held there was nothing - . o disloyal in the pamphlets. - . Y i . PAGE! THREE' ¢ the Minnesota primaries, it would leave a cloud of disloyalty hanging over the activities of the or- ganized producers. A. R. Allen of Fairmont, Minn., county attorney for Martin county, was the man who finally brought the case, under the state law, against the League. Allen is a small-town prosecutor who courts publicity and who is said to be very ambitious. He is somewhat tempera- mental and has the reputation of be- ing a fiery orator, and his speeches are fanatical in the extreme. LAST FALL, BEFORE A MEETING OF THE STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, HE DEMANDED THE IMPEACH- MENT OF GOVERNOR BURN- QUIST, on the ground that the gov- ernor was failing to suppress “ram- pant disloyalty and sedition existing at that time in the state.” This had no reference to the League, however. He demanded that the bar associa- tion appoint a committee to investi- gate the governor’s failure to act to prevent the state from going over to Germany, and if this committee found - grounds HE WANTED THE GOV- ERNOR DISBARRED AND LATER IMPEACHED BY THE LEGIS- LATURE. BEGAN READING LEAGUE LITERATURE Inasmuch as Governor Burn- quist at that time, as before and gince, has posed as the only simon- pure patriot in the state, and ac- cepts the title of “Minnesota’s ' Great War Governor,” Mr. Allen’s strictures before the bar mceting. - were taken as a joke, and the of- ficial minutes of the meeting of the lawyers failed to record Mr. Allen’s wild charges. Dcspite this attitude of Allen’s last fall. con- cerning the governor, he stumped the state for the governor during - the recent primary campaign! The. Martin county prosecutor. had a hard time finding anything on which’ to base the prosecutions vaich he was to bring against the League. Finally he succeeded in obtaining copies of. ALL THE LITERATURE - PUB-' it e R R