The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 19, 1918, Page 3

“Mitchell and former state - Seth Teesdale, . AND PUBLIC LANDS—Peter " . Frederickson, Miner county. -0t South ‘Dakota. ‘There’s another resemblance. Pl 2L In the interest of a square deal for the farmers Tonpartissn Tead Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League VOL. 7, NO. 7 A magazine that dares to print the truth ST. PXUL, MINNESOTA, AUGUST 19, 1918 WHOLE NUMBER 152 Farm Ticketin South Dakota | The Nomination of M. P. Bates, a Substantial Nonpartisan Leaguer, for Governor Fell Like a Bombshell Among Old Politictans—A Strong List of Candidates OUTH DAKOTA Nonpartisan leaguers and organized labor have entered the political field with a complete ticket for the November election. The first Nonpartxsan league state con- vention in South Dakota was held at Mitchell July 23 and 24. Here is the ticket nominated: GOVERNOR—M. P. Bates, Letcher, Sanborn - county. A farmer. LIEUTENANT GOVER- NOR—Abraham Lincoln Put- nam, —Timber Lake, Dewey county. A farmer. STATE AUDITOR—Henry Anderson, Mitchell, Davison county. City assessor of auditor. SECRETARY OF STATE— Gilbert Gronseth, Britton, Mar- shall. county. A farmer. STATE TREASURER— Charles E. Ware, Aberdeen, Brown county. Labor candi- date. ATTORNEY GENERAL— Aberdeen,: Brown county. A lawyer. COMMISSIONER SCHOOL A farmer. : RAILROAD COMMISSION- ER (first district)—O. L. Lar- sonm, Minnehnha county. A farmer. UNITED STATES SENA- TOR—Orville V. Rhinchart, Rapid City. A farmer and lnwyer. Democratic . nominee, CONGRESS (first district)—R. E. Dowdell, Ar- tesian, Sanborn county. A farmer and Democratic - - nominee. CONGRESS (second district)—Left open. CONGRESS (third distrief)—Tom Ayres, Zeona, Perkins county. A farmer. Mark Pomeroy Bates, the League-indorsed in- _dependent candidate for governor, is one of the . most w1dely known stock raisers in' South Dakota. 'I'hxs is his first plunge into politics. lee Gevernor Frazier of North Dakota, Bates .- " was drafted by the League to be the next governor He looks like Frazier. " Frazier and Bates will henceforth be known as : the “Dakota twins.” { READY NOW FOR A HARVEST OF VOTES Despite the fact that the harvest season was on, . the state convention of the League was a repre- sentative body. The delegates' felt their respon- sibility keenly and made unusual sacrifices to be - present. “The attendance at:the campalgn rally was cut down materially by the harvest. No attempt was made to bring out a record crowd. A week before the date set for the convention and rally, L. J. Duncan, secretary and manager of the South Da- “kota-branch of the League, issued a statement urg- _ing the League farmers to stay at home as-a patri- ohc duty: it they wer_e needed in the harvest fields. Big Biz, driven badly battered out of North Dakota, was captured in South Dakota and forced to appear in the big Nonpartisan parade. - thought Rhinehart would be a' _.present incumbent, -~ 'Thomas- Sterling, areactxonary 3 ‘_ \of lns Repubhean opponent thousands of Leaguers will be present, will be held in September. That the Nonpartisan league was able to hold a state convention and select an independent ticket - was no fault of the politicians. At the special ses- - sion of the legislature last March the Republican machine, controlled by Governor Peter Norbeck, passed a law moving up the date one month for " filing petitions for independent candidates for state and con- gressional ‘offices. The poli- ticians knew. that the.League wonld have to hold its conven- tion in the busy harvest sea- son and they counted on the farmer delegates remaining at " home. They misjudged the “We’ll Stick” spirit of the South Dakota Leaguers. The delegates came to Mitch- ell and did their duty. Petitions for all of the in- dependent candidates indorsed. by the League were promptly circulated among the farmers and the requisite number of names were signed to the pe- titions and these filed with the August 6—the dead line. The politicians at the special session of the legislature said it couldn’t be done. It has been done. It has been done in spite of the attempts of the state coun- cil of defense to prevent the circulation of the petitions by League employes, on the trumped-up ground that the latter were not engaged in use- ful work. “The 'politicians are a badly scared bunch in South Dakota. Orville V. Rhinehart; a League farmer of Rapld Clty, S. D., and nominee on the Democratxc ticket, ‘was in- dorsed for United States sena- tor_after Henry G. Solem of Baltic, S. D., also a Leaguer, had declined the indorsement of the convention. Mr. Solemi told . the ' delegates that he stronger candidate. He ex- ‘pressed-the conyiction that the - Senator Republican, wotld be elected if the League erntered a three- cornered fight. Rhinehart has been. for the League first and last, and with the League’s . support his election is assured. R. E. Dowdell, a League farmer and former newspaper man, who is the Democratic nominee, was indorsed for - congress in the first district. Dowdell has stood for Leagne principles for 80 years. Mr. Dowdell urged the dele- gates to indorse no ‘candidate for congress in the first dis- trict until after they had éx- amined the: leglslatwe ‘records ““ufihtappy sécretary of state by = This is Seth Teesdale, the Nonpar- tisan candidate for attorney general of South Dakota. As-an attorney for. the League, he has brought a number < of actions against farmer- R baiting mobblsts. and him- self. The record of C. A. Christof- ferson, the Repub- lican can- didate, was 80 notoriously bad, while that of Mr. Dowdell was so good, that the delegates declined to post- pone the indorsement. No candidate was put up for congress in the second district, as it was believed that most of the League members want to vote for Lieutenant Royal C. Johnson, who is now in the trenches. Tom Ayres:of Zeona, the League farmer picked for congress in the third district, is one of South Dakota’s strongest characters. As private secre- tary to former Governor Andrew Lee, Ayres is credited with having been the brains of the ad- ministration. Ayres is well known as a contributor to eastern magazines. The state ticket is likewise exceptionally strong. BATES A BREEDER OF FINE STOCK - ‘Mark Romeroy Bates—they call him Roy—Gov- ernor Frazier’s “twin,” is & genuine hog-slopper. He is 41 years old, married, and has four children. He is of old Yankee stock. He has been an ener- getic and loyal supporter of the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A. and other war fund activities, while Liberty bond campaigners with whom he has worked and by whom he has been solicited show generous records for him. _Bates is best known as a breeder of Chester White hogs. For years he has taken first honors at the South Dakota state fair and at fairs in neighboring states. Purebred stock is a passion with the next governor of South Dakota. He has one of the finest herds of Hereford cattle in the state. Starting with nothing but a reputation for hon- The Nonpartisan league has got the goat of Governor Peter Norbeck. The picture shows the goat in the parade at Mitchell. j esty, Bates obtained credit at one of the Mitchell banks at a high rate of inter- est and fought his way to suc- cess. He is today one of the substantial farmers of Sanborn county. Like Governor Frazier of North Dakota, Roy Bates has a - pleasing presence and dig- -nified bearing. He is consxd~ ; .~ ered-a good mixer. His early struggles have given him-inside_knowledge of :: the farmers’ problems and a human sympathy for all who work with - their hands. By constant reading he has - kept abreast of the times and sup- plemented the education he obtained in the country.school house and Dakota Wesleyan university. The convention ' delegates would have had to look long for a stronger candidate than Bates, if, indeed, they could have found one better qualified. Abraham Lincoln Putnam of Timber Lake, the farmer-labor candidate “for lieutenant gov- ernor, was formerly a. super- . (Centmued on page 14) - intendent of organizers for the |