The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 19, 1918, Page 10

| chief dissatisfaction is with provisions that will 3 ¥ ¥ & Sam Teagarden, Montana’s Fals T = The Amusing Story i_)f a Politician Who Is Vainly Striving to Pull the Wool Over the Farmers’ Eyes and Get Them to Send Him to Congress Proud of the natural resources lavished upon her in the form of metals, timber and soil, Montana in the early days adopted the name “Treasure state.” Rich treasures have been taken from her vast stores and uncounted wealth still re- mains—but of all Montana’s wealth her waterpower, ¢ 0 to be the greatest. ww JAM TEAGARDEN of Montana ' —you remember him on aec- count of the “convention” he called to break up the Non- partisan league in Montana— is performing more stunts. In fact, he has become a regular three-ring circus. His latest stunt is to come out for the United States senate as a “Nonpartisan league” candidate. Of course, he has not got the indorse- ment of the League, and League members of Mon- tana might be angry at him for his political trick- ery if he wasn’t so amusing. So they are merely laughing at him. Sam Teagarden belongs to a class of self-seekers and traitors to the farmers’ cause that have oc- casionally furnished amusement for the League members. He wanted to be indorsed by the League in Montana for the United States senate. Now, as every one knows, the League gives no encourage- ment to officeseekers. Anybody who joins the League with the idea that he can use it to further his personal political ambition, sooner or later gets badly jolted. The League does not exist to get office for any- body, let alone for those who seek office and pro- fess belief in the League principles simply to get some public job they want. NO USE FOR SELF-SEEKERS As soon as the League becomes an organization of officeseekers, or to promote the ambition of officeseekers, it is through, and might as well admit it. The League exists to put over a PROGRAM OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REFORMS. To put over those reforms it must necessarily elect men to office who favor them. But the election of these men is INCIDENTAL and not the end or final purpose of the League. Every farmer who joins knows these things— he knows that one of the objects of the League is still undeveloped, bids fair Mines will be exhausted; timber crops will have to wait for new growth; soil must be replenished with fertilizer. The waterpower is eternal. ‘TO SEND OFFICE- SEEKERS AND POLI- TICIANS TO THE DISCARD. The League shuns such men like the seven-year itch. IT DRAFTS ITS MEN TO RUN FOR OFFICE AND REFUSES TO INDORSE ANY MAN SEEKING AN OF- FICE. This eliminates the possibility of for- warding somebody’s po- litical ambition, instead forwarding the League program, which is the League’s only object. But Sam Teagarden : : thought the League didn’t mean what it said about officeseekers. He wanted to be senator and he thought he could have the League forward that ambition of his. Then he found out that THE LEAGUE FARMERS WERE SINCERE AND EARNEST IN THEIR OBJEC- TION TO OFFICESEEKERS. He found he could not use the League for his personal purposes. Now if Sam had not been very, very foolish, he would have gone back home to Forest Grove and taken the lesson to heart. Instead, he DECIDED THAT IF HE COULD NOT USE THE LEAGUE FOR HIS OWN PURPOSES HE WOULD WRECK IT. That is the way with small minds. They would destroy what they can not control—only Sam is a_very feeble opponent and the destruction of the League is too big a job for him. NOW HE’S OUT FOR THE SENATE! Nevertheless, Sam called a convention of League members with the announced purpose of disrupt- ing the organization by repudiating its officers, dividing its members, severing the state League from the national League, and a lot of other things. demanded by the Montana copper trust. As every- [ body knows, the few farmers who took Sam seri- ously and attended his convention, passed resolu- tions of confidence in the League, its officers, state and national, and declared there was no need for the calling of Sam’s convention, as the League was holding its regularly conmstituted caucuses and-: county and state conventions. In other words, the farmers Sam called together saw through his game (it had a copper smell), sized him up for what he was—a selfish officeseeker—and kicked him out. But Sam let his resentment for this failure o wreck the League get the best of him. . His little dried-up soul burned with hate and bitterness. He had another chance to go back to Forest Grove and meditate on the lesson the farmers taught him. Instead, he dropped all his camouflage and came out for United States senator. Nobody objects to that, of course, or pays any attention to it. His - fraud to his political silliness. own vote and that of his family won't send him to the United States senate, so the farmers should worry. But Sam preferred to add a little downright He has gotten out campaign literature in which he tries to convey the impression that he is the candidate of the Non- partisan league. At the same time he has issued interviews (published in all the papers fighting the organized farmers), in which he attacks Mr. Town- ley. He was mighty nice to Mr. Townley until he found that the League president was going to stand by the farmer members of the League in preventing the use of the League by officeseekers —and then Sam got into print with bitter denun- ciations of Mr. Townley. LIKE A CLOWN IN A CIRCUS Sam’s. announcement that he “will accept the nomination” for senator is directed to the secretary of state of Montana and “the members of the Na- tional Nonpartisan league and the electors of the state of Montana.” On the printed form Sam has crossed out the word “National” before Non- partisan with a green pencil, for what purpose nobody knows. Then he is sending out a petition for nomination, to get his name on the ballot, in which he says: . “We, the undersigned, members of the National (crossed out with green pencil) Nonpartisan league and qualified electors, respectfully request that you (the secretary of state) cause to be printed on the official nomihating blank for the National (crossed out with green pencil) Nonpartisan league at the primary election the name of SAM W. TEAGARDEN as a candidate for the nomination to the office of United States senator- from the state of Montana by said National (crossed out ‘with green pencil) Nonpartisan league.” Sam of course thinks League members will sign this. - They won’t, if the hundreds of letters that League headquarters and the Leader office is re- ceiving from Montana farmers about it are any indication. Not only League farmers, but all Mon- tana farmers are on to Sam and his fraud. He. is not the League’s candidate and never will be. The League farmers will select their own candidates "and will not accept Sam’s selection of himself for the honor. Somebody will say that this fake use of the League’s name by Sam is surprising—that any man ought to know he couldn’t get away with that. To such we will say that Sam is a peculiar per- son and can not be expected to act in the way that ordinary sane persons—even honest-to-God poli- ticians—act. Sam wouldn’t be worth all this space if he were not so funny. League members in Montana know the facts and this is simply to let outsiders know that Sam’s use of the League’s name in his cam- paign is a fraud—that he is not the League can- didate, and that just ome person in Montana has -offered him that honor, and that person is Sam W. Teagarden. The People Want National Railways In Spite of the Agonized Cries of the Financial Interests, the Transportation System Probably Never Will Be Surrendered ' BY W. G. ROYLANCE 3 HE heads-of the great railroads, the management of which has been taken over by the federal government, have not yet ac- cepted the contract which Di- rector McAdoo has offered them. They believe, or pretend to believe, according to an ap- ~ parently inspired article in the Annalist of June 10, that Director McAdoo is try- ing to put one over on them, by getting them tied up in an agreement that will make government ownership after the war almost a necessity. Their limit - their éon’irol of the earhings guaranteed to them by the government. ' The railway heads claim that they should have the full disposal of the earn- ings, while it appears that the government form of - contract provides for the use, at least in certain future cases, of a part of the earnings for the benefit of the roads. themselves. ROADS THAT WERE MILKED Probably the gist of the matter is that the director does not propose to allow the earnings of the roads to go toward payment of dividends on watered stock, and is insisting: that they be dis- tributed on the basis of the honest “capitalization - of the roads. This seems to be at the bottom of the complaints of the corporation lawyers, that the adoption of the government proposal ‘would “prejudice the position of upwards of 17 - billions ‘worth of securities.” 'As the capitalized. valuation of all the railroads is only about 20 billions, and the physical valuation about eight billions, it is difficult to see how so great an amount _ could be jeopardized. The. entire difference between _the physical value and the capitalized value 'is 12 billions; that amount might be lost to the railroads, by the government adopting the physical - value as the basis on which to distribute earnings, If the government had taken the ownership as = well as the operation of the roads, it is doubtful if Sehinai e e RN N IR (BB S RIS NP O A S O e P S BT